Till Death (Or an Intruder) Do Us Part: Intrasexual-Competition in a Monogamous Primate

TLDR

Polygynous species exhibit pronounced sex differences in intra‑sexual competition linked to biased operational sex ratios, whereas the relationship in socially monogamous, sexually monomorphic species such as owl monkeys remains unclear. The study proposes that sexual‑selection models for monogamous species should incorporate flexible, context‑specific operational sex ratios rather than assuming equality. Long‑term data show that owl‑monkey residents face intense aggression from solitary floaters, leading to frequent pair‑bond breakups, reduced reproductive success, and evidence that a flexible, non‑equal operational sex ratio drives competition in this monogamous primate.

Abstract

Polygynous animals are often highly dimorphic, and show large sex-differences in the degree of intra-sexual competition and aggression, which is associated with biased operational sex ratios (OSR). For socially monogamous, sexually monomorphic species, this relationship is less clear. Among mammals, pair-living has sometimes been assumed to imply equal OSR and low frequency, low intensity intra-sexual competition; even when high rates of intra-sexual competition and selection, in both sexes, have been theoretically predicted and described for various taxa. Owl monkeys are one of a few socially monogamous primates. Using long-term demographic and morphological data from 18 groups, we show that male and female owl monkeys experience intense intra-sexual competition and aggression from solitary floaters. Pair-mates are regularly replaced by intruding floaters (27 female and 23 male replacements in 149 group-years), with negative effects on the reproductive success of both partners. Individuals with only one partner during their life produced 25% more offspring per decade of tenure than those with two or more partners. The termination of the pair-bond is initiated by the floater, and sometimes has fatal consequences for the expelled adult. The existence of floaters and the sporadic, but intense aggression between them and residents suggest that it can be misleading to assume an equal OSR in socially monogamous species based solely on group composition. Instead, we suggest that sexual selection models must assume not equal, but flexible, context-specific, OSR in monogamous species.