Postweaning maternal care increases male chimpanzee reproductive success.

ABSTRACT: Humans are unusual among animals for continuing to provision and care for their offspring until adulthood. This "prolonged dependency" is considered key for the evolution of other notable human traits, such as large brains, complex societies, and extended postreproductive lifespans. Prolonged dependency must therefore have evolved under conditions in which reproductive success is gained with parental investment and diminished with early parental loss. We tested this idea using data from wild chimpanzees, which have similarly extended immature years as humans and prolonged mother-offspring associations. Males who lost their mothers after weaning but before maturity began reproducing later and had lower average reproductive success. Thus, persistent mother-immature son associations seem vita

SUBMITTER: Crockford C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7500924 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature