Female cooperation, consortship maintenance, and male mating success in savanna baboons

Abstract

The role of female choice as a potential mechanism influencing male reproductive success in non-human primates is unclear. Few systematic studies have explicitly evaluated how female reproductive tactics modify male mating success. A 19-month field study of savanna baboons, Papio cynocephalus, was undertaken in Kenya in order to document patterns of mate choice and mate competition. Neither size dimorphism nor female competition hindered the expression of female choice. Female mating preferences affected the identity of mating partner and the probability of an escalated confrontation over access to a female. Reproductive tactics that diminished consortship duration included hiding from a male and approaching other males, whereas maintaining proximity to a male partner when he was aggressively challenged prolonged consortship duration. Non-cooperation in the form of mount rejection had no negative repercussions on male ejaculatory success and did not increase the chances of male abandonment. Male mating success depended more upon male than female reproductive tactics, and female tactics seemed to be based upon a propensity to mate with multiple males.