Sexual behavior across ovarian cycles in wild black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra): male mate guarding and female mate choice

Abstract

We studied two multimale-multifemale groups of black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) during a 14-month study (June 2006-July 2007) in Palenque National Park, Mexico to evaluate the ways in which their sexual behavior changes across ovarian cycles. We analyzed 231 fecal samples, collected every 2.2+/-1.4 days from five females. For four females, estradiol and progesterone profiles revealed an average (+/-SE) cycle length of 18.3+/-1.4 days. Copulations occurred significantly more frequently during the periovulatory period (POP), defined as the estimated day of ovulation +/-3 days (N=18). This was largely the result of cycling females soliciting sexual interactions during their POPs. Females directed their solicitations significantly more often toward "central" males of their group, who had close spatial associations with females at other times, compared with "noncentral" males, who did not associate closely with females. Central males rarely solicited sexual interactions, but instead monitored the females' reproductive status by sniffing their genitals, and maintained significantly closer proximity to females during their POPs, suggesting male mate guarding when conceptions are most likely to occur. Our findings indicate that the reproductive strategies of black howler central males and females coincide, highly skewing mating opportunities toward central males. Black howler females, however, occasionally choose to copulate with noncentral resident males or extra-group males during their POPs, undermining the ability of central males to monopolize all reproductive opportunities.