Female choice in nonhuman primates

Abstract

As outlined by Darwin, sexual selection is composed of two parts, within-sex competition for mates, and mate choice. The fact that males compete for fertile females has been well established. More equivocal is the notion that females have preferences for certain males, and that those preferences have an evolutionary effect (“female choice”). We now have an evolutionary framework and sophisticated mathematical models to evaluate female choice. A review of the literature on primate species reveals that 20 species have exhibited some sort of preference. Females most often choose males based on familiarity, novelty, or status. But there is no evidence that selection for particular males affects conception or fitness, or male characteristics. Female sexual assertiveness is not necessarily female choice. … it is improbable that the unions of quadrupeds in a state of nature should be left to mere chance. It is much more probable that the females are allured or excited by particular males, who possess certain characters in a higher degree than other males: but what these characters are, we can seldom or never discover with certainty.—C. Darwin, 1871 Estrous females cannot be considered as passive resources like water and peanuts.—L. Fedigan, 1983 If it's not forced copulation, is it female choice?—D. Winkler, 1988.

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