Linked Life Data

12685340

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/12685340

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2003-4-10
pubmed:abstractText
Monogamy--a bond between two partners of opposite sex--is a relatively rare phenomenon in mammals (3-5%, from a total of 4000 mammalian species). The duration of the bond may vary from one breeding period to life-long. Monogamy does not exclude 'genetic promiscuity', i.e., extra-pair mating. In fact, this is rather common. Monogamy is an intrinsically unstable mating strategy. Benefits include the (relative) certainty of access to the partner's reproductive potential, but the chief disadvantage is that access to other potential partners is strongly diminished, particularly in those cases where males exhibit strong mate-guarding behavior. Mate-guarding, in particular the guarding by males of females with a good territory or of females that accept the territory of a male, has been shown to be the most important selective pressure leading to the evolution of monogamy. A monogamic bond strongly favors the evolution of male investment in the raising of offspring, as is the case in most birds (90% of bird species are monogamic and most exhibit biparental care of young). Mammals exhibit this type of behavior to a far lesser extent (female mammals monopolize the feeding of newly born young). Most male mammals do not look after their offspring; humans are an exception in this respect. Like most mammals, humans are not strictly monogamic. A tendency to social monogamy has evolved, however, and is subject to strong reinforcement by cultural factors, particularly religion. As a result, in a number of cultures monogamy is the predominant mating system; however, most cultures (about 85%) are polygamic. For humans, the optimal evolutionary strategy is monogamy when necessary, polygamy when possible.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Mar
pubmed:issn
0167-482X
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
24
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
55-61
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2003
pubmed:articleTitle
The benefit and the doubt: why monogamy?
pubmed:affiliation
Division of Human Biology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Groningen, A Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article