Beaudrot Lydia H, Kahlenberg Sonya M, Marshall Andrew J
Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 2009 Sep;63(11):1549-1562. doi: 10.1007/s00265-009-0827-1. Epub 2009 Jul 21.
Infanticide is widespread among mammals, is particularly common in primates, and has been shown to be an adaptive male strategy under certain conditions. Although no infanticides in wild orangutans have been reported to date, several authors have suggested that infanticide has been an important selection pressure influencing orangutan behavior and the evolution of orangutan social systems. In this paper, we critically assess this suggestion. We begin by investigating whether wild orangutans have been studied for a sufficiently long period that we might reasonably expect to have detected infanticide if it occurs. We consider whether orangutan females exhibit counterstrategies typically employed by other mammalian females. We also assess the hypothesis that orangutan females form special bonds with particular "protector males" to guard against infanticide. Lastly, we discuss socioecological reasons why orangutan males may not benefit from infanticide. We conclude that there is limited evidence for female counterstrategies and little support for the protector male hypothesis. Aspects of orangutan paternity certainty, lactational amenorrhea, and ranging behavior may explain why infanticide is not a strategy regularly employed by orangutan males on Sumatra or Borneo.
杀婴行为在哺乳动物中很普遍，在灵长类动物中尤为常见，并且已被证明在某些情况下是一种适应性的雄性策略。尽管迄今为止尚未报道野生猩猩有杀婴行为，但有几位作者认为，杀婴行为一直是影响猩猩行为和猩猩社会系统进化的重要选择压力。在本文中，我们对这一观点进行了批判性评估。我们首先调查对野生猩猩的研究时间是否足够长，以至于如果杀婴行为发生，我们有理由期望能够检测到。我们考虑猩猩雌性是否表现出其他哺乳动物雌性通常采用的应对策略。我们还评估了猩猩雌性与特定“保护雄性”形成特殊纽带以防范杀婴行为的假设。最后，我们讨论了猩猩雄性可能无法从杀婴行为中获益的社会生态学原因。我们得出结论，雌性应对策略的证据有限，对保护雄性假设的支持也很少。猩猩亲子关系的确定性、哺乳期闭经和活动范围行为等方面可能解释了为什么杀婴行为不是苏门答腊或婆罗洲的猩猩雄性经常采用的策略。
