Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, , Leahurst Campus, Chester High Road, Neston CH64 7TE, UK.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2013 Oct 28;368(1631):20130073. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0073. Print 2013.
This paper introduces a Theme Issue combining interdisciplinary perspectives in the study of female competition and aggression. Despite a history of being largely overlooked, evidence is now accumulating for the widespread evolutionary significance of female competition. Here, we provide a synthesis of contributions to this Theme Issue on humans and other vertebrates, and highlight directions for future research. Females compete for resources needed to survive and reproduce, and for preferred mates. Although female aggression takes diverse forms, under most circumstances relatively low-risk competitive strategies are favoured, most probably due to constraints of offspring production and care. In social species, dominance relationships and threats of punishment can resolve social conflict without resort to direct aggression, and coalitions or alliances may reduce risk of retaliation. Consistent with these trends, indirect aggression is a low cost but effective form of competition among young women. Costs are also minimized by flexibility in expression of competitive traits, with aggressive behaviour and competitive signalling tailored to social and ecological conditions. Future research on female competition and the proximate mediators of female aggression will be greatly enhanced by opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange, as evidenced by contributions to this Theme Issue.
本文介绍了一期主题专刊，结合了女性竞争和攻击研究的跨学科视角。尽管女性竞争在很大程度上一直被忽视，但现在有越来越多的证据表明女性竞争具有广泛的进化意义。在这里，我们综合了人类和其他脊椎动物这一主题专刊的贡献，并强调了未来研究的方向。女性为生存和繁殖所需的资源以及心仪的配偶而竞争。虽然女性的攻击形式多种多样，但在大多数情况下，相对低风险的竞争策略更为有利，这很可能是由于后代生产和照顾的限制。在社交物种中，支配关系和惩罚威胁可以在不诉诸直接攻击的情况下解决社会冲突，而联盟或联合可以降低报复的风险。与这些趋势一致的是，间接攻击是年轻女性之间一种低成本但有效的竞争形式。通过竞争特征表达的灵活性，攻击性行为和竞争信号适应社会和生态条件，也将最小化成本。正如本期主题专刊的贡献所证明的那样，女性竞争和女性攻击性的近因中介的跨学科交流机会将极大地促进未来的研究。
