Publications [#138962] of Marie J.E. Charpentier
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- Charpentier MJE, Van Horn RC, Altmann J, Alberts SC, Paternal effects on offspring fitness in a multimale society,
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, vol. 105
(2008),
pp. 1988-1992 .
(last updated on 2008/03/21)Abstract:
When females mate with multiple males, paternal care is generally expected to be negligible, and males are predicted not to provide direct benefits to their offspring. This is because it may be difficult or impossible for males to discriminate their own offspring from those of other males, and engaging in paternal care may reduce male mating opportunities. We have recently demonstrated, however, that males in a typical multi-male primate society (yellow baboons, Papio cynocephalus) discriminate their own offspring from those of other males and provide care to them in the form of repeated support during agonistic encounters ( Buchan JC, Alberts SC, Silk JB, Altmann J (2003) Nature 425: 179-181). This raises the question of whether fathers enhance offspring fitness in this species. Here we use 30 yrs of data on age at maturity for 118 yellow baboons with known fathers. We show that father’s presence in the offspring's social group during the offspring's immature period accelerated the timing of physiological maturation in daughters. Sons also experienced accelerated maturation if their father was present during their immature period, but only if the father was high ranking at the time of their birth. Because age at reproductive maturity has a large impact on lifetime reproductive success, our results indicate a direct effect of paternal presence on offspring fitness. This in turn suggests that the multiple roles that males play in multi-male animal societies have not been sufficiently examined or appreciated, and that paternal effects may be more pervasive than previously appreciated.
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