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Wild Chimpanzees Exchange Meat for Sex on a Long-Term Basis

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  • Cristina M Gomes
  • Christophe Boesch

Abstract

Humans and chimpanzees are unusual among primates in that they frequently perform group hunts of mammalian prey and share meat with conspecifics. Especially interesting are cases in which males give meat to unrelated females. The meat-for-sex hypothesis aims at explaining these cases by proposing that males and females exchange meat for sex, which would result in males increasing their mating success and females increasing their caloric intake without suffering the energetic costs and potential risk of injury related to hunting. Although chimpanzees have been shown to share meat extensively with females, there has not been much direct evidence in this species to support the meat-for-sex hypothesis. Here we show that female wild chimpanzees copulate more frequently with those males who, over a period of 22 months, share meat with them. We excluded other alternative hypotheses to exchanging meat for sex, by statistically controlling for rank of the male, age, rank and gregariousness of the female, association patterns of each male-female dyad and meat begging frequency of each female. Although males were more likely to share meat with estrous than anestrous females given their proportional representation in hunting parties, the relationship between mating success and sharing meat remained significant after excluding from the analysis sharing episodes with estrous females. These results strongly suggest that wild chimpanzees exchange meat for sex, and do so on a long-term basis. Similar studies on humans will determine if the direct nutritional benefits that women receive from hunters in foraging societies could also be driving the relationship between reproductive success and good hunting skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristina M Gomes & Christophe Boesch, 2009. "Wild Chimpanzees Exchange Meat for Sex on a Long-Term Basis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(4), pages 1-6, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0005116
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005116
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    Cited by:

    1. Kurt Dopfer, 2013. "Economics with a Phylogenetic Signature," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2013-06, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    2. Alger, Ingela & Cox, Donald, 2020. "Evolution of the Family: Theory and Implications for Economics," IAST Working Papers 20-109, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST).
    3. Fruteau, C., 2010. "Biological markets in the everyday lives of mangabeys and vervets : An observational and experimental study," Other publications TiSEM 3f4fc3e2-723d-4455-9ed2-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    4. DeAngelo, Gregory & Brosnan, Sarah F., 2013. "The importance of risk tolerance and knowledge when considering the evolution of inequity responses across the primates," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 90(S), pages 105-112.

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