Long-term, individual-based field studies, the application of genetic techniques, and phylogenetic reconstructions have led to substantial advances in our understanding of the diversity and evolution of mammalian breeding systems and their consequences. These studies show how differences in ecology, life histories, and phylogeny affect the distributions of breeding females and breeding males; how the distributions of both sexes affect the evolution of breeding systems and the composition and kinship structure of social groups; how differences in breeding systems and the social environment that individuals encounter affect the selection pressures operating on both sexes and the evolution of their behavior, physiology, and morphology; and how these differences affect the demography and dynamics of populations and their responses to variation in density, climate, and human impact.

中文翻译：

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哺乳动物的社会进化

长期的、基于个体的实地研究、遗传技术的应用和系统发育重建使我们对哺乳动物育种系统的多样性和进化及其后果的理解取得了重大进展。这些研究表明生态学、生活史和系统发育的差异如何影响繁殖雌性和繁殖雄性的分布；两性分布如何影响育种系统的演变以及社会群体的组成和亲属结构；个体所遇到的育种系统和社会环境的差异如何影响对两性的选择压力以及他们的行为、生理和形态的演变；