Abstract
The Trivers–Willard hypothesis (TWH) posits that maternal care will be biased in favor of the sex that provides the greatest fitness returns per unit of investment, depending on maternal physical condition. Our aim was to examine the TWH in mantled howler monkeys living at Los Tuxtlas (Veracruz, Mexico). The biological attributes of mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) meet the assumptions of TWH better than those of other explanations, so we expected that females in better physical condition should bias maternal care toward sons, whereas mothers in worse physical condition should bias care toward daughters. Between December 2017 and March 2019, we studied mother–infant interactions in 20 dyads with focal-animal sampling and continuous recording (N = 204 h). We performed genetic analysis to determine offspring sex (N = 7 daughters and 13 sons) and measured C-peptide in urine samples of mothers to assess their physical condition (N = 46 samples). Mothers in better physical condition spent less time in contact with their sons but more time in contact with their daughters. For proximity behavior, mothers in better physical condition spent more time near their sons and less time near their daughters. These results suggest a bias in maternal care towards daughters, contrary to our predictions. In light of current models of maternal investment, our results support that mothers obtain higher fitness returns through daughters.
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Acknowledgements
We thank P. Cruz-Miros, Don J. Landa, and several volunteers for their help during fieldwork. We thank La Flor de Catemaco S.A. de C.V., Gen. J.A. González de la Fuente, and various landowners at Balzapote for granting access to their properties. Ing. J.L. Ponce Puente facilitated our work at La Flor de Catemaco, and A. Molina provided vital administrative support to our project. We thank F. Aureli, S. Torre, J.C. Bicca Marques (Associate Editor), and two anonymous reviewers for providing invaluable feedback to the work. This study was supported by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (grants 866671/629266 and ciencia básica 254217). This study was noninvasive and complied with the guidelines of the Primate Society of Japan. Research protocols were approved by the Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (permits SGPA/DGVS/0381/17) and adhered to the legal requirements of the Mexican law (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010). A. de la Torre would like to extend her sincere gratitude to Dario de la Torre and Mary Paz Herrera for support. P.A.D. Dias and A. Rangel-Negrín thank Mariana and Fernando for constant support and inspiration to study primate behavior.
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de la Torre, A., Coyohua Fuentes, A., Rangel Negrín, A. et al. Maternal care according to offspring sex and maternal physical condition in mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata). Primates 62, 379–388 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-020-00883-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-020-00883-6