Number of males in primate groups: Comparative tests of competing hypotheses

Primate social groups frequently contain multiple males. Male group size has been hypothesized to result from male mating competition, but the selective factors responsible for the evolution of multimale groups are unclear. Short breeding seasons create situations that are not conducive for single males to monopolize mating access to females, and may therefore favor the formation of large male groups. Alternatively, since the costs of mate defense increase with the spatial clumping of females, female group size may be a primary determinant of the number of males in a primate group. We used comparative methods designed to control for the potentially confounding effects of hidden third variables associated with phylogeny to test the breeding season and female group size hypotheses for the evolution of multimale groups. Our results revealed no association between breeding season duration and the number of males in groups. In contrast, we provide support for the female group size hypothesis by demonstrating a strong pattern of correlated evolution between female and male group size. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.