The doe-eyed does of these dainty African antelope seem to be able to hook their mate's heart for the long haul. Kirk's Dik-dik ( Madoqua kirkii ) roam in tightly bonded pairs and rarely stray from one another, socially or sexually....[More]
Kirk's Dik-dik
The doe-eyed does of these dainty African antelope seem to be able to hook their mate's heart for the long haul. Kirk's Dik-dik (Madoqua kirkii) roam in tightly bonded pairs and rarely stray from one another, socially or sexually. Researchers have suggested that a male might stick around to cover his mate's female scent, thereby reducing the likelihood other males will sniff her out. And although the male does not pick up many of the parenting duties, the female seems to be uninterested in mating with fellas other than her mate.
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
Wikimedia Commons/Falense
Convict cichlid
Despite its inauspicious name, the convict cichlid ( Amatitlania nigrofasciata ) fish is quite a considerate mate and parent. This freshwater fish pairs off with a mate in a crevasse they can call their own....[More]
Convict cichlid
Despite its inauspicious name, the convict cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) fish is quite a considerate mate and parent. This freshwater fish pairs off with a mate in a crevasse they can call their own. Once the female lays eggs, they spend time fanning them and keeping potential predators at bay. And when the larvae hatch, the two parents share the burden of keep tabs on them. If any wander off, the parents suck them into their mouths and spit them back out in the safety of the home cave.
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
Wikimedia Commons/S. Olkowicz
Prairie voles
The small, burrowing prairie vole ( Microtus ochrogaster ) is practically a paragon of faithfulness—at least enough so for scientists to use them as models of monogamy in the lab....[More]
Prairie voles
The small, burrowing prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) is practically a paragon of faithfulness—at least enough so for scientists to use them as models of monogamy in the lab. Once these voles have paired up, they share parenting duties, groom one another and generally appear quite cuddly. One study found that when committed males were tempted with "unfamiliar, virgin females" in the wild, fewer than 10 percent of them succumbed. Even after a partner died, fewer than 20 percent went off to find themselves another mate.
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
Smithsonian/Roger Barbour
Sandhill Crane
The stately sandhill crane ( Grus canadensis ) has long been a symbol of mate-for-life monogamy. Pairs can be heard "unison calling" together: they stand close and "kar-roo" out similar, synchronized notes, which is thought to be a bonding activity....[More]
Sandhill Crane
The stately sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) has long been a symbol of mate-for-life monogamy. Pairs can be heard "unison calling" together: they stand close and "kar-roo" out similar, synchronized notes, which is thought to be a bonding activity. During their massive breeding-ground migration in the early spring, single cranes—those who are young or have lost a mate—perform elaborate mating dances. Side flings, however, are not unknown. A rare "extra-pair copulation event" (as researchers so romantically put it) was reported in 2006; its noteworthiness, though, says something about these birds' track record for fidelity.
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
Wikimedia Commons/birdphotos.com
Shingleback skink
The shingleback skink ( Tiliqua rugosa) is an armored lizard that usually pairs off with the same mate each season to make some little lizard babies....[More]
Shingleback skink
The shingleback skink (Tiliqua rugosa) is an armored lizard that usually pairs off with the same mate each season to make some little lizard babies. The female gives birth to live young, and the male sticks around to keep watch for danger. In one study, which observed the lizards for one to five years, only 18 percent of tracked males mated with a female that was not his mate over the course of the observations.
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
Wikimedia Commons/Coojah
Black vultures
These ominous birds ( Coragyps atratus ) seem to be deeply serious about their chosen mates. The two hang out together year-round and share parenting duties, creating a close-knit familial unit....[More]
Black vultures
These ominous birds (Coragyps atratus) seem to be deeply serious about their chosen mates. The two hang out together year-round and share parenting duties, creating a close-knit familial unit. Genetic testing of offspring in 16 different vulture families found no evidence of any extra-pair fooling around. "The complex social behavior of black vultures may eliminate the opportunity," the researchers behind the genetics study noted.
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
Wikimedia Commons/DickClarkMises
California mouse
The California mouse's scientific name— Peromyscus californicus —might make it sound a little, well, promiscuous. But science says they are actually pretty strictly committed....[More]
California mouse
The California mouse's scientific name—Peromyscus californicus—might make it sound a little, well, promiscuous. But science saysthey are actually pretty strictly committed. A genetic test of 28 families over two years found that babies did, indeed, come from the father of each nest. The mice were apparently quite eager to keep it all in the family, as DNA testing even picked up one brother–sister pairing.
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
Flickr/PeroMHC
Waved albatross
Albatrosses are famous both for their flirtatiousness—taking the form of ritualized mating dances—and for their fidelity. Most settle down with a single mate for life, which can mean decades....[More]
Waved albatross
Albatrosses are famous both for their flirtatiousness—taking the form of ritualized mating dances—and for their fidelity. Most settle down with a single mate for life, which can mean decades. But not all the males are entirely faithful. For the waved albatross (Phoebastria irrorata), genetic testing of offspring has revealed that a quarter of them had different dads. For the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans), only about one in 10 chicks were sired by different sirs— (which suggests perhaps they should trade species names).
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
Wikimedia Commons/Barfbagger
Malagasy giant rat
These big-eared rodents are hardly sneaky when it comes to love. Malagasy giant rats ( Hypogeomys antimena ), which reside in a small area of Madagascar, are one of the few monogamous rodent species out there....[More]
Malagasy giant rat
These big-eared rodents are hardly sneaky when it comes to love. Malagasy giant rats (Hypogeomys antimena), which reside in a small area of Madagascar, are one of the few monogamous rodent species out there. Both parents stick around to raise the young. If one mate dies, the other will find a replacement, with widows often waiting at home in the burrow until a new suitor comes along.
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
Wikimedia Commons/Tom Junek
Mute swan
Swans swimming beak to beak have become a common symbol of mate-for-life dedication. The males often help in nest-building and egg-incubating, and pairs often return to the same nest year after year....[More]
Mute swan
Swans swimming beak to beak have become a common symbol of mate-for-life dedication. The males often help in nest-building and egg-incubating, and pairs often return to the same nest year after year. But science has found plenty of exceptions: For the mute swan (Cygnus olor), some pairings are not exactly "until death do us part," and even if the daddy sticks around, he might be doing some messing around on the side. One study found that for black swans (Cygnus atratus), some one in six cygnets were fathered by a different daddy from the one sitting on their nest.
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
Wikimedia Commons/Jonas Lindstrom
Lar gibbon
One of the only primate examples of monogamy, Lar gibbons (or white-handed gibbons, Hylobates lar ) have long been documented living in close-knit families....[More]
Lar gibbon
One of the only primate examples of monogamy, Lar gibbons (or white-handed gibbons, Hylobates lar) have long been documented living in close-knit families. The coupled male and female will spend time grooming each other and (literally) hanging out together in the trees. But more recent research has found that these unions are not quite as uncomplicated as once thought. With mates occasionally philandering, and even sometimes dumping a mate, the gibbon mating culture has started to look perhaps a little bit more like ours.
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
Wikimedia Commons/MatthiasKabel
Humans
Are we humans ( Homo sapiens ) set up to be set up for life? Well, it's complicated. One study found evidence that women pass along more genetic information to their offspring, suggesting that for much of our evolutionary history, men were fathering children with more than one woman....[More]
Humans
Are we humans (Homo sapiens) set up to be set up for life? Well, it's complicated. One study found evidence that women pass along more genetic information to their offspring, suggesting that for much of our evolutionary history, men were fathering children with more than one woman. But evolutionary evidence does not necessarily spell doom for modern monogamy. Countless contemporary couples can live the convict cichlid—or Malagasy giant rat or black vulture–lifestyle, especially with a little help from our emotional intelligence. "A range of nonbiological factors can help pinpoint which pairings are built to last—those who communicate openly, respect each other, share common interests and maintain a close friendship, even when the intense attraction wanes," Jeannine Callea Stamatakis, a psychotherapist and psychology instructor, wrote in 2011 in Scientific American MIND.
[Less]
[Link to this slide]
iStockphoto/DenisZbukarev
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
Monogamy may have some disadvantages in matters of natural selection, but it has one big advantage. It reduces the risk of catching a venereal disease or any other disease that can be transferred by sexual intercourse, e.g. some fungus diseases like Microsporum or Geomyces.
The animals that live in monogamous relationships may be adapted to environments where the exposure to such diseases is very high and where monogamy is beneficial.
Did you know that hyenas are the only living things, along with humans,in which females do have an hymen that is broken in the first intercourse ?. A french author wrote about "The unfatomable ether of the wonderful hymen", and in a radio program, I heard a man stating he separated from his wife after realizing in their first relation that "She wasn't narrow". Lots of phone calls to the radio station followed, asking for the meaning of a woman "being or not being narrow".
5. Extremophile
in reply to theirongiant02:51 AM 5/21/12
If you remember the 19th century, I would be very surprised to learn that you are still practicing any kind of -gamy.
Monogamy has a better selection score when you live in an environment, where diseases are abundant that get transmitted by sexual intercourse. If you live in such an environment and you love your life, you better stay by your man - or woman, of course.
Actually - there are two types of monogamy: One with strict role delineations between the partners, and one, where they share the burden of growing offspring equally.
If both partners look very different, the species will probably have males and females with different tasks. If they look the same, they will probably share all burdens equally.
What about humans? Men and women look similar, but not identical. It seems that we are somewhere in the middle.
Can Endangered Animals Coexist with Big Ag? [Excerpt]
What Are the Structural Differences in the Brain between Animals That Are Self-Aware (Humans, Apes) and Other Vertebrates?
Jailbreak Rat: Selfless Rodents Spring Their Pals and Share Their Sweets
How Brainless Slime Molds Redefine Intelligence [Video]
A Decade of New Species Discoveries in the Himalayas [Slide Show]
Fact or Fiction?: Animals Like to Get Drunk
What Causes Someone to Act on Violent Impulses and Commit Murder?
Kids (and Animals) Who Fail Classic Mirror Tests May Still Have Sense of Self
5 Comments
Add CommentMonogamy may have some disadvantages in matters of natural selection, but it has one big advantage. It reduces the risk of catching a venereal disease or any other disease that can be transferred by sexual intercourse, e.g. some fungus diseases like Microsporum or Geomyces.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe animals that live in monogamous relationships may be adapted to environments where the exposure to such diseases is very high and where monogamy is beneficial.
What about humans, btw.?
Did you know that hyenas are the only living things, along with humans,in which females do have an hymen that is broken in the first intercourse ?. A french author wrote about "The unfatomable ether of the wonderful hymen", and in a radio program, I heard a man stating he separated from his wife after realizing in their first relation that "She wasn't narrow". Lots of phone calls to the radio station followed, asking for the meaning of a woman "being or not being narrow".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thismy family has been lifers for generations, love is better that way, you finally made my parents sound smart rather than diluded & odd...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthanks,
a few other species that mate for life are
bald eagles and wolves.
Loving life and practicing monogamy? What? Is it possible to reconcile the two? God I miss polygamy, brings me back to the late 19th century...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf you remember the 19th century, I would be very surprised to learn that you are still practicing any kind of -gamy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMonogamy has a better selection score when you live in an environment, where diseases are abundant that get transmitted by sexual intercourse. If you live in such an environment and you love your life, you better stay by your man - or woman, of course.
Actually - there are two types of monogamy: One with strict role delineations between the partners, and one, where they share the burden of growing offspring equally.
If both partners look very different, the species will probably have males and females with different tasks. If they look the same, they will probably share all burdens equally.
What about humans? Men and women look similar, but not identical. It seems that we are somewhere in the middle.