Question

Which of the following statements is correct for primates in general?

Select one:

a. Species that are pair-bonded have the minimum degree of sexual dimorphism in body size.

b. Multimale, multifemale groups tend to have a higher degree of sexual dimorphism in body size than one-male, multifemale groups.

c. Multimale, multifemale groups with polygynandry are not sexually dimorphic in body size.

d. One-male, multifemale polygynous groups have less sexual dimorphism in body size relative to pair-bonded species.

Answer 1

Multimale, multifemale groups tend to have a higher degree of sexual dimorphism in body size than one-male, multifemale groups. This is the satement correct for primates.

Most primates, including humans, spend their lives in large social groups or communities.These community helps to provide protection against predators and It also helps protect scarce food resources.In Multimale, multifemale pattern, there are no stable heterosexual bonds--both males and females have a number of different mates. This is characteristic of savanna baboons, macaques, as well as some colobus and New World monkey species.With this pattern,commonly have a dominance hierarchy among both males and females. Each individual is ranked relative to all other community members of the same gender. This tends to reduce serious violence within the community since everyone knows in advance who they must defer to and who must be submissive to them. Among rhesus macaques, one's position in the dominance hierarchy is determined by the rank of his or her mother. A female's rank in the hierarchy stays with her throughout life.

The higher a male ascends the dominance hierarchy, the more challenges he must answer. As a consequence, alpha males are often under greater physical and psychological stress than lower ranked ones. This results in much higher levels of glucocorticoid stress hormones in their blood, which can result in impaired immune systems. The upside of being a baboon alpha male is more sexual access to females. The downside is a highly stressful life. Health problems resulting from social stress are not limited to males, as the following video shows.