Female Supremacy Articles - Page 13

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Such a reconstruction of ancestral group sizes would show one of the following patterns: no relationship between male and female numbers and social evolution, change being driven by either males or females, or the sociality of both sexes evolving in unison.

Lindenfors added: "If one sex drives social evolution then when a change happens to the group composition of this sex, for example the average number of females in a group increases, the other group would change as well, but with a time lag."

This is exactly the scenario the researchers found, with changes in the number of males consistently lagging behind females. Their findings are now published online in the scientific journal Biology Letters.

Baboons and Chimps

Almost 40 primate species were covered by the study. They included baboons, chimpanzees, and macaques—all known to live in large, mixed-sex groups.

So why should it be females that first seek to live in larger societies?

Scientists believe communal living is particularly beneficial to females because a ready food supply is crucial for successful reproduction. A primate "sisterhood"' would be better equipped to locate and defend food resources than individual animals. Similarly, the risk of predation is reduced if others are keeping a watchful eye.