Sex bias in intergroup conflict and collective movements among social mammals: male warriors and female guides

Smith, Jennifer E; Fichtel, Claudia; Holmes, Rose K; Kappeler, Peter M; van Vugt, Mark; Jaeggi, Adrian V

doi:10.1098/rstb.2021.0142

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Smith, J. E., Fichtel, C., Holmes, R. K., Kappeler, P. M., van Vugt, M., & Jaeggi, A. V. (2022). Sex bias in intergroup conflict and collective movements among social mammals: male warriors and female guides. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 377(1851), 20210142. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0142

Abstract

Intergroup conflict is a major evolutionary force shaping animal and human societies. Males and females should, on average, experience different costs and benefits for participating in collective action. Specifically, among mammals, male fitness is generally limited by access to mates whereas females are limited by access to food and safety. Here we analyse sex biases among 72 species of group-living mammals in two contexts: intergroup conflict and collective movements. Our comparative phylogenetic analyses show that the modal mammali