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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 (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.

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 mammalian pattern is male-biased participation in intergroup conflict and female-biased leadership in collective movements. However, the probability of male-biased participation in intergroup conflicts decreased and female-biased participation increased with female-biased leadership in movements. Thus, female-biased participation in intergroup conflict only emerged in species with female-biased leadership in collective movements, such as in spotted hyenas and some lemurs. Sex differences are probably attributable to costs and benefits of participating in collective movements (e.g. towards food, water, safety) and intergroup conflict (e.g. access to mates or resources, risk of injury). Our comparative review offers new insights into the factors shaping sex bias in leadership across social mammals and is consistent with the 'male warrior hypothesis' which posits evolved sex differences in human intergroup psychology. This article is part of the theme issue 'Intergroup conflict across taxa'.

Keywords: collective action; comparative social evolution; group travel; intergroup conflict; male warrior hypothesis; sex differences

Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:04 Faculty of Medicine > Institute of Evolutionary Medicine
Dewey Decimal Classification:610 Medicine & health
Scopus Subject Areas:Life Sciences > General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Life Sciences > General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Uncontrolled Keywords:General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Language:English
Date:23 May 2022
Deposited On:09 Jan 2023 11:35
Last Modified:21 Mar 2025 04:37
Publisher:Royal Society Publishing
ISSN:0962-8436
OA Status:Closed
Free access at:Publisher DOI. An embargo period may apply.
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0142
PubMed ID:35369756

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