The Chicago Tribune reported in 1981 that a scientist had claimed to have successfully impregnated a chimp with human sperm in 1967. The French governor forbade it, and although Ivanov later found willing volunteers in the Soviet Union, his sperm-donor chimp died before he could proceed. The experiments were to take place in Guinea, which was a French colony at the time. For example, in the 1920's, Soviet scientist Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov wanted to make a "chuman" by impregnating women with chimp sperm while pretending to conduct a medical exam, according to New Scientist. However, there have been multiple, documented attempts to breed humans with chimpanzees, who, along with bonobos, are our closest relatives. Furthermore, the idea of killing a half-human child for ethical reasons seems counterintuitive. ScienceAlert reports that the facility went by the names Yale Laboratories of Primate Biology and Anthropoid Breeding and Experiment Station. Science Alert explains that, although the experiment is purported to have occurred at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in the 1920's, the center hadn't even been called that until the 30's. The story gets murky and inconsistent as it passes from person to person and as time goes on. Nevertheless, recognizing the adaptive value of male-female aggression in chimpanzees may ultimately help us to understand, and hopefully prevent, similar behavior among humans.Gallup doesn't claim to have witnessed the experiment, but The Sun reports that another professor, whom he trusted, told him it was true. Chimpanzees are one of our closest living relatives, but 7 million years of evolution separate us, and our mating systems are very different. Gilby cautions that while these results may provide clues about the origins of sexual violence in humans, he says, “We should be careful not to jump to conclusions. “This indicates that males, particularly those of high rank, successfully employ a strategy of long-term sexual intimidation,” says Ian Gilby, an assistant professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change and research affiliate with the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University.Īlthough there could be female preference for dominant males, the fact that aggression increased paternity likelihood for high-ranking males indicates that the patterns of paternity did not arise as a result of female choice but rather from mate guarding by strong alpha males. Male aggression was not used to force sexual encounters either during or immediately following aggression. This strategy was most effective for high-ranking males, and aggression toward females outside of their periods of sexual receptivity was the best predictor of paternity. The rate at which a male directed aggression at a female not only increased the pair’s mating frequency, but also significantly increased the probability that he sired her offspring. This is the first study to present genetic evidence of long-term sexual coercion as an adaptive strategy in a social mammal. Researchers used DNA obtained from fecal material to determine the paternity of 31 infants born during the study period. The authors analyzed 17 years of observations of the Kasekela chimpanzee community in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. However, until now, it has been unclear whether aggression toward females increases male chimpanzee reproductive success.Ī new study published this week in Current Biology by Feldblum et al., including ASU scientist Ian Gilby, a senior author on the study, provides strong evidence that male aggression toward females is indeed adaptive. Critically, aggression over the long term had a greater effect than violence in the immediate context of mating. Moreover, these aggressive males were actively solicited for mating by those females at the time of peak fertility. Males who directed aggression at certain females mated more often with those females than did other males. Previous research from the Kanyawara chimpanzee community in Kibale National Park, Uganda, has supported the sexual coercion hypothesis. While unpleasant to watch, the frequent occurrence of such violence at several East African field sites suggests that aggression toward females functions as a form of sexual coercion. Among chimpanzees, males may violently attack females, sometimes resulting in serious wounds. In the animal kingdom, the battle of the sexes often truly becomes a battle.
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