Unlike humans, many monkey species are very loyal to their partners. According to a recent study on primate behavior, Azara’s owl monkeys exhibit a strong commitment to monogamy.
The research also found that the emotional relationships of these monkeys are only affected when the male monkey spends a lot of time caring for their offspring.
“Owl monkeys live in pairs, and they are very loyal to each other,” said Maren Huck, the study’s author and a professor at the University of Derby, UK, in an interview with Live Science.
Prior to this study, scientists already knew that Azara’s owl monkeys have a monogamous social structure, meaning that male and female monkeys live together as pairs. However, social monogamy does not equate to what scientists call “genetic monogamy,” which means that males and females only reproduce with their partner. In fact, genetic monogamy is extremely rare.
One way researchers test for the existence of genetic monogamy is by analyzing the DNA of monkey pairs and examining the relationship between the father monkey and the offspring.
Owl monkeys are more loyal to their partners than humans. (Source: livescience.com)
In this study, scientists analyzed field observations of the monkeys’ behavior, along with genetic samples from 128 monkeys, including those living in groups and those living alone, as well as samples from 35 offspring of 17 parent pairs.
Researchers found that both male and female monkeys in the study were loyal to their partners, and the offspring carried genes similar to those of their fathers.
According to Professor Huck, it is difficult to determine which factor influences the other: whether the father’s care for the offspring makes the mother more loyal, or whether loyalty prompts the father to care for the offspring, but clearly, these two factors affect each other.
Overall, male monkeys benefit more from caring for their offspring than seeking new partners. This is especially true for species where males find it difficult to locate females due to their living conditions.
This study also helps explain the mechanisms behind pairing, which do not necessarily require loyalty, as well as the parenting mechanisms in animals.
“Pairing—or what you might call love—is very common in human society, while parenting can take many different forms. Owl monkeys demonstrate that under certain ecological conditions, partner preference leads couples to spend more time in close relationships, thereby strengthening parenting instincts and increasing paternal care for the offspring. Genetic monogamy is a result of this,” said another study author, Eduardo Fernandez-Duque, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
For humans, achieving loyalty is more complex, and absolute paternal care in Azara’s monkeys is difficult to find. In fact, humans tend to do the opposite.
“Human society has instances where a man does not leave any inheritance for his partner’s children but instead for his sister’s children,” said Associate Professor Fernandez-Duque.
This is because men are more certain about their relationship with their sisters and their children than with those who are presumed to be their own.
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