Online Custom «The Important Constituents of the Evolution of Owl Monkey Monogamy» Essay Sample

The researcher Fernandez-Duque raises the questions of monogamous relationships among the mammals on the example of Azara's owl monkeys in the article Love in the Time of Monkeys. The researcher has studied the habits, instincts and behavior of these animals for years, and has finally come to the certain conclusions that indicate unambiguous monogamy among mammals. The article examines the reasons for such a phenomenon. In my own opinion, the most likely cause remains to be a genetic predisposition of mammals to the monogamy.

According to the researchers, only 10% of mammals adhere to a monogamous relationship; among the primates that share is slightly higher - 25%. However, monogamous pairs can be considered to be a minority when compared to the polygamous pairs. Mirikiná discusses such rare monogamous couples. For years Fernandez-Duque and his wife could not find a definite explanation to this phenomenon, so they couldn't achieve any concrete results. However, the researchers have studied about 166 individuals thanks to the telemetry receivers; 100% of the baby monkeys in the sample were the descendants of a certain male-father (Fernandez-Duque, & Finkel, 2014, p. 17). The researchers pointed to a number of reasons, including genetic and social background, which provoked loyalty among mammals.

In my own view, genetic predisposition is a major cause of monogamous behavior; it has a stronger effect than the social conditions on such relationship. The provision of food is one of the social causes, which is explained by the fact that the male cannot feed several females. Moreover, the male does not possess enough time and power to fertilize more than one partner. Geographically, the places with food are situated on a sufficiently large distance from each other; such location causes some difficulties during search. That's why, males spend a lot of time on the process of food provision. These assumptions are based on a study of 425 fruit trees that monkeys have been using for their diet over a three-year period of data collection (Fernandez-Duque, & Finkel, 2014, p. 18).

Another social reason for monogamous relationship is the fact that female monkeys and baby monkeys are vulnerable to constant attacks from the other pairs of monkeys, and, therefore, they require protection. That's why, the male cannot leave them alone for a long time. In addition to that, the scent of females attracts the other male monkeys. Moreover, jealousy certainly plays a vast role in the development of monogamous relationships in this context because the male does not permit other ones to come too close to his female.

Despite the obvious social basis, the major part of the behavior cannot be explained without reference to the genetic ground of the monogamy. First of all, the pair doesn't have any certain separation of responsibilities in the parenting process, that is usually observed in behavior of other primates. The females of Azara's owl monkeys feed their children and spend a few hours playing with them It is paradoxical that males are involved to a higher extent in the upbringing of the progeny than a female partner. Males spend most of their time with their children; this is a vivid example of paternal care. It is possible to explain this phenomenon only by the innate genetic predisposition to the monogamy, which is characterized by the presence of similar parental care.

Therefore, the article proved to be quite effective for a number of reasons. First of all, the paper reveals the social and genetic background of the primate monogamy in a unique study that can become a driving force in further development of this research field. Secondly, the article provides the analytical data that can be used for further analysis and a more in-depth research. Third, the paper demonstrates similarity among all the mammals, that affects not only the monitoring of the owl monkey but other mammals as well.

Thus, the studies proved that Azara's owl monkey’s monogamy is caused not only by social instincts. The roots of monogamous relationship lie in the genetic code. Therefore, such research findings allow to draw a parallel between monkeys monogamy and human development, that was mentioned by researchers at the beginning of the article (Fernandez-Duque, & Finkel, 2014, p. 16). A similar study of primates can become a starting point in the research of complex human relations and, their monogamous basis, accordingly.