2009 Vol 99.pdf (2.45mb) - Primate Society of Great Britain

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38 monkey. Her chapter is followed by Yukiko Shimooka and others describing the current knowledge on demography and group composition. The final section deals with spider monkeys and their interactions with humans. The spider monkey conservation chapter concludes that if existing protected areas are managed and enforced, spider monkeys could continue to exist, albeit with the loss of a few subspecies. However, this may be a bit optimistic in my experience of working in and around protected areas in Central America. I was pleased to see a chapter on spider monkey ethnoprimatology by Laura Cormier and Bernardo Urbani, who clearly demonstrate the importance of spider monkeys to indigenous peoples as both a food and cultural resource. These authors clearly establish that the species is hunted throughout its range and a chapter might have been included with data collated from the various studies carried out on hunting in the Neotropics. This information might then be used to assess the sustainability of spider monkeys into the future if hunting continues at the current rate. It’s a great pity this book is so expensive because it is a very useful resource for those of us interested in spider monkeys. However, it does reveal large gaps in our current knowledge. Hopefully this will inspire more people to study spider monkeys particularly in the many areas where no research presently occurs. SIÂN S. WATERS Durham University SEXUAL SELECTION AND THE ORIGINS OF HUMAN MATING Alan F. Dixson (2009). Oxford University Press ISBN: 9780199559428 (Hardback) £70.00 Evolutionary psychology has resulted in an explosion of research that, while providing some fascinating insights into human mating behaviour, has been heavily criticized for adhering to a number of unfounded assumptions. Alan Dixson’s Sexual Selection and the Origins of Human Mating Systems, scheduled to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth, provides an invaluable analysis of cross-species research in order to place human sexuality in the context of a wealth of empirical evidence relating to our evolutionary history. He begins, for example, with a discussion of diverse approaches to the analysis of human mating systems (including advances in the fossil record, genetics and our understanding of postcopulatory sexual selection and primate social lives), each of which is employed to address arguments surrounding issues such as sperm competition, cryptic female choice, copulatory patterns, oestrus and sexual
39 dimorphisms in primates. The framework for evaluation is the basic classification of primate mating systems (monogamy, polygyny, polyandry, multi-male/multi-female and dispersed), and diverse topics are drawn together to develop a model of the evolution of human mating behaviour that best fits the cross-species data. The book falls broadly into two halves, with the first addressing the issue of post-copulatory selection in humans. An excellent review of the history of research into testes-to-body-weight ratio (which has, on occasion, been cited as support for an evolutionary history of polygyny - or selection via sperm competition - in humans) leads to the conclusion that human data are consistent with that of polygynous and monogamous primate species, with little support for post-copulatory selection pressures. The critique continues with comparative analyses of male reproductive biology and physiology, sperm morphology, ejaculate concentration and female orgasm to further allay claims that there is evidence for sperm competition or that the function of female orgasm is to exert selection for the sperm of favoured males. The second half addresses a variety of additional issues, dispelling further myths surrounding human behaviour. Analysis of occurrence of face-to-face copulation across primate species, for example, leads to the conclusion that it is unlikely to have evolved in humans to promote female orgasm and that this, along with prolonged intromissions, are likely to have a occurred as the result of alternative pressures such as reduced risk of predation. Likewise, the author argues that humans are not an anomalous species that have “lost” oestrus, rather that the evidence is more consistent with a general pattern of cross-cycle receptivity across primate species. Sexual dimorphisms are compared, incorporating those often discussed in the human literature (e.g., body size and composition, hair distribution and facial structure) as well as some that are less well understood (e.g., age at puberty). This comprehensive review of a substantial volume of evidence relating to a diverse series of topics culminates in the conclusion that human data are most consistent with evolution under a polygynous to monogamous mating system with little post-copulatory selection. This has implications for a number of the assumptions that have sometimes been inherent in evolutionary psychology research. The quantity and variety of empirical data discussed, sourced from a wide range of disciplines, make this book an ideal resource for anyone interested in evolutionary psychology, human sexuality or primate mating systems. The graphical representations of comparative data help to dispel some of the myths regarding human mating systems that have developed in the last decades. While the negative evaluation of evolutionary psychology (especially in the conclusion) may be perceived by many as unfounded (and could perhaps have been countered by a selection of work the author considers to be “good science”), this is the most thorough discussion of
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Page 3 and 4: 1 EDITORIAL I have a confession to
Page 5 and 6: 3 REPORT: PSGB SPRING MEETING 2009
Page 7 and 8: 5 The meeting also included a new v
Page 9 and 10: 7 Tessa Smith Department of Biologi
Page 11 and 12: 9 2 nd December 2009 08:30 Registra
Page 13 and 14: 11 not in monkeys reared by their m
Page 15 and 16: 13 THE EFFECT OF WEANING STRESS ON
Page 17 and 18: 15 animal dimensions. We also show
Page 19 and 20: 17 STRESS AND ATTENTIONAL BIAS IN R
Page 21 and 22: 19 density. Finally, while red colo
Page 23 and 24: 21 than in Ethiopia. Females exhibi
Page 25 and 26: 23 controlling for a series of fact
Page 27 and 28: 25 other activities, as expected if
Page 29 and 30: 27 LINEAR ENAMEL HYPOPLASIAS IN BAB
Page 31 and 32: 29 collection will (i) allow for th
Page 33 and 34: 31 SOFTLY, SOFTLY, CATCHY MONKEYS Y
Page 35 and 36: 33 REGISTRATION FORM FOR THE WINTER
Page 37 and 38: 35 Primate Society of Great Britain
Page 39: 37 BOOK REVIEWS SPIDER MONKEYS: BEH
Page 43 and 44: 41 BOOKS OF INTEREST BLOOD WOOD Pen
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2009 Vol 99.pdf (2.45mb) - Primate Society of Great Britain

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