Meat transfers follow social ties in the multi-level society of Guinea baboons but are not related to male reproductive success

Abstract

In human foraging societies, hunting skill is often interpreted as a signal of male quality linked to his reproductive success through his ability to provision his family and community. Similarly, in some bird and insect species, males offer their mates food to indicate their quality as a provider. Among non-human primates, however, the relationship between meat sharing and reproductive success is underexplored, leaving the evolutionary origins of this phenomenon unresolved. Guinea baboons (Papio papio) are a promising model to investigate whether meat sharing signals male quality, since females choose their mates, have been shown to rely on males to catch and share prey, and are responsive to male foraging skill. We combined records of 109 meat-eating events with nine years of behavioural data to test whether males who more frequently acquired and shared meat with females had more females in their social units for longer. Contrary to our predictions, we found no evidence that females preferred males who acquired or shared meat more frequently, suggesting that meat acquisition does not function as a signal of male quality in Guinea baboons. One explanation may be the relatively low frequency of meat-eating events. Another is that females are less dependent on males for meat than previously reported. Our results revealed that nearly half (41%) of female meat intake originated from sources other than her unit male, including the first documented cases of female prey capture (11% of events). Thus, females likely apply other, more pertinent, criteria in mate choice.