A new study suggests that human pair-bonding behaviors share surprising similarities with meerkats, offering insights into the evolution of monogamy across different species.
According to a “league table” of monogamy compiled by scientists, humans, in their romantic relationships, exhibit traits more akin to these social mongooses than to our primate relatives.
With a 66% monogamy rate, humans rank surprisingly high, surpassing chimpanzees and gorillas, and aligning with meerkats in their propensity for pair-bonding.
However, the Californian mouse claims the top spot as the most monogamous creature, forming enduring, lifelong bonds.
“There is a premier league of monogamy, in which humans sit comfortably, while the vast majority of other mammals take a far more promiscuous approach to mating,” stated Dr. Mark Dyble from the University of Cambridge.
Pair-bonding offers distinct advantages in the animal kingdom, potentially explaining its independent evolution in various species, including humans. Experts have proposed several benefits to social monogamy, such as cooperative offspring care and defense against rivals.
Dr. Dyble analyzed human populations across history, comparing the proportions of full siblings (sharing both parents) to half-siblings (sharing only one parent). Similar data was collected for over 30 social monogamous and other mammal species.
Humans exhibit a 66% monogamy rating based on full sibling frequency, exceeding meerkats (60%) but trailing beavers (73%).
Our evolutionary cousins, including mountain gorillas (6%) and chimpanzees (4%, alongside dolphins), occupy the lower tiers of the monogamy ranking.
Soay sheep from Scotland occupy the last position, demonstrating minimal full sibling relationships (0.6%) due to females mating with multiple males. The Californian mouse achieved a perfect score of 100%.
However, the study emphasizes that human societies are distinct from those of meerkats and beavers, despite similar monogamy ratings.
“Although the rates of full siblings we see in humans are most similar to species like meerkats or beavers, the social system that we see in humans is very different,” Dr. Dyble told BBC News.
“Most of these species live in colony-like social groups or perhaps live in solitary pairs that go around together. Humans are very different from that. We live in what we call multi-male, multi-female groups, within which we have these monogamous, or pair-bonded, units.”
Dr. Kit Opie from the University of Bristol, unaffiliated with the study, notes that this research contributes to understanding the origins of human monogamy.
“I think this paper gives us a very clear understanding that across time and across space humans are monogamous,” he said.
“Our society is much closer to chimps and bonobos – it just happens that we’ve taken a different route when it comes to mating.”
The findings are published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences.
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