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Capuchins: Inbreeding Avoidance

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Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior

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Synonyms

Capuchin monkey mate choice; Capuchin monkey social organization; Incest avoidance

Definition

Capuchin monkey social organization and demographic patterns pose a risk of close inbreeding. However, capuchins avoid inbreeding via cue-based behavioral aversions.

Inbreeding Avoidance in Capuchin Monkeys

Background: Inbreeding Avoidance in Primates

Matings between close kin are much more likely than matings between non-kin to produce offspring that are homozygous for rare recessive alleles that are deleterious, or even lethal, in homozygotes. Therefore, it is expected that animal species that are not specifically adapted to high levels of close inbreeding will have evolved mechanisms for avoiding it. In general, female mammals are expected to be more averse to close inbreeding than males because of the greater costs to mothers than to fathers of investing in a less viable offspring (Clutton-Brock & Harvey, 1976). In nonhuman primates, sex-biased dispersal (i.e., almost all the...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Joseph H. Manson

Authors
  1. Joseph H. Manson
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Correspondence to Joseph H. Manson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, ROCHESTER, MN, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Gavin Vance

  3. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester Hills, MI, USA

    Madeleine K. Meehan

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Manson, J.H. (2023). Capuchins: Inbreeding Avoidance. In: Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_592-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_592-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-08956-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-08956-5

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