MONOGAMY MAY HAVE EVOLVED TO PREVENT INFANTACIDE by ANDREW WINNINGS

SCIENCE MAG ORG - MONOGAMY MAY HAVE EVOLVED   Link to the Andrew Winnings' article From Science.org here ! "But why did social monogamy arise at all among mammals, including primates, given the many reproductive advantages to males having access to as many females as possible? Scientists have proposed three major hypotheses: Monogamy provides more effective parental care for infants, as in birds; it prevents females from mating with rival males, especially in species where females are widely spaced and cannot all be easily monopolized by one male; or it protects against the risk of infanticide, which is very high among some primate species, including chimpanzees and gorillas, and is often explained by the desire of a rival male to quickly return a mother to a fertile state so that he can sire his own offspring. Some researchers think that a combination of all three factors, and perhaps still others, provide the best explanation for monogamy."