Monogamy has a fixation advantage based on fitness variance in an ideal promiscuity group.
We consider an ideal promiscuity group of females, which implies that all males have the same average mating success. If females have concealed ovulation, then the males' paternity chances are equal. We find that male-based monogamy will be fixed in females' promiscuity group when the stochastic Darwinian selection is described by a Markov chain.We point out that in huge populations the relative advantage (difference between average fitness of different strategies) determines primarily the end of evolution; in the case of neutrality (means are equal) the smallest variance guarantees fixation (absorption) advantage; when the means and variances are the same, then the higher third moment determines which types will be fixed in the Markov chains.
Research Group of Biology and Ecology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology, Budapest, Hungary. garayj@ludens.elte.hu
József
J
Garay
Tamás F
TF
Móri
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008390:Markov Chains; D008954:Models, Biological; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal