title: Evidence for tactical concealment in a wild primate.
abstract: Theory predicts that cheating individuals should alter their behaviour to avoid detection, yet empirical data for such 'deceptive' behaviour (and its putative consequence-punishment) is almost entirely absent from the literature. This dearth of evidence, particularly among primates, limits our understanding of the evolution of deception and punishment. Here, we quantify deception and punishment in a reproductive context in wild geladas (Theropithecus gelada). Individuals involved in extra-pair copulations (9% of observed copulations) exhibited behaviour consistent with tactical deception: they were less likely to vocalize and more likely to copulate when the cuckolded male was a sizable distance away (>20 m). Further, many extra-pair copulations (∼20%) elicited post-copulatory aggression-likely, punishment-from cuckolded males. This rare empirical evidence of both tactical concealment and retaliatory aggression offers a potential model system for examining the co-occurrence of deception and punishment in natural settings.
authors: Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State Qwaqwa, Phuthaditjhaba 9866, South Africa.
authors: Aliza
authors: A
authors: le Roux
authors: Noah
authors: N
authors: Snyder-Mackler
authors: Eila K
authors: EK
authors: Roberts
authors: Jacinta C
authors: JC
authors: Beehner
authors: Thore J
authors: TJ
authors: Bergman
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D003307:Copulation / Q000502:physiology; D008192:Deception; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D012919:Social Behavior; D016671:Theropithecus / Q000502:physiology*; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology
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