Infant handling in bonobos (Pan paniscus): Exploring functional hypotheses and the relationship to oxytocin

Publication date: 1 September 2018Source: Physiology & Behavior, Volume 193, Part AAuthor(s): Klaree Boose, Frances White, Colin Brand, Audra Meinelt, Josh SnodgrassAbstractInfant handling describes interactions between infants and non-maternal group members and is widespread across mammalian taxa. The expression of infant handling behaviors, defined as any affiliative or agonistic interaction between a group member and an infant, varies considerably among primate species. Several functional hypotheses may explain the adaptive value of infant handling including the Kin Selection hypothesis, which describes handling as a mechanism through which indirect fitness is increased and predicts a bias in handling behaviors directed toward related (genetic) infants; the Alliance Formation hypothesis, which describes handling as a social commodity and predicts females with infants will support handlers during conflict; and the Learning-to-Mother hypothesis, which describes handling as a mechanism through which handlers learn species-specific maternal behaviors and predicts that handling will occur most frequently in immature and nulliparous females. Using behavioral observation and data on urinary oxytocin, a neuropeptide hormone known to modulate maternal care and social bonds in mammals, the purpose of this study was to describe the pattern of infant handling in bonobos (Pan paniscus) and to explore proposed functional hypotheses. Data show that related infant-handler dyads occurred s...
Source: Physiology and Behavior - Category: Physiology Source Type: research