Female fertility and infant survivorship increase following lethal intergroup aggression and territorial expansion in wild chimpanzees.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41248284.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.2524502122 and PMC identifier 12664014.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Lethal coalitionary intergroup aggression is a conspicuous aspect of wild chimpanzee behavior. Evidence indicates that such violence can lead to territorial expansion, but whether this results in fitness benefits is unknown. Here, we show that female fertility and infant survivorship increased after males in the Ngogo chimpanzee community killed members of neighboring groups and expanded their territory. These findings demonstrate the fitness benefits of intergroup killing in one of our two closest living relatives and contribute to the debate regarding its adaptive significance.
Medical subject headings
- Pan troglodytes
- Fertility
- Aggression
- Territoriality