Mate Guarding in a Caribbean Village

Behavioral observation, economic, and genealogical data collected in a rural Trinidadian village indicate: (1) males courting the same females have higher rates of agonistic interactions (e.g., arguing, fighting) with each other than they do with other mates; (2) females courting the same males do not have higher rates of agonistic interactions with each other than they do with other females; (3) exclusive (monogamous) mating relationships have lower rates of agonistic interactions than nonexclusive (polygamous) mating relationships; (4) coresident mates interact more frequently when the female is fecund; (5) coresident mates have higher rates of agonistic interactions when the female is fecund; (6) males with fecund mates have higher rates of agonistic interactions with other unrelated males than do males with infecund mates; (7) fecund females do not have higher rates of agonistic interactions with other females than do infecund females; and (8) females do not guard prosperous males (those from households with 6 or more acres of land) more intensely than poorer males. These res.ults suggest that mate guarding is an important aspect of reproductive competition, and that there are significant male/female differences in mate ‘guarding strategies in this human population.