From reproductive control to social empowerment: Lessons from female spotted hyenas : Eve Davidian
Conflicts over the modality of reproduction strongly shape the relationship between males and females. Yet their implications outside the reproductive context remains poorly understood. Building on a recent theoretical framework for intersexual power dynamics in mammals, I will illustrate the link between asymmetries in reproductive control and social inequalities between the sexes. I will specifically showcase long-term empirical work on spotted hyenas to illustrate how the unusually high degree of female reproductive control and ability to exercise mate choice has far-reaching implications for male life histories, group composition, and the emergence and dynamics of female social dominance over males in this species.
Recorded talk available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Acysn9nj8
