Data from: Female sociality and sexual conflict shape offspring survival in a Neotropical primate

Most mammals live in social groups in which members form differentiated
social relationships. Individuals may vary in their degree of sociality,
and this variation can be associated with differential fitness. In some
species, for example, female sociality has a positive effect on infant
survival. However, investigations of such cases are still rare, and no
previous study has considered how male infanticide might constrain effects
of female sociality on infant survival. Infanticide is part of the male
reproductive strategy in many mammals, and it has the potential to
override, or even reverse, effects of female reproductive strategies,
including sociality. Therefore, we investigated the relationships between
female sociality, offspring survival, and infanticide risk in wild
white-faced capuchin monkeys using long-term data from Santa Rosa, Costa
Rica. Female capuchins formed differentiated bonds, and bond strength was
predicted by kin relationship, rank difference, and the presence of female
infants. Most females formed stable bonds with their top social partners,
although bond stability varied considerably. Offspring of highly social
females, who were often high-ranking females, exhibited higher
survivorship during stable periods compared with offspring of less social
females. However, offspring of highly social females were more likely to
die or disappear during periods of alpha male replacements, probably
because new alpha males are central to the group, and therefore more
likely to target the infants of highly social, central females. This study
shows that female sociality in mammals can have negative fitness
consequences that are imposed by male behavior.