Data from: Sexual selection on male vocal fundamental frequency in humans and other anthropoids

AbstractIn many primates, including humans, the vocalizations of males and females differ dramatically, with male vocalizations and vocal anatomy often seeming to exaggerate apparent body size. These traits may be favoured by sexual selection because low-frequency male vocalizations intimidate rivals and/or attract females, but this hypothesis has not been systematically tested across primates, nor is it clear why competitors and potential mates should attend to vocalization frequencies. Here we show across anthropoids that sexual dimorphism in fundamental frequency (F0) increased during evolutionary transitions towards polygyny, and decreased during transitions towards monogamy. Surprisingly, humans exhibit greater F0 sexual dimorphism than any other ape. We also show that low-F0 vocalizations predict perceptions of men’s dominance and attractiveness, and predict hormone profiles (low cortisol and high testosterone) related to immune function. These results suggest that low male F0 signals condition to competitors and mates, and evolved in male anthropoids in response to the intensity of mating competition.
Usage notesStudy 1 DataPrimate species represented in Study 1, including the following data per sex for each: number of individuals and recordings, vocal fundamental frequency, body mass, habitat, and mating system, as well as sexual dimorphism (male/female) in vocal fundamental frequencyStudy 2 DataParticipants represented in Study 2, including the following data for each: age, sex, ethnicity, ratings of attractiveness and dominance from voice recordings, duration of recordings, and acoustic parametersStudy 3 DataParticipants represented in Study 3, including the following data for each: sample, age, sex, saliva collection time, testosterone, cortisol, and vocal fundamental frequency