Data from: Female mate choice in wild Kenyan blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis)

Female mate choice may drive sexual selection, but discerning whether female behaviors reflect the free expression of choice or responses to constraints can be difficult. We investigated the efficacy of female choice in wild blue monkeys using 10 years of behavioral and paternity data (2002-2011) encompassing 178 male-female dyads and 63 infants. Although blue monkeys live modally in one-male polygynous groups, where male-biased intersexual power is expected, females can access multiple potential mates during seasonal male influxes and occasional intergroup encounters. Additionally, extra-group males sire offspring. We examined the unsolicited proceptive behavior that females directed to males (corrected for male availability) to determine (1) if blue monkey females express mate choice by preferentially soliciting sexual interactions with certain males, (2) which males females prefer, and (3) if observed female mate preferences are successful in influencing paternity and infant survival. The two datasets included here allowed us to answer these questions. The first dataset provides information on the degree of preference a female in her conceptive period exhibited for each male that was present, the status of each male (resident or non-resident), and whether the female's most preferred male sired her offspring. The second dataset provides information on whether a female's parity, rank, or familiarity with her resident male influenced the likelihood of siring her offspring with her most preferred male (or with the resident male) and whether an infant was more likely to survive if sired by the male its mother most preferred.雌性配偶选择或许是性选择的核心驱动力之一，但辨别雌性行为究竟是自由选择的真实表达，还是受约束后的被动反应，却颇具挑战。本研究依托2002至2011年间累计10年的行为学与父权数据，涵盖178对雌雄配对及63只幼崽，探究野生青猴的雌性配偶选择有效性。尽管青猴典型栖息于单雄多雌群体中，此类群体本应呈现雄性主导的两性权力结构，但雌性可在季节性雄性迁入以及偶发的群间相遇期间，接触到多位潜在配偶。此外，群外雄性亦可成功繁育后代。本研究针对雌性对雄性展现的主动求爱行为（已校正雄性可获得性偏差）展开分析，旨在解答三个核心问题：(1) 青猴雌性是否会通过优先向特定雄性发起性互动来体现配偶选择；(2) 雌性更偏好哪些雄性；(3) 观测到的雌性配偶偏好是否能有效影响父权结果与幼崽存活率。本次提供的两套数据集恰好可支撑上述问题的解答。第一套数据集包含以下信息：处于受孕期的雌性对每一位在场雄性的偏好程度、每只雄性的身份（定居雄性或非定居雄性），以及雌性最偏好的雄性是否为其幼崽的生父。第二套数据集则涵盖以下内容：雌性的产次、社会等级，以及对定居雄性的熟悉程度，是否会影响幼崽由其最偏好的雄性（或定居雄性）生育的概率；以及幼崽若由母亲最偏好的雄性生育，其存活率是否更高。