Aggression towards neonates and possible infanticide in the boto, or Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis)

TY - JOUR

T1 - Aggression towards neonates and possible infanticide in the boto, or Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis)

AU - da Silva, V. M. F.

AU - Silva, P. M.

AU - Schlichta, F.

AU - do Carmo, N. A. S.

AU - Olson, G. L.

AU - Hintermayer, B. G.

AU - Araujo, M. C.

AU - Martin, A. R.

N1 - Funding Information: This study was part of Projeto Boto, a cooperative agreement between the National Amazon Research Institute-INPA/MCTIC and the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute–MSDI-OS/MCTIC. The authors would like to thank Estefani S. Fujita for some of the necropsies, and to Admisson M. Carvalho and many interns of Projeto Boto for data collection. We thank Maria Nazareth F da Silva and Jeff Podos for improvements to the manuscript. Projeto Boto has received sponsorship from the INPA/MCTIC, AMPA/Petrobras Socioambiental Program, the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, the National Geographic Society, the Darwin Initiative of the UK Government, and the Mamirauá Institute. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2021

PY - 2021/9

Y1 - 2021/9

N2 - Recent observed attacks by male Amazon river dolphins on conspecific calves, together with postmortem examinations, indicate that infanticide occurs in this species but that not all attacked calves are killed. If mortality occurs, it might therefore be an inadvertent consequence of the behaviour rather than the motive for it. Our observations suggest that males who commit infanticide are unlikely to gain direct fitness benefits. Evidence does not fit the sexual selection hypothesis. Aggression towards calves usually ‘drew a crowd’ and may represent socio-sexual display or simply be a form of social pathology, as found in other infanticidal mammals.

AB - Recent observed attacks by male Amazon river dolphins on conspecific calves, together with postmortem examinations, indicate that infanticide occurs in this species but that not all attacked calves are killed. If mortality occurs, it might therefore be an inadvertent consequence of the behaviour rather than the motive for it. Our observations suggest that males who commit infanticide are unlikely to gain direct fitness benefits. Evidence does not fit the sexual selection hypothesis. Aggression towards calves usually ‘drew a crowd’ and may represent socio-sexual display or simply be a form of social pathology, as found in other infanticidal mammals.

KW - Aggression

KW - Amazon river dolphin

KW - Infanticide

KW - Neonates

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85110458982

U2 - 10.1163/1568539X-bja10103

DO - 10.1163/1568539X-bja10103

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85110458982

SN - 0005-7959

VL - 158

SP - 971

EP - 984

JO - Behaviour

JF - Behaviour

IS - 11

ER -