"But at the end of the breeding season, 506 copulations later,
I found myself questioning the current party line about female choice.
Yes, these females were making choices, but they seemed to choose every
male in the group, one after another... " p. 84
"In one study, the possibility of pure choice by females without
male interference was tested in the laboratory. Pigtail macaque females
were trained to hit a switch when they wanted to release a male into
their presence (Eaton 1973). Females released males most of the time,
but seemingly for purely sexual reasons: the females copulated throughout
their cycles with any male they set free. They were also rather easy
with their favors - most females released three of the seven possible
males they were paired with." p. 105
"In seasonally breeding groups, there may not be enough males
to go around, and it's possible that females mating at a high rate will
deplete the sperm supplies for other females (Small 1988). Two studies
have given preliminary evidence that this is true. A comparison across
eighteen field studies of baboons shows that when the ratio of males
to females decreases, the birth rate declines (Dunbar and Sharman 1983).
Similarly, in a captive group of bonnet macaques, female fertility was
lowest in the years when the ratio of females to males was the highest
(Silk 1988)." p. 106
"Primatologists have empowered primate females by acknowledging
their sexual assertiveness, but we often stop short in accepting the
fact that sexual assertiveness may result in less than choosy behavior."
p. 182
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