I just want to clarify that as I stated in my previous blogpost I don't believe in using biology to either decry or condone individual human behavior and of course human sexuality is way more complicated than that of a damselfish. I do think it's interesting to explore the factors that lead to different types of mating systems and bi-parental care is one factor that can lead to monogamy. Of course though parental care in humans is time-consuming and costly, as many amazing single parents have demonstrated, humans are not obligately bi-parental. In the case of the Acanthochromis if one mate is removed the remaining mate will abandon the brood to their fate and find a new partner. The idea that the high cost of parental care may push humans towards a monogamous mating system can give us a glimmer of an idea of why our social systems have evolved the way they have but is not a value judgment on how people choose to live their lives.
From the evidence (e.g. sexual dimorphism, soap operas, Charlie Sheen) humans are not as far towards the monogamous side of the continuum as we might like to think we are. I think cultural evolution better explains why we value monogamy, but don't always practice it, as a species. In fact, I think our cognitive abilities have allowed for the evolution of one of the widest ranges of sexual strategies of any species on earth...
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