Qhen we talk about love and relationships, the terms are often used fidelity And monogamy as if they were synonymous. And instead, according to science, they are not. This is confirmed by a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, led by the evolutionary anthropologist Mark Dyble from the University of Cambridge. The study compared genetic data from 103 human families with that of 34 mammal species. The goal? Measure how “monogamous” each species really is from a genetic point of view and establish the place of humans in this ranking.
Monogamy: the genetic and reproductive bond
There monogamy refers to a structure genetic and reproductive. In biological terms, it means that individuals reproduce with an exclusive partner, creating a stable genetic relationship between parents and their offspring. The authors define monogamous animals that maintain a single mate for at least one mating season, also taking each other care of offspring. While polygamous animals maintain multiple relationships at the same time, leaving only the female with the burden of caring for the offspring.
Social monogamy vs genetic monogamy
The most interesting data that emerged from the study is that Social and genetic monogamy do not always coincide. There social monogamy (basically that what the company means by loyalty) refers to everyday life: couples who share home, affection and responsibilities. There genetic monogamyinstead, is based on biologically shared children. In practice, a couple may seem perfectly faithful in everyday life, but have children from different partners.
Humans in the “league” of monogamy
According to the study, humans rank at the seventh place among the most monogamous species from a genetic point of view: approximately 66% of siblings share both parents. Better than many species considered faithful, such as meerkatsbut behind the true champions of genetic monogamy, as the beavers hey California deer mice. This means that, while showing cooperation and mutual care in daily life, Humans are not among the most genetically faithful species.
Loyalty is not a genetic issue
Scholars point out that for humans the social monogamy it is more relevant than genetics. Raising children requires collaboration, resources and commitment from both parents, also because having two people involved increases the children’s chances of survival and success. In this sense, the daily, emotional and practical loyalty it often has a higher value than pure genetic monogamy. The real lesson for human relationships? More than DNA matters care, cooperation and daily affection.
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