In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species between the male and female in a breeding pair. Pair-bonding, from 1940, is a term frequently used in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology circles and is typically meant to imply either a life-long monogamous relationship or a stage of mating interaction in socially monogamous species. It is sometimes used in reference to human relationships. Biology is the branch of science dealing with the study of life. ... In biology, a species is the basic unit of biodiversity. ... Male symbol Male is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces sperm. ... Female symbol Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces egg cells. ... Sociobiology is a synthesis of scientific disciplines that attempts to explain behaviour in all species by considering the evolutionary advantages of social behaviours. ... Evolutionary psychology (abbreviated ev-psych or EP) proposes that animal psychology can be better understood in light of evolution. ...

Varieties

• Short-term pair-bond: a transient mating or associations
• Long-term pair-bond: bonded for a significant portion of the life cycle of that pair
• Life-long pair-bond: mated for the life of that pair
• Social pair-bond: attachments for territorial or social reasons, as in cuckolding situations
• Clandestine pair-bond: quick extra-pair copulations, as for genetic acquisition

Examples

In Lipton and Barah’s 2001 The Myth of Monogamy – Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People, when discussing the social life of the bank swallow, they state:

"For about four days immediately prior to egg-laying, when copulations lead to fertilizations, the male bank swallow is very busy, attentively guarding his female. Before this time, as well as after—that is, when her eggs are not ripe, and again after his genes are safely tucked away inside the shells—he goes seeking extra-pair copulations with the mates of other males…who, of course, are busy with defensive mate-guarding of their own. It is unlikely that these chases are “sexual displays”, intending to enhance the pair-bond, as earlier literature in animal behavior has suggested. This is because:

1. males always chase females
2. males typically fight with other as an immediate result of such chases
3. when their own female is no longer fertile, mate males typically join in chases of other females

Thus, such males could not be solidifying an additional pair-bond, if only because no such “double-bonded” males have ever been found."

References

• Baraqsh, D. & Lipton, J. (2001). The Myth of Monogamy – Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN: 0805071369

The International Standard Book Number, or ISBN (sometimes pronounced is-ben), is a unique identifier for books, intended to be used commercially. ...

See also

• Human bonding
• Monogamy

The term human bond, or more generally human bonding, refers to the process or formation of a close personal relationship, as between a mother and child, especially through frequent or constant association. ... In monogamy (Greek: monos = single/only and gamos = marriage) a person has only one spouse at a time (as opposed to polygamy). ...

External links

• The neurobiology of pair bonding, from Nature