What term describes a durable and exclusive relationship between a male and a female?

The term that describes a durable and exclusive relationship between a male and a female is “pair bond.” This concept is significant in the study of animal behavior, particularly in understanding the ways some species ensure reproductive success and raise offspring together. Pair bonds are often characterized by long-term associations that can involve shared nesting, mutual feeding, and cooperative caring for young, enhancing the survival rates of their offspring by providing stable environments and resources.

In contrast, social hierarchy refers to the organization within a social group where individuals are ranked relative to others, which is not specifically tied to a male-female relationship. Mating systems describe the broader strategies that populations use to reproduce, including monogamy, polygamy, and polyandry, but do not necessarily focus on individual exclusive pair relationships. A breeding pair typically indicates a male and female that are involved in producing offspring, but doesn't capture the long-term, affectionate bond implied by the term "pair bond."