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1.
Sex ratios,mating behavior and sexual size dimorphism of the northern water snake,Nerodia sipedon 总被引:4,自引:0,他引:4
Patrick J. Weatherhead Frances E. Barry Gregory P. Brown Mark R. L. Forbes 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1995,36(5):301-311
Competition among males to mate is generally associated with male-biased size dimorphism. In this study we examine mating behavior in the northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon), a species in which males are much smaller than females despite substantial competition among males to mate. Competition among males was a consequence of a male-biased operational sex ratio due to slightly higher female mortality from a birth sex ratio of 1 : 1, and, in 1 year, more synchronous and longer mating activity by males. Approximately one-third of both males and females appeared not to mate in a given year. Larger males were generally more likely to attempt mating, but size did not explain the variance in the number of aggregations in which individual males participated. Within aggregations, males that were successful at achieving intromission were larger than unsuccessful males in 1 of 2 years. Variation in condition (mass relative to length) and relative tail length were not generally useful predictors of either mating effort or success in males. Because large size was often advantageous to males, sexual size dimorphism appeared not to be a consequence of sexual selection favoring smaller males. Because sexual dimorphism was evident at birth, and both males and females matured sexually at about 4 years, sexual dimorphism was not simply a consequence of one sex growing at the maximum rate for longer. Female fecundity increased with size, and sex differences in size-fecundity relations may underly the pattern of sexual size dimorphism. However, because multiple mating by females is common, sperm competition is likely to be important in determining male reproductive success. Therefore, allocation of energy to sperm rather than growth may also prove to be an important influence on male growth rates and sexual size dimorphism. 相似文献
2.
The evolution of empty nuptial gifts in a dance fly, Empis snoddyi (Diptera: Empididae): bigger isn't always better 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
Jennifer A. Sadowski Allen J. Moore Edmund D. Brodie III 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1999,45(3-4):161-166
Adaptive female choice is thought to have led to the evolution of nutritionally valuable nuptial gifts in many insect species.
However, in several dance fly species, males offer and females accept “empty gifts” with no nutritional value. In the species
studied here, Empis snoddyi Steyskal, males produce empty balloons comprised of hundreds of silk bubbles and form mating swarms that females approach
to investigate males. Males within the swarm engage in agonistic interactions. The empty balloon has been hypothesized to
be an indicator of male condition such that males with larger balloons are predicted to have higher mating success and be
more successful in male-male interactions than males with smaller balloons. We examined the role of male body size and balloon
size in the context of intersexual and intrasexual selection. We found that neither male body size nor balloon size affected
the outcome of pairwise male-male interactions. Using multiple-regression techniques, we found significant linear selection
for increasing male body size and decreasing balloon size associated with mating success, a surprising result given a positive
relationship between male body size and balloon size. A visualization of selection showed the highest peak of male mating
success for larger males with intermediate-size balloons. These results can be explained by a trade-off between long-range
attraction of females using large balloons and close-range attraction of females via improved flying efficiency associated
with smaller balloons. Both male body size and balloon size are important components in determining male mating success; however,
the empty balloon does not appear to play a typical role as a sexually selected ornament.
Received: 29 December 1997 / Accepted after revision: 7 October 1998 相似文献
3.
The aim of this study was to investigate reproductive strategies and their consequences in gray mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus), small solitary nocturnal primates endemic to Madagascar. Previous reports of sexual dimorphism in favor of males and females,
respectively, a high potential for sperm competition and pheromonal suppression of mating activity among captive males, led
us to investigate mechanisms of intrasexual competition in a wild population. Based on 3 years of mark-recapture data, we
demonstrate that sexual dimorphism in this species fluctuated annually as a result of independent changes in male and female
body mass. Male body mass increased significantly prior to the short annual mating season. Because their testes increased
by 100% in the same period and because their canines are not larger than those of females, we suggest that large male size
may be advantageous in searching for estrous females and in enabling them to sustain periods of short-term torpor. In contrast
to reports from captive colonies, we found no evidence for two morphologically distinct classes of males. Finally, we also
show that most adult males are active throughout the cool dry season that precedes the mating season, whereas most adult females
hibernate for several months. This is in contrast to other solitary hibernating mammals, where males typically emerge 1–2
weeks before females. Thus, this first extended field study of M.␣murinus clarified previous conflicting reports on sexual dimorphism and male reproductive strategies in this primitive primate by
showing that their apparent deviation from predictions of sexual selection theory is brought about by specific environmental
conditions which result in sex-specific life history tactics not previously described for mammals. A general conclusion is
that sexual selection can operate more strongly on males without resulting in sexual dimorphism because of independent selection
on the same traits in females.
Received: 6 July 1997 / Accepted after revision: 28 March 1998 相似文献
4.
Parental investment, potential reproductive rates, and mating system in the strawberry dart-poison frog, Dendrobates pumilio 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
We studied the effect of relative parental investment on potential reproductive rates (PRRs) to explain sex differences in
selectivity and competition in the dart-poison frog Dendrobates pumilio. We recorded the reproductive behavior of this species in a Costa Rican lowland rainforest for almost 6 months. Females spent
more time on parental care than males, and `time out' estimates suggest that PRRs of males are much higher than than those
of females, rendering females the limiting sex in the mating process. Males defended territories that provide suitable calling
sites, space for courtship and oviposition, and prevent interference by competitors. Male mating success was highly variable,
from 0 to 12 matings, and was significantly correlated with calling activity and average perch height, but was independent
of body size and weight. Estimates of opportunity for sexual selection and variation in male mating success are given. The
mating system is polygamous: males and females mated several times with different mates. Females were more selective than
males and may sample males between matings. The discrepancy in PRRs between the sexes due to differences in parental investment
and the prolonged breeding season is sufficient to explain the observed mating pattern i.e., selective females, high variance
in male mating success, and the considerable opportunity for sexual selection.
Received: 9 June 1998 / Received in revised form: 27 March 1999 / Accepted: 3 April 1999 相似文献
5.
Bushcricket males of Poecilimon zimmeri transfer large and protein-rich spermatophores during mating, which females directly ingest. There is correlational evidence
that heavier males transfer larger nuptial gifts. In no-choice mating trials, females mated randomly with respect to male’s
body weight. In contrast, in two-choice mating trials, female bushcrickets exhibit clear choice for the heavier male. This
heavier male advantage was also found in pre-mating choice during phonotaxis. With manipulated mute males, females mated at
random with regard to body weight of the competitors. The number of physical encounters between a female and males was low
in all tests with a single male (no choice) and greater in choice-tests with two competing males. The latencies to mate also
differed significantly between treatments. The time mating pairs spent in precopula was short in experiments where the males
could hear rivals and significantly longer in all other tests using either a single male or mute males. Thus, acoustic signalling
in male bushcrickets seems to signal male body weight. A preference for heavier males may reflect a female’s preference for
a larger spermatophore and therefore a greater direct benefit. 相似文献
6.
Ben C. Sheldon Pete Davidson Gabriella Lindgren 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1999,46(3):141-148
There is increasing evidence that sexual selection may be intense even in socially monogamous birds, resulting from both
mate choice and sperm competition. We studied these two modes of sexual selection experimentally by removing paired male collared
flycatchers, Ficedula albicollis, from their mates for 2 days and investigating the factors that influenced the likelihood of a replacement male appearing
and how the removals influenced paternity. Replacement males (usually neighbouring males) appeared at 81% (n = 37) of nests where males were removed. The likelihood of this appearance was unaffected by the probable reproductive value
of the female's clutch to the replacing male. A replacement was, however, less likely when the original male had a large forehead
patch, a trait previously shown to be subject to sexual selection in this population. Experimental removal of males increased
the level of sperm competition: 74% of experimental broods were multiply sired, compared to 29% of unmanipulated broods in
a previous study. Only two factors predicted how paternity was shared between males: removed males fathered more young if
removed closer to laying, and if they had larger forehead patches. The former result is consistent with last-male sperm precedence
determining paternity, whereas the latter adds to other evidence that forehead patch size is the target of female preference
in this species. Our results suggest that females exert some control over male replacement, and also that they may influence
the fertilisation success of males by behavioural means.
Received: 15 July 1998 / Received in revised form: 16 March 1999 / Accepted: 28 March 1999 相似文献
7.
For intersexual selection to occur, it is necessary that females choose between males. It is now well appreciated that constraints
exist, which preclude females sampling all the available males in a population. These constraints are likely to have caused
the evolution of sampling rules (such as the “best-of-n” rule) by which females sample males. Here we investigate the impact of female subsampling of the male population, not on
the evolution of sampling behaviour, but on the population-level correlation between a male trait and currencies such as reproductive
success. This study is important as it illustrates when population-level correlations can be safely used to infer the presence
and strength of sexual selection in the field. We find that the correlation between a male trait and a mate choice variable
rises steeply as the number of males sampled by each female increases, flattening above seven to ten males sampled. This shape
is found to be remarkably robust, and little affected by, for example, the mate choice variable used, by noise in assessment,
by sampling behaviour depending on female quality, or by population size. The only variable found to have a large impact is
male clumping according to their “quality”. If females are sampling about four males, the maximum correlation that can be
found at the population level is in the range 0.4–0.6, perhaps as little as 0.1 if males are strongly clumped. A recent review
of the literature suggests that four is the average number of males that females sample. Thus, the absence of a strong correlation
cannot by itself be used to infer that sexual selection is weak, as it may be due to females sampling few males.
Received: 18 May 1998 / Accepted after revision: 18 July 1998 相似文献
8.
Peter M. Kappeler 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1997,41(2):115-127
The primates of Madagascar (Lemuriformes) deviate from fundamental predictions of sexual selection theory in that polygynous
species lack sexual dimorphism, have even adult sex ratios and often live in female-dominated societies. It has been hypothesized
that intrasexual selection in these species is either reduced or primarily focused on traits related to scramble competition.
The goal of this study was to examine these hypotheses by studying the mating system of a solitary nocturnal species, Mirzacoquereli. During a 4-year field study in western Madagascar, I captured and followed 88 individually marked animals. I found that
adult males were significantly larger than females, providing the first evidence for sexual size dimorphism in lemurs. In
addition, the adult sex ratio was biased in favour of females in 3 out of 4 years. There was no significant sex difference
in canine size, however. Males showed pronounced seasonal variation in testis size with a 5-fold increase before and during
the short annual mating season. During the mating season, males had more injuries than females and more than quadrupled their
home ranges, overlapping with those of more than ten females, but also with about the same number of rivals. Only about one
social interaction per 10 h of observation was recorded, but none of them were matings. Together, these results indicate that
these solitary lemurs are clearly subject to intrasexual selection and that male-male competition is primarily, but not exclusively,
of the scramble type. In addition, they suggest that the above-mentioned idiosyncracies may be limited to group-living lemurs,
that social systems of solitary primates are more diverse than previously thought, and that the temporal distribution of receptive
females is responsible for this particular male mating strategy.
Received: 11 January 1997 / Accepted after revision: 18 April 1997 相似文献
9.
In many salmonid species, males exhibit morphological dimorphism associated with alternative mating behaviors. ”Precocious
males” have a small body size with little or no development of sexual characters and adopt sneaking to gain access to females,
while ”migratory males” of large body size and well-developed secondary sexual characters fight. We quantified selection on
precocious male parr of masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) under simulated natural conditions to examine the contribution of morphology to sneaking success. In contrast to the prediction
that sneaking behavior favors small body size, we detected selection favoring relatively large body size for sneaking success.
This selection pressure was caused by the dominance hierarchy within parr and may have been facilitated by indifference of
dominant migratory males to parr. Unlike the secondary sexual characters exhibited by migratory male salmon, such as the hooked
snout and humped back, no morphological characters other than body size contributed to the reproductive success of masu salmon
parr. This non-contribution may have been responsible for the lack of development of sexual characters in precocious males.
Received: 15 November 1999 / Accepted: 20 May 2000 相似文献
10.
Summary Preference by females for choosing mates at male aggregations has been hypothesized as the primary selective pressure favoring the formation of leks, but alternative hypotheses account for lek formation without invoking female preference. Observational studies to determine whether male mating success increases with lek size, as predicted under the female preference hypothesis, have produced inconsistent results, possibly due to covariation of lek size with other variables or to male-male or intersexual conflict over lek size. We tested whether females prefer larger leks in a field experiment with ruffs (Philomachus pugnax), a lekking sandpiper, in which male group size, composition, and location were controlled. Wild females chose the larger of two adjacent groups often enough such that males in larger groups had significantly higher per capita rates of female visitation (Table 3). Such behavior would probably lead to higher per male mating rates at larger leks, which is generally considered a necessary condition for female choice to select for lek display (Fig. 2). Lek size in nature will reflect both female preference for larger leks and competition among males, which may favor smaller lek size. All else being equal, however, female ruffs preferred to visit larger groups strongly enough to maintain lekking by males. 相似文献
11.
Pedro Daleo Tomás Luppi Agustina Mendez Casariego Mauricio Escapa Pablo Ribeiro Paola Silva Oscar Iribarne 《Marine Biology》2009,156(3):269-275
Size advantage in male–male competition over mates, combined with male preference over large females, is a common feature
that can drive to size assortative mating and, eventually, sexual selection. In crabs, appendage autotomy can affect assortative
mating and opportunity for sexual selection by affecting size advantage in mating contests. In this work, we evaluate the
effect of size and appendage autotomy in generating assortative mating in the mud crab Cyrtograpsus angulatus. Field observations of guarding pairs in two different populations show a positive correlation between carapace width of
males and females in both the populations. In one of the populations, incidence of appendage autotomy was low and the variability
in the size of reproductive males was lower than the variability in the size of randomly collected males (i.e. only larger
males were successful in getting a female), whereas there was no differences in the other population (i.e. most male sizes
were successful) where the incidence of appendage autotomy was very high, indicating that the importance of size is higher
when the incidence of autotomy is low. In this context, experiments (in both populations) show that, in contests for a female,
larger males outcompete smaller ones only when they had intact appendages. When males had missing chelipeds, winning or loosing
against smaller males was random. This may lead to a decrease in the importance of male size in populations with high incidence
of cheliped autotomy, affecting assortative mating and opportunity for selection and, thus, affecting selective pressures. 相似文献
12.
Exaggerated male eye span influences contest outcome in stalk-eyed flies (Diopsidae) 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
Evolution of male weapons or status signals has been hypothesized to precede evolution of female mating preferences for those
traits. We used staged male fights among three species of Malaysian stalk-eyed flies (Diptera: Diopsidae) to determine if
elongated eye span, which is preferred by females in two sexually dimorphic species, influences contest outcome. Extreme sexual
dimorphism, with large males possessing longer eye span than females, is shared by Cyrtodiopsis whitei and C. dalmanni. In contrast, C. quinqueguttata exhibits a more ancestral condition – short, sexually monomorphic eye stalks. Videotape analysis of 20-min paired contests
revealed that males with larger eye span and body size won more fights in the dimorphic, but not monomorphic, species. To
determine if males from the dimorphic species use eye span directly to resolve contests, we competed male C. dalmanni from lines that had undergone artificial selection for 30 generations to increase or decrease eye span. We found that eye
span, independently of body size, determines contest outcome in selected-line males. Furthermore, in both dimorphic species,
the average encounter duration declined as the eye span difference between contestants increased, as expected if males use
eye span to assess opponent size. The number of encounters also increased with age in dimorphic, but not monomorphic, species.
Selected-line males did not differ from outbred males in either fight duration or number of encounters. We conclude that exaggerated
male eye stalks evolved to influence both competitive interactions and female mating preferences in these spectacular flies.
Received: 20 July 1998 / Received in revised form: 2 February 1999 / Accepted: 12 March 1999 相似文献
13.
Kelley J. Kissner Patrick J. Weatherhead H. Lisle Gibbs 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2005,59(2):207-214
To resolve conflicting field observations regarding the action of sexual selection, we used breeding experiments and paternity analysis of the 927 resulting offspring to assess how male size, condition, tail length, genetic similarity to the female, and variation in operational sex ratio (OSR) affected male reproductive success and the incidence of polyandry in northern watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon). Only size affected male mating success. Large males were more successful, but only when male size varied substantially and competition among males was intense (i.e., male-biased OSR). The conditional nature of the size advantage may explain why studies of free-living watersnakes have produced inconsistent results regarding the relationship between male size and mating success. Size differences between males did not affect the proportion of offspring each male sired within multiply sired litters. We found positive size-assortative mating, but only when the OSR was female biased, suggesting that smaller males had improved access to females when competition among males was reduced, but that competition with larger males still restricted mating opportunities of small males to less preferred, smaller females. Most litters (58%) were multiply sired and larger females were more likely to produce multiply sired litters, similar to free-living watersnakes. There was no association between the incidence of multiple paternity and OSR, however, suggesting that polyandry is not simply a function of opportunity, with females passively waiting for males to court them. 相似文献
14.
Barbara L. Peckarsky Angus R. McIntosh Christopher C. Caudill Jonas Dahl 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2002,51(6):530-537
Large size often confers a fitness advantage to female insects because fecundity increases with body size. However, the fitness benefits of large size for male insects are less clear. We investigated the mating behavior of the mayfly Baetis bicaudatus to determine whether the probability of male mating success increased with body size. Males formed mating aggregations (swarms) ranging from a few to hundreds of individuals, 1-4 m above the ground for about 1.5-2 h in the early morning. Females that flew near swarms were grabbed by males, pairs dropped to the vegetation where they mated and then flew off individually. Some marked males returned to swarms 1, 2 or 3 days after marking. Larger males swarmed near spruce trees at the edges of meadows, but the probability of copulating was not a function of male body size (no large male advantage). Furthermore, the potential fitness advantage of mating with larger, more fecund females was not greater for large males (no size-assortative mating). However, the sizes of copulating males were significantly less variable than those of non-mating males collected at random in swarms. Intermediate male size may be optimal during mating because of trade-offs between flight agility and longevity or competitive ability. Results of this study are consistent with the hypotheses that there is stabilizing selection on adult male body size during mating, and that male body size in this species may be influenced more by selection pressures acting on larvae than on adults. 相似文献
15.
We present a model of error-prone female choice on leks, and investigate the effects of different degrees of error on the
distribution of mating success among males present at leks of different sizes. At higher levels of error, the best male is
predicted to gain a smaller share of matings, while low-ranking males gain a larger share. Males who are of high rank but
not the most desirable on the lek do best at intermediate levels of error, since the top-ranked male does not then claim all
the matings, but assessment is still sufficiently accurate for females to discriminate between high-ranking and low-ranking
competitors. The effects of error are shown to be more pronounced on larger leks, due to smaller expected differences in mating
value between males of adjacent ranks. This interaction between lek size and error suggests that observed negative relationships
between lek size and mating skew need not be attributed solely to intrasexual competition, as previously suggested, but could
also be a result of imperfect choice.
Received: 20 February 1998 / Accepted after revision: 25 October 1998 相似文献
16.
Sjouke A. Kingma István Szentirmai Tamás Székely Veronika Bókony Maarten Bleeker András Liker Jan Komdeur 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2008,62(8):1277-1288
Melanin-based ornaments are often involved in signaling aggression and dominance, and their role in sexual selection is increasingly
recognized. We investigated the functions of a melanin-based plumage ornament (facial ‘mask’) in male Eurasian penduline tits
Remiz pendulinus in the contexts of male–male aggression, mating success, and parental care. The penduline tit is a passerine bird with a
unique mating system in which both sexes may mate with several mates in a breeding season, and one (or both) parent deserts
the clutch. Our study revealed that mask size of males is more likely an honest signal used by females in their mate choice
decisions than a trait involved in male–male competition. First, mask size increased with both age and body condition, indicating
that the mask may signal male quality. Second, males with larger masks paired more quickly and had more mates over the breeding
season than males with smaller masks. Third, we found no evidence that male mask size signals male–male aggression or dominance
during competitive encounters. The increased mating success of large-masked males, however, did not translate into higher
reproductive success, as nestling survival decreased with mask size. Therefore, we conclude that there is either no directional
selection on male mask size or males with larger masks receive indirect, long-term benefits. 相似文献
17.
Vikram K. Iyengar 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2009,63(6):847-855
Determining the factors that affect male mating success is essential to understanding how sexual selection operates, including
explanations of the adaptive value of female preferences and how variation in male traits is maintained in a population. Although
females may appear to choose males based on a single parameter, female mate choice is often a complex series of assessments
of male quality that can only be revealed through manipulation of multiple male traits. In the moth Utetheisa ornatrix (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae), females have been shown to judge males primarily on their production of a courtship pheromone,
hydroxydanaidal, derived from defensive chemicals acquired as larvae. Recent work, however, suggested that other factors,
including prior mating experience by males, may also influence the outcome of precopulatory interactions with females. I ran
mating trials with one female and two males to determine whether there were any differences in male mating success based on
their prior exposure to females, mating experience, and time between matings. Previously mated males were favored over virgins
when both males lacked the pheromone, but courting experience and mating interval did not explain these differences in male
mating success. Furthermore, multiply mated males lacking the pheromone were favored over virgin males that produced the pheromone,
thus reversing the commonly observed trend of female precopulatory bias towards males with higher levels of the pheromone.
These results demonstrate that males with mating experience can secure copulations despite deficiencies in the pheromone,
and I provide possible mechanisms and discuss their implications regarding sexual selection. 相似文献
18.
Summary All male Antechinus stuartii die following a brief rut towards the end of their first year of life. Outside the rutting period, both males and females forage in clearly-defined invidual home ranges, but neither sex is territorial. As temperatures drop during the winter, both sexes may leave their foraging range each day to spend the latter part of the night and most of the daylight hours in communal nests which may be used by fifteen animals simultaneously, and over forty individuals during one winter. These temporary movements away from the foraging range cause an increase in the daily home range revealed by radiotelemetry. When the mating season commences, males abandon their foraging range and aggregate in a few of the communal nest trees, where they spend most of the night. There is some movement between aggregations, but the movement appears to be rapid and direct. Females continue to use their foraging area, and nest solitarily. However, they make excursions to the male aggregations, and spend time in the nests with the males. By the third week of the mating season, immediately prior to male mortality, males move frequently from one aggregation to another, but are still confined to the aggregations and direct movements between those nests. By this time some females have ceased visiting the aggregations and nest solitarily within their foraging range. These data suggest that the mating system of A. stuartii is lek promiscuity, and support the hypothesis that the abrupt mortality of males is a cost of endocrine changes which facilitate gluconeogenic mobilisation of body protein, allowing the males to sustain their vigil at the leks. 相似文献
19.
R. Terry Bowyer Janet L. Rachlow Kelley M. Stewart Victor Van Ballenberghe 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(12):2251-2260
Evidence of female fomentation of male–male aggression as a mechanism of mate choice is rare, especially in mammals. Female
choice of mates in polygynous species may be masked by intense male competition or by males attempting to restrict female
choice. We studied protest moans of female Alaskan moose Alces alces gigas in interior Alaska, USA, from 1987 to 1990, to determine if moans incited male–male aggression. Alaskan moose exhibit a mating
system in which one dominant male (the harem master) herds, defends, courts, and attempts to mate with females in his harem.
Protest moans were given by females only in response to courtship. We hypothesized that if protest moans were related to females
reducing harassment and exercising mate choice, females should give protest moans more frequently when courted by small males
and less often when courted by large males, and that rates of male–male aggression would be elevated following protest moans.
Harems were composed of one large male, with a mean of 4.4 females (median = 3 females); 10% of 132 harems included ≥10 females.
The temporal pattern of protest moans from late August through November was associated with, but tended to lag behind, mating
behavior. The rate of protest moans given by females decreased with increasing size of males courting them. Male–male aggression
was significantly less during periods without protest moans than during periods in which protest moans occurred. These results
indicate that female moose gave protest moans to reduce harassment by smaller males, and assure a mating opportunity with
the most dominant male. Such a subtle mechanism of indirect mate choice by females may occur in other vertebrates in which
choice is limited by a mating system in which male–male combat and male dominance over females reduces opportunities for female
choice. The importance of female choice may be undervalued in studies of sexual selection in mammals. 相似文献
20.
Condition-dependent control of paternity by female purple martins: implications for coloniality 总被引:9,自引:0,他引:9
Proposed causal links between extra-pair copulation (EPC) and colony formation in socially monogamous birds hinge on the
question of which sex controls fertilizations. We examined in colonial purple martins Progne subis (1) whether EPCs were forced or accepted by females, and (2) the degree to which apparently receptive females were able to
obtain EPCs against their mates’ paternity defenses. Paternity analyses of multilocus DNA fingerprinting confirmed previous
findings of a marked relationship between age class and extra-pair fertilizations (EPFs), with young males losing paternity
of 43% (n = 53) of their putative offspring compared to 4% (n = 85) by old males. All assignable extra-pair offspring were sired by old males, with one male obtaining most EPFs each year.
Contrary to the hypothesis that EPCs are forced, EPF frequency within age class did not increase with seasonal increases in
the number of males per fertile female. Whereas the male control hypothesis predicted that the male age class that mate-guarded
more would be cuckolded less, the reverse was true: young males guarded significantly more intensely. The male age class difference
in cuckoldry could not be explained by the possibility that young and inexperienced females (which are usually paired to young
males) were more vulnerable to forced copulation because EPFs were unrelated to female age. These findings suggest that females
(1) pair with old males and avoid EPCs, or (2) pursue a mixed mating strategy of pairing with young males and accepting EPCs
from old males. The receptivity to EPCs by females paired to young males put them in conflict with their mates. Two factors
determined the paternity achieved by young males: (1) the relative size of the male to the female, with young males achieving
much higher paternity when they were larger than their mates, and (2) the intensity of mate-guarding. Both variables together
explained 77% of the variance in paternity and are each aspects of male-female conflict. Given female receptivity to EPCs,
mate-guarding can be viewed as male interference with female mating strategies. We conclude that EPCs are rarely or never
forced, but the opportunity for females paired to young males to obtain EPCs is relative to the ability of their mates to
prevent them from encountering other males. Evidence of mixed mating strategies by females, combined with other features of
the martin mating system, is consistent with the female-driven “hidden lek hypothesis” of colony formation which predicts
that males are drawn to colonies when females seek extra-pair copulations.
Received: 23 March 1995/Accepted after revision: 14 January 1996 相似文献