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1.
Pawe? R?k 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2012,66(12):1629-1637
Male mating experience was shown to play an important role in settling conflicts between males; however, little is known about whether and how prior access to females influences male behavior during intersexual interactions and female choice itself. Here, I experimentally test this relationship in the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) by combining one-on-one interaction between the male and female with direct comparison of males by the female, but precluding aggression between males. I found that solitary males were more active during subsequent courtship displays than paired males, suggesting the detrimental effect of mating on courtship performance. At the same time, females spent significantly more time close to solitary males or playbacks of male's natural courtship songs, and responded positively to the condition of males, ignoring body size of males. In contrast, females responded similarly to computer-modified playbacks of courtship songs of solitary and paired males with standardized rate of phrases and amplitudes; however, when females were additionally allowed to contact with anesthetized males they spent more time close to bigger males, irrespective of the acoustic parameters of courtship songs. These results show that although females were able to differentiate between many behavioral and morphological characteristics of males, including voluntary and intrinsic ones, they preferred traits conditional upon the costliness of male's displays. In addition, mating experience appeared to be a crucial factor in the choice of a particular costly mating strategy by males. 相似文献
2.
Does female aggression prevent polygyny? An experiment with pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
The female aggression hypothesis states that resident females may be able to prevent polygyny by behaving aggressively towards
intruding females. A critical test of the hypothesis is to provide prospecting females with a choice between displaying mated
males some of which have initial mates with artificially reduced levels of aggressiveness. Here we present a mate choice experiment
on pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca. The species is a cavity nester, and resident females were prevented from behaving aggressively by enclosing them within
their own nestboxes: narrowing the entrance hole so that they could not escape but could still let their head out and have
some contact with their mate. This treament had only a minor influence on male behaviour. We studied whether the experimental
males were better able to attract a new female than a control group of mated males. Four predictions from the female aggression
hypothesis were supported. (1) Mating success of control males was positively related to the distance between their primary
and secondary territory. (2) For experimental males, mating success was unrelated to interterritorial distance. (3) Experimental
males had higher mating success than control males when the interterritorial distance was short but (4) not when it was long.
Experimental males had much lower mating success than unmated males, as would be expected if prospecting females are able
to discover male mating status from cues other than visits by primary females to their mates' secondary nest sites.
Received: 5 January 1998 / Accepted after revision: 30 December 1998 相似文献
3.
Natasha Tigreros Monica A. Mowery Sara M. Lewis 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2014,68(9):1539-1547
While the phenomenon of male mate choice has attracted considerable attention in the last two decades, whether this sexual selection mechanism could drive the evolution of female ornaments remains poorly understood. Here, we used experimental manipulation of female wing coloration to investigate male mate choice in Pieris rapae, a gift-giving butterfly. Further, we tested whether males’ nutritional status influenced their mating preferences by subjecting larvae to short periods of starvation. We found that males showed significantly more mating approaches toward control females with more colorful wings (higher pteridine content), and that this preference was strongest in low-nutrition males. Additionally, a study of field-collected females revealed that pteridine-based wing coloration was positively correlated with female egg load, which suggests such ornaments may signal female quality. Pteridine-based ornaments are widespread in nature, however their potential as honest signals in male mate choice remains largely unexplored. This work furthers our understanding of how male mate choice and female ornamentation may evolve in species whose mating systems include nutritional nuptial gifts. 相似文献
4.
Male fiddler crabs, Uca paradussumieri, mate underground during a 4- to 7-day period each full and new moon. As soon as the tide recedes, males enter the burrows of females that will ovulate the following day ('pre-ovigerous' females). Males copulate with and guard these females until they ovulate. When interrupted by an intruding male, the first male to reach the female is usually able to defend her and successfully mate with her. In fiddler crabs, females mate multiply and there is last male sperm precedence. Before each semi-lunar mating period, male U. paradussumieri were more likely to court females with whom they would later mate than other nearby females with whom they did not mate. This suggests that males collect information on female reproductive state prior to the females becoming ovigerous. In this species, aggression was common between males that courted the same female. When previously courted females were approached by other males, the initial courter attempted to forcefully disrupt the courtship. This behavior may allow males the exclusive use of information on female reproductive condition. It also suggests a type of scramble competition between males over females. Furthermore, it indicates that males are able to locate receptive females prior to their becoming ovigerous. The shorter guarding period observed in this species, as compared with other fiddler crabs, is caused by females rejecting longer guarding periods. Male ability to assess female reproductive status may therefore be advantageous because it increases male mating success within a scramble type of competitive polygyny. 相似文献
5.
Dominance relationships between females and males are characteristic traits of species and are usually associated with sexual dimorphism. Exploring the social and contextual circumstances in which females win conflicts against males allows one to study the conditions triggering shifting power asymmetries between the sexes. This study investigates dominance relationships in bonobos (Pan paniscus), a species in which females are thought to display social dominance despite male-biased sexual dimorphism. To identify dominance relationships among females and males, we first explored how intrasexual dominance status affects the outcome of intersexual conflicts. Second, by incorporating social and behavioral information about the context of intersexual conflicts, we tested to which extent different components of power are relevant to the observed asymmetries in the relationships. Post-hoc analyses indicate a sex-independent dominance hierarchy with several females occupying the top ranks. Our results also reveal that two factors—female leverage and motivation to help offspring—had a significant influence on the outcome of intersexual conflicts. The results of our study do not indicate an overall reduction in male aggression against females but do show lower levels of male aggression in the mating context, and an absence of male aggression toward those females displaying visual signs of elevated fecundity. This indicates that both female sexuality and male mating strategies are involved in the shifting dominance relationships between the sexes. 相似文献
6.
Kathryn B. McNamara Julia L. McKenzie Mark A. Elgar Therésa M. Jones 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2012,66(8):1141-1147
Male mating status can affect female reproductive output if male ejaculate investment declines over consecutive matings. Accordingly, females are predicted to mate preferentially with virgin males. In mildly polyandrous lepidopterans, female fitness is less affected by reduced male investment than in more polyandrous species, and so the predictions for female mating preferences are less clear. We examined female mating preferences in the mildly polyandrous almond moth, Cadra cautella, in which ejaculate size does not affect female reproductive output. First, we allowed females to mate with virgin or once-mated males, in which the males were presented individually or simultaneously. We recorded the latency to mating and, in the case of the simultaneously presented trials, the identity of the successful, copulating male. We found that females mated more frequently with mated males (when simultaneously presented with both males), yet females did not differ in the time taken to initiate copulation with any male. We further examined if this mated male advantage was due to differential mate detection or locomotory behaviour of the male treatments. We tested the ability of virgin and mated males to locate a receptive female within a wind tunnel using long-distance pheromone cues and recorded their activity budget. We found no difference in the ability of mated or virgin males to locate or approach a receptive female, or in their activity levels. These data suggest a female preference for mated males in this species, a preference that may minimise other potential costs of mating. 相似文献
7.
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
8.
Martin N. Muller Melissa Emery Thompson Sonya M. Kahlenberg Richard W. Wrangham 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(5):921-933
The extent to which active female mating preferences influence male reproductive success in mammals is unclear, particularly
for promiscuously breeding species like chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Previous studies from multiple long-term study sites have shown that female chimpanzees mate more restrictively around
ovulation, and this has been taken as evidence for female choice. However, none of these studies rigorously evaluated the
alternative hypothesis that restrictive mating results not from unconstrained choice, but in response to coercive mate guarding,
in which males use punishment and intimidation to reduce female promiscuity and promote their own mating interests. Nor did
they consider evidence for the potential genetic or phenotypic benefits that females might be choosing. Using 11 years of
data from the Kanyawara community in Kibale National Park, Uganda, we previously demonstrated that males achieve elevated
mating success with those females toward whom they direct high levels of aggression. Here we extend those findings to show
that even female copulatory approaches, which have previously been attributed to female choice, are correlated with male aggression.
Specifically, individual females at our site initiated periovulatory copulations most frequently with the males who were most
aggressive toward them throughout their cycles. Those males showed high rates of aggression toward females throughout estrus,
despite achieving high copulation rates, demonstrating a continuing conflict of interest over the exclusivity of mating access.
Because sexual coercion is potentially widespread in primates and other mammals, our results stress the importance of considering
the influence of male aggression in studies of female choice. 相似文献
9.
Summary Conflicts of interest within and between the sexes are important processes leading to variability in mating systems. The behavioral interactions mediating conflict are little documented. We studied pairs and harems of the snail-shell inhabiting cichlid fish Lamprologus ocellatus in the laboratory. Due to their larger size, males controlled the resource that limited breeding: snail shells. Males were able to choose among females ready to spawn. Females were only accepted if they produced a clutch within a few days of settling. When several females attempted to settle simultaneously the larger female settled first. Females were least aggressive when guarding eggs. Secondary females were more likely to settle when the primary female was guarding eggs. In established harems females continued to be aggressive against each other. The male intervened in about 80% of female aggressive interactions. Male intervention activity correlated with the frequency of aggression among the females in his harem. The male usually attacked the aggressor and chased her back to her own snail shell. When a male was removed from his harem, aggression between females increased immediately and usually the secondary female was expelled by the primary female within a few days. Time to harem break-up was shorter the more mobile the primary females' young were and did not correlate with the size difference between harem females. Male L. ocellatus interfere actively in female conflict and keep the harem together against female interests. Female conflict presumably relates to the cost of sharing male parental investment and to the potential of predation by another female's large juveniles on a female's own small juveniles.Correspondence to: F. Trillmich 相似文献
10.
The diversity of mammalian mating systems is primarily shaped by sex-specific reproductive strategies. In the present study, we explored determinants and consequences of a unique mating system exhibited by fossas (Cryptoprocta ferox), the largest Malagasy carnivore, where females mate polyandrously on traditional mating trees, and males exhibit intrasexual size dimorphism. Males face both contest and scramble competition, and inter-sexual size dimorphism can be pronounced, but its magnitude depends on the male morph. Using a continuous behavioral observation of six estrous females over 4 years, we investigated correlates of male contest competition and female choice based on 316 copulations. Furthermore, we assessed correlates of male scramble competition based on testes size and movement data obtained from GPS tracking. We found that females dominated males regardless of their smaller size and that females actively solicited copulations. Heavy males had highest mating success during the female’s peak mating activity, but were discriminated against afterwards. Female choice and male–male competition thus converged to generate a mating advantage for heavier males. Our results suggest that females actively seek polyandrous matings, presumably for indirect genetic benefits. Since body mass is the major determinant of male mating success and is at the same time dependent on the degree of sociality and associated hunting mode of the respective male morph, a male’s feeding ecology is likely to influence its reproductive tactic. A combination of benefits from female polyandry and the consequences of different subsistence strategies may thus ultimately explain this unusual mating system. 相似文献
11.
Palestina Guevara-Fiore Jessica Stapley Penelope J. Watt 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2010,64(10):1665-1672
Males vary in the degree to which they invest in mating. Several factors can explain this variation, including differences
in males’ individual condition and the fact that males allocate their energy depending on the context they face in each mating
attempt. Particularly, female quality affects male reproductive success. Here, we studied whether male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) strategically allocated more mating effort, in terms of mating behaviour and male–male competition, when they were matched
with a receptive (R) female than a non-receptive one. In accordance with our prediction, we found that males increased their
mating behaviour when they were with a receptive female. Even though male guppies can inseminate non-receptive females, we
only found high levels of courtship between males that were with a receptive female rather than a non-receptive one. Although
there was little affect of female receptivity on male–male competition, we found that males chased and interrupted courtships
more with receptive females than with non-receptive females regardless of odour. Finally, we also studied whether the sexual
pheromone produced by receptive female guppies is a cue that males use in order to increase their mating effort. We found
that males were more attracted to a female when they perceived the sexual pheromone, but only increased their mating and aggressive
behaviours when females showed receptive behaviour. This strategic increase in mating effort could result in higher male reproductive
success because mating attempts towards receptive females are likely to be less costly and males could have a greater probability
of fertilisation. 相似文献
12.
Christopher Young Sabine Hähndel Bonaventura Majolo Oliver Schülke Julia Ostner 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2013,67(10):1665-1677
Dominant mammalian males should gain a reproductive advantage due to their greater fighting abilities. However, the extent to which they can monopolise access to females varies across species. In primates and recently other mammalian species, the Priority of Access (PoA) model is commonly used to measure the degree to which male rank and female receptive synchrony affect mating skew. Few studies have examined the factors which lead to deviations from the expectations of the model. Here, we investigate male mating skew in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus). We examined four of the main factors which affect male mating success: the roles of male rank, female receptive synchrony, coalitionary activity and female behaviour. We found that male mating was skewed up the hierarchy, but there was a large deviation from the PoA model's expectations with high-ranked males not gaining as big a share as expected. Females frequently initiated sexual encounters, predominantly with mid-ranked males, increasing their mating success. Male coalitionary activity independently increased mating success. Frequent associations with females were costly to males as they were the targets of bridging coalitions, decreasing future mating opportunities for the targets. High-ranking males did not increase their mating success directly through bridging coalitions but acted to dilute the effects of female behaviour. By examining different factors affecting mating skew, we are able to show that alternative male and female mating strategies are effective in reducing the monopolisation potential of the dominant male. 相似文献
13.
Sexual cannibalism particularly before mating is costly for the male victim but also for the female aggressor if she risks
remaining unmated. The aggressive spillover hypothesis explains the persistence of this behavior as a maladaptive side effect
of positive selection on aggressiveness in a foraging context. The hypothesis predicts that the occurrence of sexual cannibalism
is explained by female aggressiveness but is not related to male phenotype or behavioral type. An alternative hypothesis invokes
sexual selection and makes the opposite prediction namely that sexual cannibalism is an expression of female choice and should
hence mainly target males of low quality. We tested the above hypotheses on a sexually dimorphic nephilid spider Nephilengys livida, known for male monopolization of females via genital damage, female genital plugging, and mate guarding, by staging mating
trials during which we recorded mating behaviors and occurrences of pre- and postcopulatory cannibalism. We did not restrict
assessment of aggressiveness to the mating and foraging context but also included aggression against same sex conspecifics.
To assess female personalities, i.e., consistent individual differences in behavior including aggressiveness, we repeatedly
tested them for intra-sex aggression, voracity towards prey, locomotory activity, and boldness. Females exhibited consistent
differences in intra-sex aggressiveness, latency to attack prey, and boldness. Aggressive females had shorter latencies to
attack prey and were more active than non-aggressive ones. In contrast to the predictions of the aggressive spillover hypothesis,
females that were aggressive towards prey and towards other females were not more likely to attack a male than non-aggressive
females. In support of the mate choice hypothesis, less aggressive males were more likely attacked and cannibalized than more
aggressive ones. This hints at sexual selection for aggressiveness in males and raises the question of mechanisms that maintain
variation in male aggressiveness. 相似文献
14.
Maria I. Sandell 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,62(2):255-262
In the European starling, Sturnus vulgaris, optimal mating systems differ between males and females. Males gain from polygyny, whereas monogamy increases female fitness.
The cost of polygyny to females lead to intense female–female competition, and it has previously been shown that the intensity
of female aggression during the pre-breeding period can predict the realised mating system. The physiological regulation of
such female aggression in starlings is not yet known. This study examines the role of testosterone in mediating aggressive
behaviours involved in intra-specific reproductive competition in female starlings. Testosterone levels were experimentally
elevated with testosterone implants in females during the pre-laying period. To simulate a situation in which an additional
female tried to mate with the focal female’s mate, a caged female was presented close to a nest-site to which the male could
attract a secondary female. Testosterone was significantly related to several behaviours involved in female–female interactions.
Females with testosterone implants spent significantly more time close to the caged female and produced more song bouts than
control females. In contrast, male behaviour was unrelated to the experimental status of the mate. Females mated to males
that attracted a secondary female were less aggressive towards the caged female than those that remained monogamously mated.
The effect of exogenous testosterone in this study indicates that androgens may mediate social behaviours in female starlings
during the breeding season. 相似文献
15.
Kensuke Okada Taro Fuchikawa Yusuke Omae Masako Katsuki 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2013,67(1):53-59
Traditional concepts of sexual selection and sexual conflict make different predictions about the costs and benefits to females of exposure to males with higher mating success. The traditional concepts of sexual selection assume that females benefit from their mate choices, whereas sexual conflict assumes that the females suffer greater costs by mating with males who have greater mating success and thus reduce their fitness. In order to understand how mate choice evolves, it is necessary to estimate the overall effect of mate choice on female fitness. However, relatively few studies have conducted that investigation. In this study, we investigated the direct and indirect effects of mating with attractive males on the fitness of females in the cigarette beetle Lasioderma serricorne. Mating with attractive males increased the number of female offspring but did not affect female longevity. Additionally, we found evidence that attractive males sire highly attractive sons. Thus, mating with an attractive male provides direct and indirect benefits but no fitness cost to female L. serricorne. 相似文献
16.
Reproductive trade-offs from mating with a successful male: the case of the tephritid fly Anastrepha obliqua 总被引:2,自引:1,他引:1
Diana Perez-Staples Martín Aluja Rogelio Macías-Ordóñez John Sivinski 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2008,62(8):1333-1340
In lekking species, females may become sperm-limited when mating with sexually successful males, and this may be exacerbated
by a poor male diet. Polygynous males may also be limited by the amount of accessory gland products (AGPs) they can transmit
to females, which in turn may influence the females’ refractory period and longevity. Here, we tested the effect of male mating
history, larval and adult diet on copula duration, mating intervals, female fecundity, fertilisation success, life span and
likelihood to remate using sexually successful males of the lekking tephritid fly Anastrepha obliqua. Flies originated from either a native or exotic host fruit and were protein-fed or deprived. Male diet and larval host influenced
copula duration, while the time elapsed between matings was affected by the interaction of mating order and male adult diet.
Female fecundity was not influenced by female position in mating order or protein inclusion into the male diet. However, mating
order and male larval diet influenced female fertilisation success. Importantly, as males mated successively they were less
able to induce a refractory period on females, as the last females to mate with a male were more likely to remate and had
slightly longer life spans than the first females to mate with males. These results might be attributed to a decrease in male
AGPs with increasing male mating frequency. We discuss the role of conditional expression of male mating frequency with respect
to A. obliqua’s life history, the trade-off that females face when mating with a successful male, the effect of larval diet on adult sexual
performance and the possibility for sexual conflict to occur due to high male mating rates and fitness costs to females. 相似文献
17.
Xiaoguo Jiao Zhanqi Chen Jun Wu Hongyan Du Fengxiang Liu Jian Chen Daiqin Li 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(2):325-332
Although the effects of male mating history on female reproductive output and longevity have been studied in insects, few
such studies have been carried out in spiders. In a mating system in which females are monandrous while males are polygynous,
females may incur the risk by mating with successful males that have experienced consecutive matings and suffer from the possible
depletion of sperm and/or associated ejaculates. Here, we examine the effects of male mating history on male courtship and
copulation duration, female reproductive fitness, and female adult longevity of the wolf spider, Pardosa astrigera. Results indicated that male mating frequency had little effect on their subsequent copulation success, and of 35 males tested,
about half of the males were able to copulate with five virgin females successively at an interval of 24 h. Male mating history
had little effect on their courtship duration. However, male mating history significantly affected male copulation duration,
female adult longevity, and reproductive output. Males that mated more frequently copulated longer and more likely failed
to cause their mates to produce a clutch, although there was no significant difference in the number of eggs laid and the
number of eggs hatched regardless of the first clutch or the second one. Multiple mating of male P. astrigera resulted in significant reduction in female adult longevity. Our results indicate that monandrous females mating with multiple-mated
males may incur substantial fitness costs. 相似文献
18.
Laura K. Weir 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2013,67(2):193-203
Intense male–male competition driven by high male density during mating can result in the evolution of alternative mating tactics that increase male fertilization success. The effects of alternative male mating tactics on females can range from increased fertilization and genetic benefits to decreased fertilization and loss of paternal care. However, the influence of male competitive behavior and alternative mating tactics on female behavior and reproductive success has seldom been addressed. In this work, I investigated the occurrence of alternative male mating tactics and their potential influence on female behavior and fertilization success in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Groups of one, two, or four males competed for access to a female in a repeated-measures experiment. Male density had a significant influence on female reproductive output as a result of a change in competitive mode from contest to scramble competition that coincided with more disruption during mating when more than one male attempted to mate. By contrast, sneaking during mating was beneficial to males, as more than one male sired offspring in most spawnings involving sneaker males. These results suggest that there may be conflict between males and females over mating, such that females are detrimentally affected by the occurrence of alternative mating tactics, whereas males may benefit from sneak mating. The occurrence of conflict between the sexes can be related to ecological factors, such as male density, which cause behavioral change in both males and females. 相似文献
19.
Differential interests between the sexes regarding the number of copulations can result in sexual harassment. Hence, females
may have less time available for foraging. Male sexual harassment often leads to fitness reduction in females. We used the
mating complex of the bisexual fish Poecilia mexicana and the co-occurring all-female Poecilia formosa to study sexual harassment and its incurred cost on female feeding efficiency. P. formosa is a sperm-dependent parthenogen that requires mating with host males to induce embryogenesis, but the male genes are not
used. We therefore predicted P. mexicana males to prefer conspecific females. Hence, costs of male sexual harassment should not occur in unisexuals. While P. formosa are at a disadvantage compared to P. mexicana females due to male mate choice (leading to sperm limitation), this could be traded-off by suffering less from sexual harassment.
In our experiment, we found males to direct significantly more pre-copulatory mating behaviour towards conspecific females,
whereas actual mating attempts did not differ between species. Contrary to our prediction, both types of females started feeding
later and spent less time feeding in the presence of a male partner compared to the time spent feeding with another female,
suggesting that females of both species suffer from male harassment. The focal females' feeding time declined with increasing
body size of the female competitor, and the same pattern was found when a male was present. We discuss that—besides sexual
harassment—other factors such as food competition and female mate choice may affect female feeding efficiency. 相似文献
20.
Summary Non-random mating by size (NRMS) plays a central role in the study of sexual selection and the evolution of mating systems. Theory suggests that NRMS should be influenced by conflicting demands (e.g., predation risk, hunger); few experimental studies, however, have addressed these effects. We used a factorial experiment to examine the influence of predatory green sunfish and food deprivation on NRMS in male and female stream water striders, Aquarius remigis. As predicted by theory, food deprivation decreased the large-male mating advantage. The influence of predation risk, however, went against existing theory; that is, risk increased the large male mating advantage. The degree of large-male mating advantage was negatively related to a measure of the rate of male harassment of females. A behavioral mechanism that can explain these patterns emphasizes the contrasting effects of different competing demands on male harassment rates, female resistance and the role of male size in overcoming female resistance. Females usually resist male mating attempts. Successful mating occurs when males overcome female resistance. If harassment rates (of females by males) are low, larger males have a mating advantage over smaller males perhaps because females resist heavily and thus only larger males can overcome female resistance. If, however, male harassment rates are very high, female resistance might be swamped; mating should then be more random with respect to male size. Food deprivation increases gerrid activity and thus increases harassment rates which should then reduce NRMS. In contrast, risk decreases gerrid activity, thus decreasing harassment rates and increasing NRMS. Females did not show significant NRMS. Females did, however, show a pattern of change in NRMS that is consistent with male choice for larger females.
Correspondence to: A. Sih 相似文献