Determinants Of Male Mating Success Research Articles

Intersexual and intrasexual selection, sneak copulation and male ornamentation in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

To test the relative importance of female choice, sneak copulation and male dominance as determinants of male mating success in a feral guppy population, we conducted a paired-male mating experiment using the colour patterns of male progeny to score paternity. Sneak copulation and male-male aggression had no noticeable effect on male mating success. Mating success was strongly related to the frequency of female behavioural responses to both displaying and non-displaying males. Relative area of orange colouration and complexity of male colour patterns were positively related to mating success. This substantiates the observed behavioural preference for orange, and strengthens claims that female choice is integral to male mating success. Males in trials in which both females failed to produce offspring showed lower levels of black pigmentation, suggesting a threshold mating preference for this ornament despite it not being correlated with variation in male mating success or attractiveness measures. The implications of these findings for the evolution of multiple secondary sex traits in male guppies are discussed.

Female preference for fly song: playback experiments confirm the targets of sexual selection

The courtship song ofDrosophilais thought to be involved in sexual selection and species recognition. Because of the mating system of flies, however, directly demonstrating that song influences female preference is difficult. The majority of previous studies have used an experimental design that potentially confounds male and female reactions to song. InD.montana, correlational evidence has suggested that males that produce short sound pulses consisting of a high number of sound cycles (i.e. a high carrier frequency) have a higher mating success than other males. In this study, we played synthetic song that varied in pulse length and carrier frequency to individual females in the laboratory, both alone and in the presence of mute males. We scored female preference via an acceptance posture, ‘wing spreading’, which the females of this species usually display prior to mounting by a male. Females responded to synthetic song in the absence of males. The presence of mute males significantly increased their overall responsiveness, but the relative effectiveness of the songs did not change, eliminating male reaction to song as a possible confounding factor in the results. The interaction between pulse length and carrier frequency determined the discrimination between song types, with females responding most readily to song consisting of short pulses with a high carrier frequency. Thus, direct examination of female preferences supports the previous studies of male mating success, and confirms female song preference as a likely determinant of male mating success.

Already mated females constrain male mating success in the European starling

Most models explaining polygyny in birds have concentrated on variation in male or territorial quality, ignoring the role of females in maintaining monogramy. Although field observations have suggested that already mated females may maintain monogamy by either behaving aggressively toward prospecting females or by interupting male mate attraction behaviour, no experiments have been done to test if already mated females constrain the mating success of their mates. In this study of the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), the possibility for already settled females to defend their mating status was manipulated by changing the distance between their mates' potential breeding sites. Solitary breeding males were given an extra nest site at different distances from their present one: less than 2 m, 2-5.5 m and 7.5-15 m. The distance between nest sites was the most important determinant of male mating success; few males became polygynous when nest sites were close together whereas most became polygynous when nest sites were further apart. In addition, secondary females were able to lay earlier in relation to the primary females when their nest sites were further away from the primary females' nests. These results support the hypothesis that already mated females constrain the mating success of their mates.

Competitive Mate Searching in Thirteen‐lined Ground Squirrels (Mammalia, Sciuridae): Potential Roles of Spatial Memory

AbstractMale thirteen‐lined ground squirrels search actively for spatially scattered females during the mating season, and male mate‐location ability is a key determinant of male mating success. These circumstances are predicted to favour male spatial abilities. I conducted a female‐removal study in which females were observed the day before coming into oestrus and then removed for 2 h on the morning they were sexually receptive; males were scored on the sites they visited while searching for removed females. Two hypotheses were tested: 1. males search preferentially at sites where they had encountered the female the day before (i.e. males remember particular locations used by the female); and 2. male searches are guided by long‐distance chemical cues. The results showed little evidence for male attraction to sites used frequently by the female, where residual chemical cues should have been strongest; moreover, males failed to locate oestrous females that were displaced from their home ranges. Consistent with the spatial‐memory hypothesis, male searches were biased toward sites where they had interacted with the female, suggesting that males are capable of using spatial memory to relocate individual females once they become sexually receptive. In addition, both the order of male site visits and male performance on a maze task indicate a potential role for spatial memory in avoiding recently searched sites.

Determinants of mating success in male adders, Vipera berus

Abstract. Seven years' detailed behavioural observations on a small population of adders in southern Sweden provided data for a quantitative analysis of the behavioural determinants of male mating success. Male adders are subject to strong intra-sexual selection. The number of matings obtained by a male adder was enhanced by higher male mobility (distance travelled during the breeding season), mate-finding ability (females located per metre travelled), and ability to defeat rival males in combat bouts (proportions of bouts won). In combination, variation among males in these three abilities accounted for more than half of the variation documented in male mating success. Male success rates in combat bouts were strongly dependent on body size (and hence, age), and reproductive tactics shifted concomitantly. Small males fought other males (especially, large males) only rarely, and achieved the majority of their matings in the absence of other males. Larger males fought other males more frequently, and displayed mate-guarding behaviour on some occasions. Although mating success of male adders was strongly enhanced by larger body size, age per se appeared to exert no independent influence on mating success. Overall, the mating system of adders impose strong sexual selection on a male's ability to locate females and to conquer rival males in battle.

Dominance Rank and Access To Estrous Females in Male Savanna Baboons

Data on sexual consortships in a troop of chacma baboons are analyzed in relation to a priority-of-access model and to critical demographic and social variables. The data show a robust association between adult male rank and mating success, and a close approximation to priority-of-access type mating. Principal findings were: (1) Mating activity peaked during the four most likely days of ovulation, and was greater on conceptive than on nonconceptive cycles. (2) On each day of estrus, males of the alpha rank consorted more frequently than did males of other ranks for both classes of cycles. (3) Moreover, on each day of estrus, alpha males consorted at higher rates on conceptive cycles than they did on nonconceptive cycles. (4) Male dominance rank and consorting success were positively correlated, including a perfect rank correlation on conceptive cycles. (5) Mean consort duration was also positively correlated with male dominance rank. (6) The most striking aspect of male mating patterns was the predominance of alpha males. Male dominance rank and consort success were in qualitative but not perfect quantitative agreement with predictions of a priority-of-access model. Alpha males consorted on 86% of the days and 94% of the conceptive cycles they were expected to, and were selective of conceptive over nonconceptive cycles. (7) The size of the adult male cohort had no effect on the consort success of alpha males. (8) Alpha male consort success was reduced during intervals when two or more females were synchronously in estrus. Inconsistent results from other savanna baboon field studies have often led to the conclusion that dominance rank is not important as a determinant of male mating success. Analysis of the literature indicates that some of the reported variability among studies is explained by factors that are associated with differences in group demography. In addition, the importance of male dominance rank has often been treated superficially in discussions emphasizing alternative mating tactics, due in part to the uneven representation of published accounts emerging from individual study sites. I conclude that there is a general, underlying relationship between male dominance rank and access to mates in savanna baboons. Dominance rank is inarguably the primary determinant of mating success among high-ranking males, while the mating success of subordinate males is determined both by rank and the extent to which coalitions are expressed in the group. Rank/mating measures tend to be strongest in the chacma subspecies, among which male-male coalitions over mates are unknown. Male-male competition based in both solo and coalitional tactics appears to dominate the expression of individual partner preferences.

Determinants of male mating success in a scorpion

The scorpion, Euscorpius flavicaudis, occurs in a large, well established colony at Sheerness in Kent. Males exhibit a life-history polymorphism: some males mature at the sixth instar, and some delay maturity until the seventh. The reproductive ecology of this population was studied, both at Sheerness and in the laboratory. Males became vagrant before the mating season, and searched for ‘cracks’ occupied by a female. Females did not become receptive to males until their offspring became independent. When a male encountered an unreceptive female, he cohabited with her, and attempted to repel intruding males. In ‘ownership’ contests, larger males were more successful than smaller males, but if the contestants were matched in size, the owner usually won. Large males had a higher mating success than small males, which reflects their ability to take over guarded females and to mate with reluctant females. The costs and benefits of being either a sixth or a seventh instar male are discussed.

Random settlement of female pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca: significance of male territory size

In a study of the pied flycatcher the availability of nest sites, and hence the territory size of males, was manipulated. The number of females that a male attracted was positively correlated with his territory size; males in a low-density plot attracted more females than males in a high-density plot. A partial correlation analysis showed that territory size was the single most important determinant of male mating success, at least late in the season. If females actively choose between males on the basis of territory size or male density, males in the low-density plot should be preferred over those in the high-density plot. However, the relative number of females settling in the plots was the same before and after manipulation of male density. The results are consistent with an hypothesis of random female settlement where females arrive randomly in relation to area and mate with the first male they encounter. It is argued that when females are constrained by time and energy, random settlement is the best pairing strategy they can adopt, as high-quality males in high-quality territories are most likely to be detected by prospecting females. The results suggest that male pied flycatchers defend territories to gain access to females.

Determinants of male mating success in a large group of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) at Affenberg Salem

Male mating activities in relation to the likelihood of ovulation and conception were studied in a large group of semifree-ranging Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) during two successive mating seasons. In both mating seasons, adult males attained a significantly higher mating success than subadult males, and they monopolized high ranking females more effectively than low ranking females during the period when conception was most probable. Also, in both mating seasons male rank was significantly correlated with male mating success if all sexually mature males were included. Nevertheless, mating success was not a linear function of age or rank. In both mating seasons mating success of 5-year-old males was much higher than that of dominant but peripheralized 6- and 7-year-old males. Moreover, a significant correlation between rank and measures of mating success among adult males was found in the second but not in the first mating season. The results indicate that mating and, most probably, reproductive success of male Barbary macaques is dependent on the male's social position in the group, which is defined not only by the outcome of dyadic agonistic encounters but also by the ability to get a central position in the group, and on the stability of rank relations.

TERRITORIALITY AND THE DETERMINANTS OF MALE MATING SUCCESS IN THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN WHYDAHS (VIDUA)

Summary Barnard, P. 1989. Territoriality and the determinants of male mating success in the southern African whydahs (Vidua). Ostrich 60: 103–117. Variation in the ecological attributes of traditional mating sites defended by male Pintailed (V. macroura, PTW), Shafttailed (V. regia, STW) and Paradise Whydah (V. paradisaea, PW) was analysed using data from a three year study in South Africa. Differences in sexual behaviour at mating sites, and in estimated seasonal mating success (ESMS) of males, were related to variation in male-defended resources. In PTWs, defence of a perennial water source was important to a male's ESMS. Neither body size nor length of breeding rectrices was correlated with ESMS. Female STWs were preferentially attracted to mating sites with a high density of seeding grass, and male intrusion pressure was higher at spatially clumped mating sites than at isolated sites. Twelve STW males were removed from their mating sites. They were replaced by both breeding-plumaged and immature males...

Dominance Rank, Secondary Sex Ratio, and Reproduction of Offspring in Polygynous Primates

One question in evolutionary biology which is central to understanding reproductive strategies and parental efforts at rearing offspring is why organisms produce certain offspring sex ratios (Trivers and Willard 1973; Charnov 1982). Fisher (1930) argued that since each individual has a mother and a father, both sexes contribute genes equally to the next generation. All else being equal, if members of one sex were overproduced, their ability to reproduce would be limited by the availability of members of the less abundant sex and natural selection would favor any predisposition to produce offspring of the less abundant sex. In this fashion, Fisher reasoned, selection would adjust the offspring sex ratio in an outbreeding population until total parental investment (PI, Trivers 1972) in the two sexes was equal. Fisher (1930) assumed, but did not clearly state, that all parents were alike in their ability to rear reproductively successful sons and daughters (Patterson and Emlen 1980). A model proposed by Trivers and Willard (1973), however, specified how deviations from equal PI may be favored by natural selection according to the influence of maternal condition on the reproduction of offspring. The TriversWillard model proposed that in polygynous species if some condition of mothers (e.g., dominance rank) influences the condition and, as a result, the reproductive success (RS) of sons more than daughters, then selection should result in the evolution and maintenance of mechanisms by which females in poor condition invest less in sons than daughters and/or females in good condition invest more in sons than daughters. This model is particularly relevant for primates, since the majority of species are polygynous (Clutton-Brock and Harvey 1977). Since the dominance rank of a monkey's social group and family has a strong

Sexual selection by male–male competition in natterjack toad choruses

A major controversy of sexual selection theory is whether sexually dimorphic characters used in display by males have arisen through male–male competition, female choice, or both1–4. Here I describe the chorusing behaviour of male natterjack toads (Bufo calamita) and show that the pitch of the advertisement call is an important determinant of male mating success. Playback experiments using synthetic calls show that when males compete for calling sites they use call pitch to assess the body size and fighting ability of their opponents. Although females initiate mating and can potentially choose any calling male, in two-choice playback experiments, they showed no mating preference based on call pitch. Several authors4–6 have suggested that communal sexual displays by males may have a more important role in intrasexual competition than mate choice, but this is the first time that this hypothesis has been tested experimentally by manipulating a signal property important in male display.

Aggression and Mating Success in Three Species of Drosophila1

AbstractThree closely related species of Drosophila: D. virilis, D. americana, and D. novamexicana, are known to differ in levels of male‐male aggression. Through direct observation in the laboratory, we attempted to determine and characterize the relationships between intrasexual aggression and mating success in males of each of these species. Our results indicated that the most important determinant of male mating success was not the amount of aggression performed by a male, but rather the amount of aggression directed towards him.