The Significance of Female Mimicry in Male Contests

1996 ◽  
Vol 147 (6) ◽  
pp. 981-995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn-Peter Saetre ◽  
Tore Slagsvold
Keyword(s):  
Female Mimicry ◽  
Male Contests

Sexual dimorphism in the antennae of terrestrial isopods: a result of male contests or scramble competition?

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (11) ◽  
pp. 1987-1993 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Lefebvre ◽  
M Limousin ◽  
Y Caubet
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
Scramble Competition ◽  
Behavioral Analysis ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Selection Pressures ◽  
Terrestrial Isopods ◽  
Male Contests

In Oniscidea (terrestrial crustaceans), males are known to have longer antennae than females. This sexual dimorphism may result from a variety of selection pressures. However, some species are well known for their highly aggressive males, which use their antennae as weapons. We tested the hypothesis that longer antennae in males have been selected for by means of antennal contests. Morphological analysis of the antennae and behavioral analysis of male dyads were performed in parallel on 7 species. We demonstrate significant sexual dimorphism of the antennae in 6 of the 7 species, and various forms of male aggressiveness depending on the species. Our hypothesis was rejected because we found a negative correlation between the use of the antennae in contests and the magnitude of sexual dimorphism. Furthermore, some species are sexually dimorphic but the males never compete using their antennae. We propose and argue that scramble competition to be the first to find receptive females could explain why males have longer chemoreceptive antennae.

Delayed plumage maturation in green‐backed flycatchers (Ficedula elisae): An evidence of female mimicry

Ethology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gong Chen ◽  
Canwei Xia ◽  
Lu Dong ◽  
Nan Lyu ◽  
Yanyun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Delayed Plumage Maturation ◽  
Female Mimicry ◽  
Plumage Maturation

Alternative Reproductive Tactics

2020 ◽  
pp. 429-446
Author(s):  
Shawn Garner ◽  
Bryan Neff
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Morphological Differentiation ◽  
Alternative Reproductive Tactics ◽  
Reproductive Tactics ◽  
Aggressive Interactions ◽  
Single Sex ◽  
Female Mimicry ◽  
Mating Opportunities

Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) describe variation among individuals of a single sex in the tactics used to obtain mating opportunities. In crustaceans, ARTs have been observed in multiple taxa and take a variety of forms. ARTs are most commonly observed in males and are generally associated with intense competition among males to monopolize access to breeding females. ARTs frequently involve a guard tactic that competes with other males to monopolize access to females, while a second usurper tactic foregos competition with other males and instead obtains mating opportunities through sneaking behavior. Guard and usurper tactics may be expressed conditionally based on a male’s ability to guard a female (e.g. his body size, the abundance of competitors), or may be expressed as discrete phenotypes that can also include morphological differentiation. For example, in Jassa amphipods the guard tactic is associated with large body size and an enlarged “thumb” on the claw that is used in aggressive interactions with other males, while the usurper tactic is associated with small body size and a reduced thumb. The usurper tactic can take two forms in a marine isopod: small males (gamma) use sneaking behavior to avoid competition with large males (alpha), whereas intermediate-sized males (beta) use female mimicry to avoid competition. Overall, ARTs are well-represented in crustaceans, with many opportunities for continued study to better characterize these unique adaptations.

scholarly journals Rival assessment among northern elephant seals: evidence of associative learning during male–male contests

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (8) ◽  
pp. 150228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Casey ◽  
Isabelle Charrier ◽  
Nicolas Mathevon ◽  
Colleen Reichmuth
Keyword(s):  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Social Knowledge ◽  
Mirounga Angustirostris ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Elephant Seals ◽  
Acoustic Signatures ◽  
Dominance Relationships ◽  
Northern Elephant Seals ◽  
Rival Assessment ◽  
Male Contests

Specialized signals emitted by competing males often convey honest information about fighting ability. It is generally believed that receivers use these signals to directly assess their opponents. Here, we demonstrate an alternative communication strategy used by males in a breeding system where the costs of conflict are extreme. We evaluated the acoustic displays of breeding male northern elephant seals ( Mirounga angustirostris ), and found that social knowledge gained through prior experience with signallers was sufficient to maintain structured dominance relationships. Using sound analysis and playback experiments with both natural and modified signals, we determined that males do not rely on encoded information about size or dominance status, but rather learn to recognize individual acoustic signatures produced by their rivals. Further, we show that behavioural responses to competitors' calls are modulated by relative position in the hierarchy: the highest ranking (alpha) males defend their harems from all opponents, whereas mid-ranking (beta) males respond differentially to familiar challengers based on the outcome of previous competitive interactions. Our findings demonstrate that social knowledge of rivals alone can regulate dominance relationships among competing males within large, spatially dynamic social groups, and illustrate the importance of combining descriptive and experimental methods when deciphering the biological relevance of animal signals.

Body-generated hydrodynamic flows influence male–male contests and female mate choice in a freshwater fish

2020 ◽  
Vol 169 ◽  
pp. 119-128
Author(s):  
Hannah TerMarsch ◽  
Jessica Ward
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Male Contests

Female mimicry in a freshwater goby Rhinogobius sp. OR

2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noboru Okuda ◽  
Sayaka Ito ◽  
Hajime Iwao
Keyword(s):  
Female Mimicry ◽  
Freshwater Goby

Behavioral roles of the sexually dimorphic structures in the male harvestman, Phalangium opilio (Opiliones, Phalangiidae)

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (12) ◽  
pp. 1763-1774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo H. Willemart ◽  
Jean-Pierre Farine ◽  
Alfredo V. Peretti ◽  
Pedro Gnaspini
Keyword(s):  
Electron Micrographs ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Morphometric Study ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Scanning Electron Micrographs ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Frequency Of Contact ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Male Contests ◽  
Scanning Electron

In various animal species, male sexual dimorphic characters may be used during intrasexual contests as ornaments to attract females, or to hold them before, during, or after copulation. In the well-known harvestman, Phalangium opilio L., 1758, the behavioral functions of these male sexually dimorphic structures have never been studied in detail. Therefore, in addition to a morphometric study, 21 male contests and 43 sexual interactions were analyzed. Our observations revealed that during contests, the male cheliceral horns form a surface by which the contestants use to push each other face-to-face while rapidly tapping their long pedipalps against the pedipalps of the opponent, occasionally twisting the opponent’s pedipalp. Scanning electron micrographs revealed contact mechanoreceptors on the pedipalp that would detect the intensity–frequency of contact with the contender’s pedipalp. Larger males won almost all contests, whereas the loser rapidly fled. During sexual interactions, the longer pedipalps of the male held legs IV of the female, whereas males with shorter pedipalps held the female by legs III. No contact with the male pedipalps and chelicerae by the females was visible before, during, or after copulation. Soon after copulating, males typically bent over the female, positioning their cheliceral horns against the females’s dorsum. Consequently, our data show that the cheliceral horns and the longer pedipalps of the male seem to play an important role, during both intersexual and intrasexual encountering.

Delayed plumage maturation in Lazuli buntings: tests of the female mimicry and status signalling hypotheses

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent R. Muehter ◽  
Erick Greene ◽  
Laurene Ratcliffe
Keyword(s):  
Delayed Plumage Maturation ◽  
Female Mimicry ◽  
Status Signalling ◽  
Plumage Maturation
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