Maximizing male reproductive success in the broad-headed skink (Eumeces laticeps): preliminary evidence for mate guarding, size-assortative pairing, and opportunistic extra-pair mating

1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Cooper ◽  
Laurie J. Vitt
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Large Female ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Preference ◽  
Eumeces Laticeps ◽  
Assortative Pairing

AbstractSeveral lines of evidence suggest that male Eumeces laticeps may increase reproductive success by 1) mating with larger females to increase clutch size, 2) mate guarding to be present during the female's receptive period and/or prevent sperm competition, and 3) engaging in extra-pair copulations. Clutch size increases with female body size, establishing a potential advantage of male preference for large female mates. Mate association lasts up to 8 days and possibly longer, with a mean of nearly 5 days. Males may remain with females during a major portion of the mating season, which preliminary data suggest lasts about two weeks, suggesting that mate-guarding may reduce the level of polygyny. Tethered introductions of intruder males to consort pairs showed that consort males use aggressive behavior to exclude other males from the vicinity of females. Eumeces laticeps exhibits strong positive size-assortative pairing, suggesting the possible importance of male choice of large mates. Female preference for large males could account for this relationship, but only if large females prefer the largest possible males within the acceptable size range and aggressively exclude other females from preferred males. Females are sometimes aggressive to each other, especially near nest sites, but aggression is suppressed by males, as shown by tethered introduction of females to consort pairs. Size-assortative pairing may be based in part on male preference if males can prevent larger females from aggressively excluding smaller ones. In addition to preferentially guarding large females, males not currently guarding mate with any females not large enough to deter them aggressively. A field observation of an extra-pair copulation, responses by consort males to introduced females, and the lack of size preference in the absence of consorts suggest that males may engage opportunistically in extra-pair copulations to increase reproductive success and are not then choosy about female size.

scholarly journals Lifetime Reproductive Success of Female Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus Tyrannus): Influence of Lifespan, Nest Predation, and Body Size

The Auk ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 1010-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Cost Of Reproduction ◽  
Large Female ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Tyrannus Tyrannus

AbstractI report on the lifetime reproductive success (LRS) of female Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) in central New York. I investigated the major correlates of LRS and specifically tested the hypothesis that small body size yields reproductive benefits. Lifetime reproductive success varied widely: 15–20% of females failed to fledge young over their life, whereas 50% of young were fledged by 20% of females. Female lifespan varied between one and eight years, and females that died after one breeding season tended to be smaller-bodied than long-lived females (≥2 seasons). I therefore conducted analyses of LRS for the entire sample and for longer-lived females separately. As in other species, lifespan was the strongest predictor of LRS, followed by the proportion of eggs laid that resulted in fledged young (P). Lifetime reproductive success varied positively with clutch size and, as predicted, inversely with body size (i.e., tarsus length) of females. However, variance partitioning indicated that most variation in LRS was attributable to the effects of lifespan and P, but that a substantial negative covariance existed between lifespan and P. The latter result was consistent with experimental evidence of a cost of reproduction in Eastern Kingbirds. Analysis of the correlates of lifespan, P, and clutch size showed that over a female's lifetime, (1) the longest-lived birds fledged an intermediate proportion of the eggs that they laid, (2) the most productive birds were of intermediate wing length, and (3) females with small tarsi produced the largest clutches and lost the fewest nests to predators. Hence, although lifespan was the dominant influence on LRS, negative effects of large female size appeared to be expressed through the influence of body size on other demographic parameters that contribute to LRS.Éxito Reproductivo Completo de Vida de Hembras de Tyrannus tyrannus: Influencia de la Duración de la Vida, la Depredación de Nidos y el Tamaño Corporal

scholarly journals The measure and significance of Bateman's principles

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1782) ◽  
pp. 20132973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Collet ◽  
Rebecca F. Dean ◽  
Kirsty Worley ◽  
David S. Richardson ◽  
Tommaso Pizzari
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Female Fecundity ◽  
Male Preference ◽  
Bateman Gradient ◽  
Red Junglefowl ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
Empirical Tests ◽  
Paternity Share

Bateman's principles explain sex roles and sexual dimorphism through sex-specific variance in mating success, reproductive success and their relationships within sexes (Bateman gradients). Empirical tests of these principles, however, have come under intense scrutiny. Here, we experimentally show that in replicate groups of red junglefowl, Gallus gallus , mating and reproductive successes were more variable in males than in females, resulting in a steeper male Bateman gradient, consistent with Bateman's principles. However, we use novel quantitative techniques to reveal that current methods typically overestimate Bateman's principles because they (i) infer mating success indirectly from offspring parentage, and thus miss matings that fail to result in fertilization, and (ii) measure Bateman gradients through the univariate regression of reproductive over mating success, without considering the substantial influence of other components of male reproductive success, namely female fecundity and paternity share. We also find a significant female Bateman gradient but show that this likely emerges as spurious consequences of male preference for fecund females, emphasizing the need for experimental approaches to establish the causal relationship between reproductive and mating success. While providing qualitative support for Bateman's principles, our study demonstrates how current approaches can generate a misleading view of sex differences and roles.

scholarly journals Mate-guarding behavior enhances male reproductive success via familiarization with mating partners in medaka fish

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saori Yokoi ◽  
Satoshi Ansai ◽  
Masato Kinoshita ◽  
Kiyoshi Naruse ◽  
Yasuhiro Kamei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Medaka Fish ◽  
Guarding Behavior

Sexual Selection in Dung Beetles .2. Female Fecundity as an Estimate of Male Reproductive Success in Relation to Horn Size, and Alternative Behavioral Strategies in Onthophagus-Binodis Thunberg (Scarabaeidae, Onthophagini)

1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 521 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Cook
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Behavioral Strategies ◽  
Alternative Tactics ◽  
Female Fecundity ◽  
Similar Body

One component of the reproductive success (fitness) of Onthophagus binodis Thunberg males was estimated by the number of offspring their mate produced relative to male horn and body size. O. binodis males consist of large horned and small hornless morphs. Female fecundity was significantly increased when reproducing with: (1) large horned males compared with small hornless males; (2) the horned morph compared with the hornless morph of males with similar body size. Horned males cooperating with females invest a considerable effort in providing each egg with dung. Hornless males do not appear to assist females after mating. Alternative male mating strategies are predicted under intense intrasexual competition. As hornless O. binodis males persist in large numbers alongside cooperative, mate guarding horned males, selection should favour alternative tactics by hornless males to gain reproductive opportunities.

Mate Selection By Asellus (Crustacea: Isopoda)

Behaviour ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 78 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 178-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.J. Thompson ◽  
J.T. Manning
Keyword(s):  
Mate Selection ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Sex Hormone ◽  
Large Female ◽  
Moult Cycle ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Asellus Aquaticus ◽  
Precopulatory Mate Guarding

AbstractWe have investigated how male Asellus decide whether to enter into precopulatory mate guarding with a female. The presence of a male in precopula does not influence the timing of oviposition in female Asellus aquaticus. Male Asellus are able to distinguish which of two females of identical size is closer to her moult. Males enter precopula with females before the female's ovipository moult but not before moults that are not followed by oviposition. This suggests that the cue that male Asellus use in assessing females is not a substance directly related to the moult cycle, and is possibly a sex hormone. Male Asellus seem to balance the cues of large female size and closeness to oviposition; in this way they are probably able to maximize the number of eggs fertilized per unit time.

scholarly journals Postweaning maternal care increases male chimpanzee reproductive success

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (38) ◽  
pp. eaaz5746
Author(s):  
Catherine Crockford ◽  
Liran Samuni ◽  
Linda Vigilant ◽  
Roman M. Wittig
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Parental Investment ◽  
Maternal Care ◽  
Parental Loss ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Complex Societies ◽  
Successful Reproduction ◽  
Using Data

Humans are unusual among animals for continuing to provision and care for their offspring until adulthood. This “prolonged dependency” is considered key for the evolution of other notable human traits, such as large brains, complex societies, and extended postreproductive lifespans. Prolonged dependency must therefore have evolved under conditions in which reproductive success is gained with parental investment and diminished with early parental loss. We tested this idea using data from wild chimpanzees, which have similarly extended immature years as humans and prolonged mother-offspring associations. Males who lost their mothers after weaning but before maturity began reproducing later and had lower average reproductive success. Thus, persistent mother-immature son associations seem vital for enhancing male reproductive success, although mothers barely provision sons after weaning. We posit that these associations lead to social gains, crucial for successful reproduction in complex social societies, and offer insights into the evolution of prolonged dependency.

scholarly journals Temporal changes in reproductive success and optimal breeding decisions in a long-distance migratory bird

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Reséndiz-Infante ◽  
Gilles Gauthier
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Breeding Phenology ◽  
Additional Time ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Seasonal Decline

AbstractMany avian migrants have not adjusted breeding phenology to climate warming resulting in negative consequences for their offspring. We studied seasonal changes in reproductive success of the greater snow goose (Anser caerulescens atlantica), a long-distance migrant. As the climate warms and plant phenology advances, the mismatch between the timing of gosling hatch and peak nutritive quality of plants will increase. We predicted that optimal laying date yielding highest reproductive success occurred earlier over time and that the seasonal decline in reproductive success increased. Over 25 years, reproductive success of early breeders increased by 42%, producing a steeper seasonal decline in reproductive success. The difference between the laying date producing highest reproductive success and the median laying date of the population increased, which suggests an increase in the selection pressure for that trait. Observed clutch size was lower than clutch size yielding the highest reproductive success for most laying dates. However, at the individual level, clutch size could still be optimal if the additional time required to acquire nutrients to lay extra eggs is compensated by a reduction in reproductive success due to a delayed laying date. Nonetheless, breeding phenology may not respond sufficiently to meet future environmental changes induced by warming temperatures.

Effects of Natural Variation in Sex Ratio and Habitat Structure On Mate-Guarding Decisions in Amphipods (Crustacea)

Behaviour ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 133 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 985-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaimie T.A. Dick ◽  
Robert W. Elwood
Keyword(s):  
Natural Populations ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Female Body Size ◽  
The Social ◽  
Size Assortment ◽  
Assortative Pairing ◽  
Study Species

AbstractWe employed field-based studies, with complementary laboratory-based studies, to investigate social and environmental influences on tactical mate-guarding decisions in amphipods (Crustacea). Firstly, we investigated variation in precopulatory mate-guarding duration in Cammarus duebeni celticus in relation to the social structure of natural populations. Variation in population density of up to two orders of magnitude had no effect on precopula duration, whereas guarding durations increased as the sex ratios of the populations became more male biased. That is, males have some ability to assess the probability of other males taking females into precopula and are prepared to guard for longer as this threat of male: male competition increases. A field demonstration of tactical shifts in reproductive behaviour in response to pertinent social conditions is thus provided. Secondly, the 'habitat segregation' hypothesis, which proposes that positive size-assortative pairing in amphipod populations arises due to variation in the use of micro-habitats, was tested in natural field populations and under laboratory conditions in Echinogammarus marinus. This was necessary in order to distinguish any purely environmental determinants of size-assortment from the role of active decisions by males concerning mate choice and male: male competition. The hypothesis was rejected on the grounds that size-assortative pairing arises under both heterogeneous and homogeneous environmental conditions. Further, in both study species, male and female body size were positively correlated with precopula duration. Thus, indirect competition for access to large, fecund females, based on the timing of male entry into precopula, together with direct aggression, provides the explanation for size-assortative pairing in amphipods.

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