Mating behaviors,courtship rank and mating success of male feral cat (Felis catus)

The mating behavior of the male feral cat (Felis catus) living on a small island was investigated. The cats in the study area (6.0 ha) formed the “feeding groups” at the garbage sites (Yamane et al. 1994; Izawa et al. 1982). We examined the factors influencing fighting ability, rank during courtship, and mating success of the male cat. Males with heavier body weight mostly won over lighter males in the agonistic encounters during the estrous season. Heavier males occupied the more advantageous positions to copulate with the estrous females and had higher mating success. These results suggest that body weight was one of the important factors affecting the courtship rank and the mating success of the male cat. When males visited and courted the females of feeding groups other than their own, they were sometimes defeated by the lighter males in that particular group, which lowered their courtship rank and success in copulations. These results indicate that the location of the courting male (inside or outside of its own group) and the kind of females they courted (member of the same group or not) were also important factors.     

Host plant influence on the mating success of male Mediterranean fruit flies: variable effects within and between individual plants

Observations of field-caged guava trees, Psidium guajava, revealed that males of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata, occasionally formed tight aggregations on the trunk and branches of certain trees. Males at these aggregation sites (stations) appeared to feed on the bark, and chemical analyses showed that stations contained high levels of the male attractant α-copaene whereas ‘nonstations’ on the same tree lacked this chemical. Previous work showed that male medflies exposed to pure α-copaene had a mating advantage over unexposed males. Here, we present data showing that the occurrence of stations is highly variable both within and between individual guava trees. Concurrent mating trials showed that male medflies exposed to entire guava trees containing stations or to individual stations for 3 h gained a mating advantage over unexposed males in tests conducted 1 or 3 days following exposure. In contrast, males exposed to entire trees lacking stations or only to nonstations on trees with stations had similar mating success as unexposed males. Additional experiments showed that exposure to guava leaves had no effect on male mating frequency but that exposure to fruits enhanced male mating success. The discussion considers potential mechanisms underlying the plant-induced increase in mating success and potential effects of α-copaene and other plant-borne compounds on the spacing of medfly leks in the environment.     

Female preference for multi-modal courtship: multiple signals are important for male mating success in peacock spiders

A long-standing goal for biologists has been to understand how female preferences operate in systems where males have evolved numerous sexually selected traits. Jumping spiders of the Maratus genus are exceptionally sexually dimorphic in appearance and signalling behaviour. Presumably, strong sexual selection by females has played an important role in the evolution of complex signals displayed by males of this group; however, this has not yet been demonstrated. In fact, despite apparent widespread examples of sexual selection in nature, empirical evidence is relatively sparse, especially for species employing multiple modalities for intersexual communication. In order to elucidate whether female preference can explain the evolution of multi-modal signalling traits, we ran a series of mating trials using Maratus volans. We used video recordings and laser vibrometry to characterize, quantify and examine which male courtship traits predict various metrics of mating success. We found evidence for strong sexual selection on males in this system, with success contingent upon a combination of visual and vibratory displays. Additionally, independently produced, yet correlated suites of multi-modal male signals are linked to other aspects of female peacock spider behaviour. Lastly, our data provide some support for both the redundant signal and multiple messages hypotheses for the evolution of multi-modal signalling.     

The effect of body size on male courtship success in a plethodontid salamander

Two different sets of courtship encounters between female Desmognathus ochrophaeus and males of large (X¯=58) and small (X¯=38 mm) body size were staged in the laboratory. In the first set, encounters were arranged between male-female pairs so that each of five females individually encountered each of 10 males. In these encouters, small and large males were equally likely to court with and inseminate females. In the second set, each encounter was staged for a trio fo one female and two males (one large and one small); each female had a courtship opportunity with five large-small pairs of males, and each pair of males encountered five different females. In the 25 trio encounters, the large male always chased away the small male before proceeding to court the female. Small males never deposited spermatophores if a large male was present. Male body size should have a significant effect on courtship success in natural populations of D. ochrophaeus if male-male competition affects access to females.     

The mating system of a bee fly (Diptera: Bombyliidae). II. Factors affecting male territorial and mating success

Males of an undescribed bombyliidfly (Comptosia sp.)occupy traditional territories on a Southeast Queensland hilltop, to which females come solely for the purpose of mating. Territorial fights between males involve aerial collisions during which modified spines on the wing margins produce scars on the bodies of opponents. Territory owners and mating males are not different in size or age from the remainder of the male population. Although residency is related to fighting success, the strength of the effect is ambiguous. Consequently, our data do not appear to fit predictions from game theoretical models for fighting protocol. Hilltop males lacked the extensive population variation typically found in territorial species, and thus, the presumed advantages of traits such as large size may be suppressed. Hilltop males were larger than males at a nonhilltop, resource-based mating site and the possibility of alternative mating tactics is discussed.     

Age-associated male mating success in three swarming caddis fly species (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae)

Abstract. 1. In the three caddis fly species, Athripsodes albifrons (L.), A. cinereus (Curtis) and Mystacides azurea (L.) (Leptoceridae; Trichoptera), males swarm above the water surface of lakes or rivers. Receptive females fly to swarms and are chased and/or courted by males. After one of the swarming males has grasped an approaching female, the pair flies in tandem to the shore where they copulate.
2. In males, wing wear indices were negatively correlated with the ratio of fat/dry weight. In the only species in which comparisons were possible between newly emerged and swarming males (M. azurea), the former had significantly lower indices. Unmated females on average had lower wing wear indices than spent females. These facts suggest that wing wear reflects relative age.
3. The tandem males had significantly less wing wear than those in swarms, and are probably therefore younger. Age is therefore likely to be significant in relation to mating success.
4. Among males of the same relative age, tandem males had higher fat ratio than swarming ones, indicating that male mating success was also influenced by traits other than age. It is suggested that the shortest possible duration of the period of adult prematurity is adaptive, especially in insects with marginal adult food intake.     

Daily patterns of courtship and mating behavior in the male Japanese quail

Crowing behavior was monitored constantly in male Japanese quail housed singly over 30 successive days. The photoperiod was 16h of light and 8 h of dark. A daily pattern in crowing was observed in which the frequencies were elevated in the afternoon and at the beginning of darkness. However, peak crowing occured 2 h prior to the onset of light. These rhythms were highly correlated among individuals and extremely repeatable over the sequential days of observation.In a second experiment, males which were paired with females were observed for frequencies of crowing, courtship, and mating behavior during the lighted portion of the day. In this experiment, the same photoperiod (16L:8D) was maintained. Paired males exhibited a daily pattern in crowing similar to that observed in the singly housed males. The frequency of mating was the highest between 1200 and 1300 h and lowest at 1400 h. Mating success was highest at midday, as were the number of males exhibiting mating behavior. These diurnal patterns in sexual behavior may depend on environmental cues such as photoperiod, which, in turn, may stimulate endocrine triggers.     

Androgen influence on male mouse ultrasounds during courtship

Ultrasonic vocalizations are emitted by adult male mice (Mus musculus) shortly after an adult female or her odor are encountered, possibly as an early part of courtship behavior. Consistent with this hypothesis, it was found that castration of adult male mice increased the latency to first ultrasonic vocalization in response to an adult female. In addition, castrated males, subsequently injected once with 200 μg of testosterone propionate, reduced their latency, whereas oil-injected castrates did not.     

The effects of male body size on territorial and mating success in the landmark-defending fly Hermetia comstocki (Stratiomyidae)

Abstract.

• 1 Males of Hermetia comstocki Williston compete for territorial control of certain agaves and yuccas. Winners copulate with females that visit these plants solely to acquire a mate.
• 2 Males vary in body weight by more than an order of magnitude and larger flies almost always defeat smaller ones in aerial contests for control of landmark territories.
• 3 The mean body size (as measured by wing-length) was significantly greater for males retaining residency at a site for at least one hour compared to males unable to do so. Likewise, males able to return to a perch site in the study area on more than one day were larger on average than males unable to do so.
• 4 Male preferences for landmark territories remained similar across years. Large males dominated the perch landmarks most likely to be occupied by males and most likely to be visited by females.
• 5 Despite the fighting and territorial advantages enjoyed by large males, the mean size of males found mating with females was not significantly larger than that of the general population.
• 6 The apparent failure of large males to secure a statistically significant mating advantage may be a statistical consequence of the small sample size of males observed mating. On the other hand, any mating advantage of large males may be reduced because (a) receptive females visit many different landmarks, (b) females mate with the first male they encounter at a landmark, regardless of his size, (c) there are usually many vacant landmarks available for smaller males, and (d) even popular territories are often open to small males, thanks to the low site-tenacity of territory owners.

     

Behavioral attributes influence annual mating success more than morphological traits in male collared lizards

Traits that potentially influence mating success (MS) may be"static" with low lability once they develop or "dynamic" withhighly modifiable expression. We used principal components (PCs)analyses of dynamic behavioral and morphological traits thatare static over the short term to determine their relative contributionsto the ability of territorial male collared lizards to acquireaccess to females and obtain high MS. We estimated annual MSof males as the relative frequency with which they engaged incourtship with reproductively active resident females. ThreePCs explained statistically significant phenotypic variationamong males. Morphological traits loaded significantly on 2PCs that explained 26.3% and 13.0% of the variance, respectively,whereas behavioral variables loaded significantly on a differentcomponent that explained 15.7% of the variance in male traits.The frequency with which males initiated aggressive encounterswith same-sex competitors did not load significantly on thesePC axes. Males having behavioral PC scores above the mean hadsignificantly higher MS than those with behavioral scores belowthe mean, whereas male MS was not related to component scoresfor either of the axes describing static morphological variables.Results indicate that in our population behavior patterns associatedwith advertisement, particularly to females, influence maleMS more strongly than morphological traits or the initiationof direct aggression with same-sex competitors.     

Mating behaviour and male mating success in the green treefrog

Green treefrogs, Hyla cinerea, at a study site in eastern Georgia behaved as prolonged breeders: there were many more males present each night than females, the arrival of which was unpredictable. Individual males were usually consistent in their behaviour during a single night, and were most often observed calling. There was a weak, negative correlation between male size (snout-vent length, unless otherwise stated) and the frequency of satellite behaviour, defined as a non-calling male's being situated near a calling male. In 2 of 3 years, the mean size of males observed as satellites was less than that of the calling males with which they were associated on a given night; however, many satellites were the same size or larger than calling males. The distributions of matings per male during three seasons were not significantly different than Poisson distributions with the same means. Individual mating success was best predicted by attendance at the breeding site; mating success was negatively related to the frequency of satellite behaviour in some analyses, but very little of the variance was explained. An exhaustive series of analyses failed to show any pattern of size-dependent mating, including weight-assortative mating, even when males that were frequently satellites were excluded. The relative sizes of males and females in amplexus had little effect on fertilization success. On a seasonal basis, males were clumped in their spatial distribution, and matings tended to occur where male density was highest. Individual males were highly variable in their patterns of movement, which were not correlated with size or mating success. Mating success was also unrelated to the frequency (Hz) of the low-frequency spectral peak in the advertisement call of the male; male size and weight were negatively correlated with the frequency of the low-frequency peak.     

Correlates of male mating success and female choice in a lek-breeding antelope

We investigated factors underlying variation in male matingsuccess in Uganda kob (Kobus kob thomasi), a lek-breeding antelope.We found that only heavy (and, possibly, relatively old) malesheld lek territories and that female choice was an importantdeterminant of nonrandom mating patterns at leks. Our measureof male mating success was closely related to the historicalpopularity of the territory that a male defended, and individualfemales showed consistent preferences for particular lek territories,despite changes in territory ownership. Male success increasedwith body weight and declined independently of territory effectsduring each bout of lek territory tenure. We also found someevidence that female kob copied one another's choice of matesbecause females arriving at a lek tended to join territoriesthat already had relatively large harems on them. When comparedacross leks, average male mating success increased with leksize. Our results suggest that female kob may use a suite ofmale- and territory-based cues in mate choice at leks and, asa result, mate with particularly large males. However, we wereunable to determine whether female kob gain any direct or indirectbenefits through mate choice at leks.     

Correlates of male mating success in a lekking bird with male-male cooperation

Correlates of male mating success were examined in a population of long-tailed manakins, Chiroxiphia linearis, that included 270 colour-banded individuals. Long-tailed manakins have a lek mating system and male-male cooperation in courtship display. Multivariate analysis of behavioural variables indicated that female visitation correlated with the number of unison ‘toledo’ calls given by male partners. Given a female vist, copulatory success was correlated with the ‘butterfly’ display component of the dual-male dance. Both ‘toledo’ output and dance display differed significantly between perch-zones. Only six to eight partnerships in a local population of as many as 55 males per season performed call displays at a level (75–335 toledos per h) that was correlated with any female visitation. Data on crown plumage of female visitors suggested that younger females may have been less discriminating than were older females. The relationship between variance in mating success and the evolution of cooperative male display is discussed.     

Sexual selection in a moth: effect of symmetry on male mating success in the wild

Sexual selection is generally caused by female choice and male–malecompetition. In female choice process, female preference isfavored indirectly and/or directly by sexual selection. In indirectselection, females expressing the preference might gain indirectgenetic benefits. In direct selection, females expressing thepreference might gain direct benefits or avoid male-imposedcosts. The white-tailed zygaenid moth Elcysma westwoodii ismonandrous, and males often gather around a female to mate withher, suggesting a high opportunity for sexual selection on maletraits. We quantified phenotypic selection on male morphologyin this species in the field. The morphological characters analyzedincluded body weight, antenna length, forewing length, hindwing length, hind wing tail length, genital clasper length,and the fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of these bilateral traits.In E. westwoodii, selection favored males with more symmetricgenital claspers, as well as longer and more symmetrical hindwings and antennae. Negative correlations between FA and sizewere also detected in the clasper and the antenna. Our resultssuggest that FAs of male traits, in particular the genital clasper,may have indirect and direct influences on mating success. Duringa copulatory attempt, an E. westwoodii male will try to graspthe female's abdominal tip with his claspers but often failto do so because of the female's reluctance to mate. The femaleabdominal tips are smooth and strongly sclerotized and couldthus be difficult for males to grasp. We hypothesize that moresymmetrical male claspers are more efficient in overcoming femalereluctance.     

Fight outcome influences male mating success in Drosophila prolongata

Journal of Ethology - The outcomes of preceding fights can influence the probability of winning a subsequent fight, known as the winner/loser effect. However, we know relatively little about how...