Lecture 15: Mating Systems

Flashcards covering vocabulary and concepts related to mating systems discussed in the lecture.

Monogamy

A mating system where there is one primary male and one primary female, accounting for approximately 92% of avian social mating systems.

Polygamy

A mating system involving multiple males or females.

Polygyny

A mating system where one male mates with multiple females, accounting for approximately 2% of avian social mating systems.

Polyandry

A mating system where one female mates with multiple males, accounting for approximately 1% of avian social mating systems.

Promiscuity

A mating system characterized by indiscriminate mating, accounting for approximately 5% of avian social mating systems.

Bateman's Principle

The principle stating that the sex that invests the most in offspring becomes the limiting resource over which the other sex competes.

Mate-assistance hypothesis

A hypothesis stating that the increased likelihood of offspring survival due to male parental assistance selects for social monogamy.

Social mating system

Describes the relationships among individuals that regularly interact for the purpose of raising offspring.

Genetic mating system

Describes the sexual relationships among individuals.

Extra-pair fertilizations

Fertilizations resulting from matings between individuals that are not pair-bonded.

Resource defense polygyny

A form of polygyny where one male defends a high-quality territory or resource that attracts multiple breeding females.

Male dominance polygyny

A form of polygyny where males compete for dominance at a communal display, and females choose mates from the lineup without receiving additional resources from the males.

Lek

An aggregation of males that engage in competitive mating displays toward visiting females.

Ornament

A physical trait that has been exaggerated for social display by sexual selection.

Intersexual Selection

Differential reproductive success as a result of mate choice, usually by females; selection for exaggerated characteristics and behaviors that advertise male quality.

Intrasexual Selection

Differential reproductive success as a result of competition for mates, usually by males; selection for enhanced aggression, territoriality, and sperm competition.

direct resource-based benefits

males provide parental care, food resources, high quality territory, and defense which yield an increased probability of offspring survival

indirect genetic benefits

males provide superior or complimentary genes that produce high quality offspring

honest signal

a reliable indicator of mate quality that cannot easily be faked, such as bright coloration or elaborate displays, which reflect the fitness of the signaling male.

conditions that select for monogamy

uniform but limited resources

reversed sexual dimorphism

females compete for access to males while males assume all parental roles

sequential polyandry

eggs fertilized by one male, female then leaves eggs with him and moves on to produce more

cooperative polyandry

eggs fertilized by multiple males that cooperate in territorial defense and parental care