What is a lek mating system?
A lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners to mate with. A classical lek consists of male territories in visual and auditory range of each other.
What is Lekking behavior?
Lek, in animal behaviour, communal area in which two or more males of a species perform courtship displays. Lek behaviour, also called arena behaviour, is found in a number of insects, birds, and mammals. Varying degrees of interaction occur between the males, from virtually none to closely cooperative dancing.
How does a lek breeding system work?
A lek breeding system is employed by some polygynous species and is characterised by aggregations of males that females visit primarily for breeding purposes. This results in strong sexual selection pressures on the lek, as males compete for females and females ‘choose’ between males.
Are leks monogamous?
Males may choose to display at sites associated with resources used by females. It is possible that in some species, male aggregations function like typical leks: individuals form a monogamous pair bond while displaying in a lek close to the nesting site (Höglund and Alatalo 1995).
Why does sage grouse not have gizzards?
Unlike its relatives, sage-grouse have a thin-walled, non-muscular gizzard that reflects its dietary dependence on soft sagebrush leaves. Studies in Montana have documented sagebrush making-up 99% of the diet of sage-grouse during critical winter periods.
What does Polygynandry mean?
Polygynandry is a form of polygamy; in sexually reproducing animals, it is a multi-male and multi-female mating system. Polygynandry encapsulates both polygyny (males having multiple female mates) and polyandry (females having multiple male mates) within the same species.
What is female defense polygyny?
Resource defense polygyny occurs when males control females indirectly by defending territories or resources against conspecific males, whereas female defense polygyny occurs when males control females directly by defending them against conspecifics males.
Why do males mate guard?
Keeping close proximity with a partner acts as a mate guarding technique as it minimises the likelihood of unfaithfulness by the male, and also assures their partner of her fidelity. As a result of the paternal confidence, the male is also more likely to stay and provide resources.
What animals are polygyny?
Polygyny is typical of one-male, multi-female groups and can be found in many species including: elephant seal, spotted hyena, gorilla, red-winged prinia, house wren, hamadryas baboon, common pheasant, red deer, Bengal tiger, Xylocopa sonorina, Anthidium manicatum and elk.