Lek mating: Difference between revisions

Lek territories of different taxa are stable and do not vary in terms of size and location.<ref>Durães, R., Loiselle, B. a, Parker, P. G. & Blake, J. G. "Female mate choice across spatial scales: influence of lek and male attributes on mating success of blue-crowned manakins". ''Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences'' 276, 1875–1881 (2009).</ref> Males often return to the same mating sites because of female fidelity.<ref name="Isvaran" >Isvaran, K. Variation in male mating behaviour within ungulate populations: patterns and processes. Current Science, 89(7), 1192-1199(2005).</ref> It has been shown that avian females such as the black grouse, and great snipe are faithful to males and not mating sites.<ref name= "Duval">Duval, E. H. "Female mate fidelity in a lek mating system and its implications for the evolution of cooperative lekking behavior". ''The American Naturalist'' 181, 213–22 (2013).</ref> Successful males congregate in the same area as the previous breeding season because it is familiar to them, while females return to reunite with said males. It has been observed that they will not return to a mating site if their male partner is not present.<ref name=Duval /> Another possible explanation for lek stability may result from male hierarchies within a lek. In manakins, subordinate betas may inherit an alpha’s display site, increasing the chances of female visitation.<ref name=Duval /> Rank may also contribute to the stability of lek size, as lower ranking males may congregate to achieve a perceived optimal size as a way to attract females.<ref>Hernandez, M. L., Houston, A. I. & Mcnamara, J. M. "Male rank and optimal lek size". ''Behavioral Ecology'' 10, 73–79 (1999).</ref>

 

 

Lek-mating is also relatively common among the [[paper wasp]] species. For example, ''[[Polistes dominula]]'' males often fight with other males in mid-air to appeal their superiority and attractiveness. Males who lose will fly away from the lek. Females fly through leks or perch near lekking areas to observe males before making choices on mates and they use the highly conspicuous abdominal spots on males, which are highly variable in size and shape, to aid in mate choice. Males with smaller, more elliptically shaped spots are more dominant over other males and preferred by females compared to males who have larger, more irregularly shaped spots. <ref>{{cite journal| last1=Izzo|first1 =Amanda| last2= Elizabeth |first2=A. |last3=Tibbetts|first3=E. |title=Spotting the Top Male: Sexually Selected Signals in Male ''Polistes dominulus'' Wasps |journal=Animal Behavior|date=2012|volume=83|pages=839–845 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.01.005}}</ref> In comparison, ''[[Mischocyttarus flavitarsis]]'' males will choose a perch site near female hibernation areas, rub their abdomens to mark their territory and wait 6-7 weeks for a female to approach. If an intruder approaches, the owner of site will lunge and grapple the other wasp. Typically, they will fall off the perch site and finish the fight on the ground until one of them wins.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = |title = Mischocyttarus flavitarsis in Arizona: Social and Nesting Biology of a Polistine Wasp |last = Litte|first = Marcia|date = 1979|journal = Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie|accessdate = |doi = |pmid = }}</ref>