High-ranking alleviates male local competition in lek mating systems.
Sci Rep 2018;
8:15189. [PMID:
30315179 PMCID:
PMC6185937 DOI:
10.1038/s41598-018-33292-3]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Territoriality entails demanding social interactions with competing individuals, typically males. Variation in quality of males can be predicted to affect the spatial arrangement of territories. We present a model aimed at understanding the spatial properties of territories on leks, where the presence of a hierarchy in a population of males leads to the clustering of individuals around high-ranking ‘hotshot’ males. The hierarchy results in a decrease in the number of nearest neighbors interacting directly with high-ranking males, with potential socio-sexual benefits for such males.
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