Summary
Models of female mating preferences in birds can be derived on the assumption that females have certain thresholds in their receptivity to male courtship that must be exceeded before they mate. In one group of models, the males vary in gonadotrophin and androgen level. Males with higher levels of these hormones maintain larger territories and court females more actively and persistently. They will be more likely to obtain a response from females with high thresholds who require a lengthy period of courtship before mating. In other models, territory size directly determines mating success. Males with larger territories occupy more of the breeding ground. If females land at random on the breeding ground, they will land more often on the larger territories. Males with larger territories thus have increased opportunities for mating. In a third group of models, some females have a lower threshold of response to males with particular characteristics who thus gain an advantage since the females respond to them more quickly. These models of mating behaviour would explain the mating preferences that act in favour of melanic Arctic Skuas. Observations on the behaviour during pairing provide support for some models and refute others. In the model that gives the best fit to the data, many females have a lower threshold of response towards either the dark or the intermediate males. These males find mates before the others and gain an advantage from increased reproductive success. Further observations are required to discriminate between models that depend on variation in male courtship and models that depend on variation in female response.
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O'Donald, P. Mating preferences and sexual selection in the Arctic Skua. Heredity 39, 111–119 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1977.47
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1977.47
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