Reproductive behavior of Spix’s Whiptails in the wild: understanding the costs and benefits of mate-guarding

IF 1.1 4区 生物学 Q4 BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES acta ethologica Pub Date : 2021-01-12 DOI:10.1007/s10211-020-00360-9
Raul Fernandes Dantas Sales, Eliza Maria Xavier Freire
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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Across animal taxa, females of non-territorial species have potential opportunities to mate with multiple partners; hence, the primary mechanism available for males to ensure paternity is to guard the receptive female after copulation and repel other males. Hypothetically, mate-guarding is costly for males in terms of energy acquisition and increased risk of injury, and beneficial for females in terms of decreased harassment by other males and an increase in available foraging time. Here, we provide a detailed description of mating behavior and test these hypotheses in the Spix’s Whiptail (Ameivula ocellifera). Mating behavior is characterized by the following events: (1) a male courts a female in the entrance of her burrow; (2) if courtship is accepted by the female, a consensual copulation occurs; (3) after copulation the male accompanies the female during her daily activity, being aggressive towards other males; (4) when the female returns to the burrow, the companion male remains vigilant at the entrance and repels rival males. Besides the mate-guarding strategy, alternative mating tactics are adopted by some males that do not guard females after courtship and consensual copulation, while others try to copulate opportunistically with a female without prior courtship. Companion males spent more time vigilant, less time actively foraging, and captured less prey when compared to solitary males. Accompanied females captured prey in a similar proportion to solitary females but spent more time vigilant and less time foraging. Companion males won 100% of their interactions with rival males, chasing them away from the females. Accompanied females hence did not suffer harassment from other males when companion males were close. Our results evidence energetic costs of mate-guarding for males but not increased risk of injuries. By accepting mate-guarding, females do not appear to have energetic gains and lose the advantage of cryptic mate choice but can benefit from access to high-quality males and protection from harassment.

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斯皮克斯鞭尾在野外的繁殖行为:了解配偶保护的成本和收益
在动物分类群中,非领地物种的雌性具有与多个伴侣交配的潜在机会;因此,雄性确保父权的主要机制是在交配后保护接受交配的雌性,并排斥其他雄性。假设,从获取能量和增加受伤风险的角度来看,雄性保护配偶是昂贵的,而从减少其他雄性骚扰和增加可用觅食时间的角度来看,雌性保护配偶是有益的。在这里,我们提供了交配行为的详细描述,并在Spix的鞭尾(Ameivula ocelllifera)中验证了这些假设。交配行为主要表现为:(1)雄性向雌性在地洞入口处求爱;(2)求偶被雌鸟接受的,发生双方自愿的交配;(3)交配后,雄性伴雌性日常活动,对其他雄性具有攻击性;(4)当雌性返回洞穴时,雄性同伴在洞口保持警惕,并击退敌对的雄性。除了保护配偶的策略外,一些雄性在求爱和双方同意的交配后不保护雌性,而另一些雄性则试图在没有求爱的情况下与雌性进行机会性交配。与孤独的雄性相比,伴侣雄性花更多的时间保持警惕,更少的时间主动觅食,捕获的猎物也更少。有同伴的雌性与单独的雌性捕获猎物的比例相似,但它们花更多的时间保持警惕,花更少的时间觅食。雄性伴侣在与竞争对手的互动中赢得了100%的胜利,把它们从雌性身边赶走。因此,当雄性伴侣靠近时,被陪伴的雌性不会受到其他雄性的骚扰。我们的研究结果证明了雄性保护配偶的能量消耗,但没有增加受伤的风险。通过接受配偶保护,雌性似乎不会获得精力上的收益,也不会失去选择配偶的优势,而是可以从获得高质量的雄性和免受骚扰的保护中获益。
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来源期刊
acta ethologica
acta ethologica 生物-动物学
CiteScore
1.90
自引率
0.00%
发文量
18
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: acta ethologica publishes empirical and theoretical research papers, short communications, commentaries, reviews and book reviews as well as methods papers in the field of ethology and related disciplines, with a strong concentration on the behavior biology of humans and other animals. The journal places special emphasis on studies integrating proximate (mechanisms, development) and ultimate (function, evolution) levels in the analysis of behavior. Aspects of particular interest include: adaptive plasticity of behavior, inter-individual and geographic variations in behavior, mechanisms underlying behavior, evolutionary processes and functions of behavior, and many other topics. acta ethologica is an official journal of ISPA, CRL and the Portuguese Ethological Society (SPE)
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