Female mate choice across spatial scales: influence of lek and male attributes on mating success of blue-crowned manakins.

ABSTRACT: Lekking males compete for females within and among leks, yet female choice is expected to work differently at each of these spatial scales. We used paternity analyses to examine how lek versus male attributes influence mate choice in the blue-crowned manakin Lepidothrix coronata. We tested the hypotheses that females prefer (i) to mate at larger leks where a larger number of potential mates can be assessed, (ii) to mate with unrelated or highly heterozygous males expected to produce high-quality offspring, (iii) to mate with males that display at higher rates, and that (iv) display honestly reflects male genetic quality. Our results show that (i) males at larger leks are not more likely to sire young, although females nesting close to small leks travel further to reach larger leks, (ii) si

SUBMITTER: Duraes R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2674486 | biostudies-literature | 2009 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature