The contrasting role of male relatedness in different mechanisms of sexual selection in red junglefowl.

ABSTRACT: In structured populations, competition for reproductive opportunities should be relaxed among related males. The few tests of this prediction often neglect the fact that sexual selection acts through multiple mechanisms, both before and after mating. We performed experiments to study the role of within-group male relatedness across pre- and postcopulatory mechanisms of sexual selection in social groups of red junglefowl, Gallus gallus, in which two related males and one unrelated male competed over females unrelated to all the males. We confirm theoretical expectations that, after controlling for male social status, competition over mating was reduced among related males. However, this effect was contrasted by other sexual selection mechanisms. First, females biased male mating in favor of

SUBMITTER: Tan CK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5324671 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature