Insect harem polygyny: when is a harem not a harem?
© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. In the context of animal behaviour, a harem is generally recognised as a mating system where a single dominant male defends and mates with a group of females. Examples of harem polygyny are best known from mammals. A small number of inse...
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ftdeakinunifig:oai:figshare.com:article/20763952 2024-06-23T07:52:30+00:00 Insect harem polygyny: when is a harem not a harem? MJ Griffin GI Holwell Matthew Symonds 2019-04-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30120766 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Insect_harem_polygyny_when_is_a_harem_not_a_harem_/20763952 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30120766 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Insect_harem_polygyny_when_is_a_harem_not_a_harem_/20763952 All Rights Reserved Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Behavioral Sciences Ecology Zoology Environmental Sciences & Ecology Social polygyny Mating system Insect behaviour Female defence Resource defence MALE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS FEMALE DEFENSE POLYGYNY SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEALS TREE WETA ORTHOPTERA SEXUAL SELECTION RED DEER PARENTAL INVESTMENT PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS MALE COMPETITION 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology Text Journal contribution 2019 ftdeakinunifig 2024-06-06T01:56:07Z © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. In the context of animal behaviour, a harem is generally recognised as a mating system where a single dominant male defends and mates with a group of females. Examples of harem polygyny are best known from mammals. A small number of insects, though, have been described as being harem polygynous but information on insects which display this mating system is scarce, and it remains poorly studied. Here we review the mating systems of these “harem polygynous” insects. We identify four main behavioural characteristics that, apart from individual males mating with multiple females in a group, are often associated with harem polygyny in vertebrates: exclusive maternal care, monandry, male-biased sexual dimorphism and temporal continuity of harem composition where the dominant male guards females from intruding males over a prolonged period. All four characteristics are commonly seen in mammals with this mating system, but no insect described as harem polygynous consistently displays all of them. Further, the mating systems of these insects can change within a breeding season, which suggests that they adapt to the changes in their environment by switching between polygyny and monogamy or female defence and resource defence polygyny. Thus, the occasional occurrence of harems in such insect species represents temporary “marriages of convenience”—with individuals (male and female) maximising their reproductive potential by adjusting their behaviour to fit the current situation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seals Southern Elephant Seals DRO - Deakin Research Online |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DRO - Deakin Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftdeakinunifig |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Behavioral Sciences Ecology Zoology Environmental Sciences & Ecology Social polygyny Mating system Insect behaviour Female defence Resource defence MALE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS FEMALE DEFENSE POLYGYNY SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEALS TREE WETA ORTHOPTERA SEXUAL SELECTION RED DEER PARENTAL INVESTMENT PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS MALE COMPETITION 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology |
spellingShingle |
Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Behavioral Sciences Ecology Zoology Environmental Sciences & Ecology Social polygyny Mating system Insect behaviour Female defence Resource defence MALE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS FEMALE DEFENSE POLYGYNY SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEALS TREE WETA ORTHOPTERA SEXUAL SELECTION RED DEER PARENTAL INVESTMENT PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS MALE COMPETITION 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology MJ Griffin GI Holwell Matthew Symonds Insect harem polygyny: when is a harem not a harem? |
topic_facet |
Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Behavioral Sciences Ecology Zoology Environmental Sciences & Ecology Social polygyny Mating system Insect behaviour Female defence Resource defence MALE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS FEMALE DEFENSE POLYGYNY SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEALS TREE WETA ORTHOPTERA SEXUAL SELECTION RED DEER PARENTAL INVESTMENT PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS MALE COMPETITION 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology |
description |
© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. In the context of animal behaviour, a harem is generally recognised as a mating system where a single dominant male defends and mates with a group of females. Examples of harem polygyny are best known from mammals. A small number of insects, though, have been described as being harem polygynous but information on insects which display this mating system is scarce, and it remains poorly studied. Here we review the mating systems of these “harem polygynous” insects. We identify four main behavioural characteristics that, apart from individual males mating with multiple females in a group, are often associated with harem polygyny in vertebrates: exclusive maternal care, monandry, male-biased sexual dimorphism and temporal continuity of harem composition where the dominant male guards females from intruding males over a prolonged period. All four characteristics are commonly seen in mammals with this mating system, but no insect described as harem polygynous consistently displays all of them. Further, the mating systems of these insects can change within a breeding season, which suggests that they adapt to the changes in their environment by switching between polygyny and monogamy or female defence and resource defence polygyny. Thus, the occasional occurrence of harems in such insect species represents temporary “marriages of convenience”—with individuals (male and female) maximising their reproductive potential by adjusting their behaviour to fit the current situation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
MJ Griffin GI Holwell Matthew Symonds |
author_facet |
MJ Griffin GI Holwell Matthew Symonds |
author_sort |
MJ Griffin |
title |
Insect harem polygyny: when is a harem not a harem? |
title_short |
Insect harem polygyny: when is a harem not a harem? |
title_full |
Insect harem polygyny: when is a harem not a harem? |
title_fullStr |
Insect harem polygyny: when is a harem not a harem? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Insect harem polygyny: when is a harem not a harem? |
title_sort |
insect harem polygyny: when is a harem not a harem? |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30120766 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Insect_harem_polygyny_when_is_a_harem_not_a_harem_/20763952 |
genre |
Elephant Seals Southern Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seals Southern Elephant Seals |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30120766 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Insect_harem_polygyny_when_is_a_harem_not_a_harem_/20763952 |
op_rights |
All Rights Reserved |
_version_ |
1802643808143278080 |