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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Main Authors: MJ Griffin, GI Holwell, Matthew Symonds
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: 2019
Subjects:
Online Access: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
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spelling 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
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