SpringerLink
Log in

Intrasexual Selection: How Males Compete

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Animal Behaviour

  • 1905 Accesses

Abstract

Although modern sex roles acknowledge the fact that males and females both compete for and chose mates, there are sound theoretical reasons for expecting massive sex differences in these behavioural domains. Because of the resulting sex bias in the empirical evidence, this overview of the mechanisms and consequences of intrasexual selection focuses on male reproductive strategies. All traits that increase the probability of obtaining mating opportunities, even minimally, are positively evaluated by intrasexual selection. Sexually-selected adaptations are found in very different traits, but behaviour plays a prominent role in implementing many of them. The presentation of these adaptations follows the logical chronological sequence of events by distinguishing between pre- and post-copulatory competition. The basic concept of a strategy, which applies to both sexes, is presented before this discussion for a better appreciation of sex-specific adaptations within the context of reproduction.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Literature

  • Amundsen T, Forsgren E (2001) Male mate choice selects for female coloration in a fish. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98:13155–13160

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Arak A (1983) Sexual selection by male-male competition in natterjack toad choruses. Nature 306:261–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnold W, Dittami J (1997) Reproductive suppression in male alpine marmots. Anim Behav 53:53–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baeta R, Faivre B, Motreuil S, Gaillard M, Moreau J (2008) Carotenoid trade-off between parasitic resistance and sexual display: an experimental study in the blackbird (Turdus merula). Proc R Soc Lond B 275:427–434

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borries C (1997) Infanticide in seasonally breeding multimale groups of Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus) in Ramnagar (South Nepal). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 41:139–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borries C, Launhardt K, Epplen C, Epplen JT, Winkler P (1999a) DNA analyses support the hypothesis that infanticide is adaptive in langur monkeys. Proc R Soc Lond B 266:901–904

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borries C, Launhardt K, Epplen C, Epplen JT, Winkler P (1999b) Males as infant protectors in Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus) living in multimale groups - defence pattern, paternity and sexual behaviour. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 46:350–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byrne PG, Roberts JD (2004) Intrasexual selection and group spawning in quacking frogs (Crinia georgiana). Behav Ecol 15:872–882

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock TH, Albon SD (1979) Roaring of red deer and the evolution of honest advertisement. Behaviour 69:145–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock TH, Guinness FE, Albon SD (1982) Red Deer: behavior and ecology of two sexes. Univ of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock TH, Rose KE, Guiness FE (1997) Density-related changes in sexual selection in red deer. Proc R Soc Lond B 264:1509–1516

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Darwin C (1871) The descent of man and selection in relation to sex. Murray, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Davies NB (1983) Polyandry, cloaca-pecking and sperm competition in dunnocks. Nature 302:334–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies NB, Halliday TR (1978) Deep croaks and fighting assessment in toads, Bufo bufo. Nature 274:683–685

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • den Boer SPA, Baer B, Boomsma JJ (2010) Seminal fluid mediates ejaculate competition in social insects. Science 327:1506–1509

    Google Scholar 

  • Dominey WJ (1984) Alternative mating tactics and evolutionarily stable strategies. Integr Comp Biol 24:385–396

    Google Scholar 

  • Eberhard WG (1985) Sexual selection and animal genitalia. Harvard Univ Press, Cambridge/MA

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Edward DA, Chapman T (2011) The evolution and significance of male mate choice. Trends Ecol Evol 26:647–654

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Emberts Z, St. Mary CM, Herrington TJ, Miller CW (2018) Males missing their sexually selected weapon have decreased fighting ability and mating success in a competitive environment. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 72:81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emlen DJ (2001) Costs and the diversification of exaggerated animal structures. Science 291:1534–1536

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Emlen ST, Oring LW (1977) Ecology, sexual selection, and the evolution of mating systems. Science 197:215–223

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fabiani A, Galimberti F, Sanvito S, Hoelzel AR (2004) Extreme polygyny among southern elephant seals on sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands. Behav Ecol 15:961–969

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer J, Kitchen DM, Seyfarth RM, Cheney DL (2004) Baboon loud calls advertise male quality: acoustic features and their relation to rank, age, and exhaustion. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 56:140–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Froman DP, Pizzari T, Feltmann AJ, Castillo-Juarez H, Birkhead TR (2002) Sperm mobility: mechanisms of fertilizing efficiency, genetic variation and phenotypic relationship with male status in the domestic fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus. Proc R Soc Lond B 269:607–612

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghiselin MT (1974) The economy of nature and the evolution of sex. Univ of California Press, Berkely

    Google Scholar 

  • Gowaty PA, Drickamer LC, Schmid-Holmes S (2003) Male house mice produce fewer offspring with lower viability and poorer performance when mated with females they do not prefer. Anim Behav 65:95–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • House CM, Simmons LW (2003) Genital morphology and fertilization success in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus: an example of sexually selected male genitalia. Proc R Soc Lond B 270:447–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huck UW, Tonias BA, Lisk RD (1989) The effectiveness of competitive male inseminations in golden hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus, depends on an interaction of mating order, time delay between males, and the time of mating relative to ovulation. Anim Behav 37:674–680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Immler S et al (2011) Resolving variation in the reproductive tradeoff between sperm size and number. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108:5325–5330

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston SE et al (2013) Life history trade-offs at a single locus maintain sexually selected genetic variation. Nature 502:93–95

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joseph PN, Emberts Z, Sasson DA, Miller CW (2018) Males that drop a sexually selected weapon grow larger testes. Evolution 72:113–122

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kappeler PM (1997) Intrasexual selection in mirza coquereli: evidence for scramble competition polygyny in a solitary primate. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 41:115–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kempenaers B, Schlicht E (2010) Extra-pair behaviour. In: Kappeler PM (ed) Animal behaviour: evolution and mechanisms. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 359–411

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Komdeur J (2001) Mate guarding in the Seychelles warbler is energetically costly and adjusted to paternity risk. Proc R Soc Lond B 268:2103–2111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kruuk LEB, Clutton-Brock TH, Rose KE, Guiness FE (1999) Early determinants of lifetime reproductive success differ between the sexes in red deer. Proc R Soc Lond B 266:1655–1661

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kutsukake N, Nunn CL (2006) Comparative tests of reproductive skew in male primates: the roles of demographic factors and incomplete control. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 60:695–706

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamichhaney S et al (2016) Structural genomic changes underlie alternative reproductive strategies in the ruff (Philomachus pugnax). Nat Genet 48:84–88

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lemasson A, Palombit RA, Jubin R (2008) Friendships between males and lactating females in a free-ranging group of olive baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis): evidence from playback experiments. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62:1027–1035

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis SM, Kobel A, Fedina T, Beeman RW (2005) Sperm stratification and paternity success in red flour beetles. Physiol Entomol 30:303–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Ligon RA, McGraw KJ (2013) Chameleons communicate with complex colour changes during contests: different body regions convey different information. Biol Lett 9:20130892

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lindenfors P, Gittleman JL, Jones KE (2007) Sexual size dimorphism in mammals. In: Fairbairn DJ, Blanckenhorn WU, Szekely T (eds) Sex, size, and gender roles: evolutionary studies of sexual size dimorphism. Oxford Univ Press, Oxford, pp 16–26

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd JE (1981) Mimicry in the sexual signals of fireflies. Sci Am 245:138–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lüpold S, Fitzpatrick JL (2015) Sperm number trumps sperm size in mammalian ejaculate evolution. Proc R Soc Lond B 282:20152122

    Google Scholar 

  • Maggioncalda AN, Czekala NM, Sapolsky RM (2002) Male orangutan subadulthood: a new twist on the relationship between chronic stress and developmental arrest. Am J Phys Anthropol 118:25–32

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Manier MK et al (2010) Resolving mechanisms of competitive fertilization success in Drosophila melanogaster. Science 328:354–357

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maynard Smith J (1994) Must reliable signals always be costly? Anim Behav 47:1115–1120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maynard Smith J, Harper DGC (2003) Animal Signals. Oxford Univ Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitoyen C, Quigley C, Fusani L (2019) Evolution and function of multimodal courtship displays. Ethology 125:503–515

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Moczek AP, Emlen DJ (2000) Male horn dimorphism in the scarab beetle, Onthophagus taurus: do alternative reproductive tactics favour alternative phenotypes? Anim Behav 59:459–466

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP (1989) Ejaculate quality, testes size and sperm production in mammals. Funct Ecol 3:91–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore FR, Shuker DM, Dougherty L (2016) Stress and sexual signaling: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Behav Ecol 27:363–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ono T, Siva-Jothy MT, Kato A (1989) Removal and subsequent ingestion of rivals' semen during copulation in a tree cricket. Physiol Entomol 14:195–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orr TJ, Brennan PLR (2015) Sperm storage: distinguishing selective processes and evaluating criteria. Trends Ecol Evol 30:261–272

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parker GA (1990) Sperm competition games: raffles and roles. Proc R Soc Lond B 242:120–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker GA (2001) Golden flies, sunlit meadows: a tribute to the yellow dungfly. In: Dugatkin LA (ed) Model Systems in Behavioral Ecology: integrating conceptual, theoretical, and empirical approaches. Princeton Univ Press, Princeton, pp 3–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker GA, Pizzari T (2010) Sperm competition and ejaculate economics. Biol Rev 85:897–934

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Penn DJ, Számadó S (2020) The handicap principle: how an erroneous hypothesis became a scientific principle. Biol Rev 95:267–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preston BT, Stevenson IR, Pemberton JM, Coltman DW, Wilson K (2003) Overt and covert competition in a promiscuous mammal: the importance of weaponry and testes size to male reproductive success. Proc R Soc Lond B 270:633–640

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ramm SA, Stockley P (2014) Sequential male mate choice under sperm competition risk. Behav Ecol 25:660–667

    Google Scholar 

  • Reby D, McComb K (2003) Anatomical constraints generate honesty: acoustic cues to age and weight in the roars of red deer stags. Anim Behav 65:519–530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts EK, Lu A, Bergman TJ, Beehner JC (2012) A Bruce effect in wild geladas. Science 335:1222–1225

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan KK, Altmann J (2001) Selection for male choice based primarily on mate compatibility in the oldfield mouse, Peromyscus polionotus rhoadsi. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 50:436–440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider JM, Elgar MA (2001) Sexual cannibalism and sperm competition in the golden orb-web spider Nephila plumipes (Araneoidea): female and male perspectives. Behav Ecol 12:547–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider JM, Lubin Y (1996) Infanticidal male eresid spiders. Nature 381:655–656

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schwagmeyer PL (1979) The Bruce effect: an evaluation of male/female advantages. Am Nat 114:932–938

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Setchell JM (2005) Do female mandrills prefer brightly colored males? Int J Primatol 26:715–735

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen J-X et al (2008) Ultrasonic frogs show hyperacute phonotaxis to female courtship calls. Nature 453:914–916

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Short RV (1981) Sexual selection in man and the great apes. In: Graham CE (ed) Reproductive biology of the great apes: comparative and biomedical perspectives. Academic, London, pp 319–341

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuster SM, Wade MJ (1991) Equal mating success among male reproductive strategies in a marine isopod. Nature 350:608–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Squires ZE, Wong BBM, Norman MD, Stuart-Fox D (2015) Last male sperm precedence in a polygamous squid. Biol J Linn Soc 116:277–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taborsky M, Brockmann HJ (2010) Alternative reproductive tactics and life history phenotypes. In: Kappeler PM (ed) Animal behaviour: evolution and mechanisms. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 537–586

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Taborsky M, Schütz D, Goffinet O, van Doorn GS (2018) Alternative male morphs solve sperm performance/longevity trade-off in opposite directions. Sci Adv 4:eaap8563

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • van Schaik CP (2000a) Infanticide by male primates: the sexual selection hypothesis revisited. In: van Schaik CP, Janson CH (Hrsg) Infanticide by males and its implications. Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, S 27–60

    Google Scholar 

  • van Schaik CP (2000b) Social counterstrategies against male infanticide in primates and other mammals. In: Kappeler PM (ed) Primate males: causes and consequences of variation in group composition. Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, pp 34–52

    Google Scholar 

  • van Schaik CP, Kappeler PM (1997) Infanticide risk and the evolution of male-female association in primates. Proc R Soc Lond B 264:1687–1694

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Kuerthy C, Taborsky M (2016) Contest versus scramble competition among males pursuing fixed or plastic alternative reproductive tactics. Anim Behav 113:203–212

    Google Scholar 

  • Vehrencamp SL (1983) A model for the evolution of despotic versus egalitarian societies. Anim Behav 31:667–682

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vihervaara H, Sundell J, Ylönen H (2010) Is mating alone enough to inhibit infanticide in male bank voles? Ethology 116:888–894

    Google Scholar 

  • Waage JK (1979) Dual function of the damselfly penis: sperm removal and transfer. Science 203:916–918

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wikelski M, Steiger SS, Gall B, Nelson KN (2005) Sex, drugs, and mating role: testosterone-induced phenotype-switching in Galapagos marine iguanas. Behav Ecol 16:260–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wrangham RW (1993) The evolution of sexuality in chimpanzees and bonobos. Hum Nat 4:47–79

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zahavi A (1975) Mate selection - a selection for handicap. J Theor Biol 53:205–214

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

    Peter M. Kappeler

Authors
  1. Peter M. Kappeler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter M. Kappeler .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kappeler, P.M. (2021). Intrasexual Selection: How Males Compete. In: Animal Behaviour. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82879-0_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation