Dominance, fatness and fitness in female American bison, Bison bison

Vervaecke, Hilde; Roden, Catherine; Vries, Han de

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.12.018

Cited by 60 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Studies of managed or provisioned populations may typically be less informative, although some have revealed significant effects (e.g. Meikle & Vessey, 1988; Paul, Kuester, & Arnemann, 1992; Cassinello & Alados, 1996; Vervaecke, Roden & De Vries, 2005; Pluháček, Bartoš & Čulík, 2006). Similarly, fluctuations in resource availability in natural populations could mean that long‐term studies are more likely to reveal reproductive benefits associated with social status.…”

Section: Female Competition For Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female competition and its evolutionary consequences in mammals

2011

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Following Darwin's original insights regarding sexual selection, studies of intrasexual competition have mainly focused on male competition for mates; by contrast, female reproductive competition has received less attention. Here, we review evidence that female mammals compete for both resources and mates in order to secure reproductive benefits. We describe how females compete for resources such as food, nest sites, and protection by means of dominance relationships, territoriality and inter-group aggression, and by inhibiting the reproduction of other females. We also describe evidence that female mammals compete for mates and consider the ultimate causes of such behaviour, including competition for access to resources provided by mates, sperm limitation and prevention of future resource competition. Our review reveals female competition to be a potentially widespread and significant evolutionary selection pressure among mammals, particularly competition for resources among social species for which most evidence is currently available. We report that female competition is associated with many diverse adaptations, from overtly aggressive behaviour, weaponry, and conspicuous sexual signals to subtle and often complex social behaviour involving olfactory signalling, alliance formation, altruism and spite, and even cases where individuals appear to inhibit their own reproduction. Overall, despite some obvious parallels with male phenotypic traits favoured under sexual selection, it appears that fundamental differences in the reproductive strategies of the sexes (ultimately related to parental investment) commonly lead to contrasting competitive goals and adaptations. Because female adaptations for intrasexual competition are often less conspicuous than those of males, they are generally more challenging to study. In particular, since females often employ competitive strategies that directly influence not only the number but also the quality (survival and reproductive success) of their own offspring, as well as the relative reproductive success of others, a multigenerational view ideally is required to quantify the full extent of variation in female fitness resulting from intrasexual competition. Nonetheless, current evidence indicates that the reproductive success of female mammals can also be highly variable over shorter time scales, with significant reproductive skew related to competitive ability. Whether we choose to describe the outcome of female reproductive competition (competition for mates, for mates controlling resources, or for resources per se) as sexual selection depends on how sexual selection is defined. Considering sexual selection strictly as resulting from differential mating or fertilisation success, the role of female competition for the sperm of preferred (or competitively successful) males appears particularly worthy of more detailed investigation. Broader definitions of sexual selection have recently been proposed to encompass the impact on reproduction of competition for resources other than...

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Section: Female Competition For Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female competition and its evolutionary consequences in mammals

2011

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“…2006). For social species, competition among group mates dictates access to food (Wheeler 1986; Markiewicz & O’Donnell 2001; Vervaecke et al. 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Males Exhibit Novel Relationships of Dominance with Nest Departure in the Social Paper WaspMischocyttarus mastigophorus(Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Molina

O’Donnell

2009

Ethology

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In many animal societies, an individual’s opportunities to reproduce correspond to their position in a dominance hierarchy. In primitively eusocial paper wasps, female social dominance and direct reproduction are positively associated with taking food from nest mates, but both negatively correlate with foraging flights. Female paper wasps reproduce by laying eggs in their nest, while males reproduce by leaving the nest to copulate. Males of Mischocyttarus mastigophorus are unusual because they reside on their natal nests for prolonged periods, and males direct aggression towards female nestmates. Mischocyttarus mastigophorus males provide an opportunity to further analyse the relationships between dominance, nutrition and nest departure. We found males’ rates of social aggression, food taking behaviour, and rates of nest departure were positively correlated. Furthermore, males that initiated aggression at younger ages also began flying earlier, and males engaged in all three behaviours at younger ages than females. Male social aggression may lead to nutrient acquisition, which enable males to depart from the nest. We hypothesise that male nest departure could be adaptive if it increases male mating opportunities. This could account for the positive relationship between dominance and nest departure for males.

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“…The former provides information on the linearity of the dominance order and the consistency of the direction of the interactions among dyads. The latter quantifies rank distances between individuals, based upon their relative probability of winning or losing dominance interactions (de Vries 1998) and can be used to calculate a measure of the steepness of the hierarchy (De Vries et al 2005). Dominance relations that are consistent, transitive and stable result in a strongly linear and steep, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggression and dominance in matched groups of subadult Icelandic horses (Equus caballus)

Vervaecke

Stevens

Vandemoortele³

et al. 2006

J Ethol

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We studied sex differences in the nature of aggression and dominance behaviour in two newly formed groups of 1-year-old Icelandic horses. One herd contained nine geldings, the other nine mares. The groups were matched with regard to dominancedetermining traits such as age, weaning age, composition of native herd, social experience, genetic origin, body condition and maternal dominance status. Highranking individuals of both sexes were more aggressive, high-ranking males were older, and high-ranking females had a better body condition. Frequencies of aggressions were similar in both groups. The mares reacted significantly more by showing submission upon an aggression rather than by not responding or by escalating the aggression. For the geldings, this difference was not observed due to a lower tendency to submit. A linear dominance hierarchy was found in both groups. David's scores provided additional information regarding cardinal rank distances and were used to calculate steepness of hierarchies. The female hierarchy was somewhat steeper compared to the male hierarchy, suggesting somewhat lower despotism among males. This was mainly a consequence of the lower unidirectionality in male submission. Male contests occurred predominantly between dyads at top and mid positions, suggesting a low degree of acceptance of the hierarchy.

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Dominance, fatness and fitness in female American bison, Bison bison

Cited by 60 publications

References 48 publications

Female competition and its evolutionary consequences in mammals

Female competition and its evolutionary consequences in mammals

Males Exhibit Novel Relationships of Dominance with Nest Departure in the Social Paper WaspMischocyttarus mastigophorus(Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Aggression and dominance in matched groups of subadult Icelandic horses (Equus caballus)

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