Male mating success in red-sided garter snakes: Size is not important

Joy, Janet E.; Crews, David

doi:10.1016/s0003-3472(88)80126-x

Cited by 39 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…In European adders, the intensity of selection on male body size varies from year to year, correlated with (and, presumably, depending upon) the degree to which success in male-male combat determines a male's mating opportunities (Madsen and Shine 1993a). Similarly, studies on snake species that do not display male-male combat have reported only minor (or no) effects of increased male body size on mating success (Shine 1986;Joy and Crews 1988; but see Weatherhead et al 1995;Luiselli 1996;Shine et al 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic variation in sexual size dimorphism within a single snake species (Morelia spilota, Pythonidae)

Pearson¹,

Shine

Williams³

2002

Oecologia

115

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Unusually among reptiles, Australian carpet pythons (Morelia spilota) display substantial geographic variation in mating systems and sexual size dimorphism. We studied a population of the south-western subspecies (M. s. imbricata) of this widely distributed taxon, on Garden Island near Perth, Western Australia. Our data greatly expand the range of variation previously documented for populations of this species. Unlike eastern Australian populations where sex differences in mean adult body size are relatively minor [<10% in snout-vent length (SVL), <30% in mass], female M. s. imbricata grow to over twice the length and more than 10 times the mass of adult males. Mean adult size averages 104 cm SVL (305 g) for males versus 214 cm SVL (3.9 kg) for females. This sex difference is a consequence of cessation in growth by males, in turn due to a reduced rate of feeding. Males display low feeding rates even in captivity, suggesting that their "dwarf" sizes reflect genetic control rather than local prey availability. Observations of free-ranging snakes suggest that males do not engage in overt agonistic interactions during the mating season, and that larger body size does not enhance male mating success. These results fit well with previous interpretations of the relationship between mating systems and sexual size dimorphism in snakes, including other populations of carpet pythons. M.s. spilota displays the greatest geographic variation in sexual size dimorphism yet recorded for any vertebrate species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic variation in sexual size dimorphism within a single snake species (Morelia spilota, Pythonidae)

Pearson¹,

Shine

Williams³

2002

Oecologia

115

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“…Large-male mating advantage has been shown in many animal systems, though the mechanism underlying this advantage varies with the species (Howard 1978;Partridge et al 1987;Mathis 1991;Cooper and Vitt 1993; but see Joy and Crews 1988;Sullivan 1989 for opposing findings). In our field population of A. aperta the mean weight of males in successful mating attempts was approximately 32% greater than the mean weight of males involved in unsuccessful mating attempts.…”

Section: Mating Success and Sexual Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mating system and mating success of the desert spider Agelenopsis aperta

Singer

Riechert

1995

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Field studies of the desert spider Agelenopsis aperta revealed a primarily monogamous mating system. However polygyny, polyandry and polygynandry were superimposed upon the primary system, with 9% of the marked males and 11% of the marked females in a field population mating more than once. In the laboratory males commonly mated multiply with fertile offspring resulting, while females were less likely than males to mate multiply. Monogamy under field conditions was enforced by two factors: (1) high travel costs to males, and (2) a significant decline in female receptivity after the first mating. Heavy males were more likely to be accepted by females both in the field, and in female choice experiments conducted in the laboratory. Finally, male weight determined the outcome of male-male agonistic interactions over females. One possible explanation for female choice in this system which lacks male parental investment is that females may be using male size as an indicator of future success of their offspring.

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“…In red-sided garter snakes, Joy and Crews (1988) found no advantage to greater size or weight among males within aggregations, while Madsen and Shine (1993a) found that larger male grass snakes were more successful in mating aggregations in captivity. Neither study documented the success of individual males over a breeding season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…However, in northern water snakes, for example, swimming speed increases with male size (Weatherhead and Robertson 1992), so mobility per se does not explain why males are small. Joy and Crews (1988) found that variation in either length or weight did not affect male success within mating aggregations of red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalisparietalis), but did not speculate as to why males are smaller than females. Semlitsch and Gibbons (1982) proposed that lower maintenance costs might favor smaller males in two species of Nerodia, and Shine (1986) proposed that allocation of energy to mate searching rather than growth might favor smaller males in filesnakes (Acrochordus araurae).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Sex ratios, mating behavior and sexual size dimorphism of the northern water snake, Nerodia sipedon

Barry

Brown

Forbes

1995

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

116

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Sex ratios, mating behavior and sexual size dimorphism of the northern water snake, Nerodia sipedon Abstract Competition among males to mate is generally associated with male-biased size dimorphism. In this study we examine mating behavior in the northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon), a species in which males are much smaller than females despite substantial competition among males to mate. Competition among males was a consequence of a male-biased operational sex ratio due to slightly higher female mortality from a birth sex ratio of 1: 1, and, in 1 year, more synchronous and longer mating activity by males. Approximately one-third of both males and females appeared not to mate in a given year. Larger males were generally more likely to attempt mating, but size did not explain the variance in the number of aggregations in which individual males participated. Within aggregations, males that were successful at achieving intromission were larger than unsuccessful males in 1 of 2 years. Variation in condition (mass relative to length) and relative tail length were not generally useful predictors of either mating effort or success in males. Because large size was often advantageous to males, sexual size dimorphism appeared not to be a consequence of sexual selection favoring smaller males. Because sexual dimorphism was evident at birth, and both males and females matured sexually at about 4 years, sexual dimorphism was not simply a consequence of one sex growing at the maximum rate for longer. Female fecundity increased with size, and sex differences in size-fecundity relations may underly the pattern of sexual size dimorphism. However, because multiple mating by females is common, sperm competition is likely to be important in determining male reproductive success. Therefore, allocation of energy to sperm rather than growth may also prove to be an important influence on male growth rates and sexual size dimorphism.

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Male mating success in red-sided garter snakes: Size is not important

Cited by 39 publications

References 1 publication

Geographic variation in sexual size dimorphism within a single snake species (Morelia spilota, Pythonidae)

Geographic variation in sexual size dimorphism within a single snake species (Morelia spilota, Pythonidae)

Mating system and mating success of the desert spider Agelenopsis aperta

Sex ratios, mating behavior and sexual size dimorphism of the northern water snake, Nerodia sipedon

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