Ecology, Sexual Selection, and the Evolution of Mating Systems

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Abstract
An ecological framework for understanding and predicting the forms of animal mating systems [general behavioral strategy] is given. The underlying assumption is that intrasexual interactions associated with mating are basically competitive. An individual member of the limited sex is expected to maximize its inclusive fitness by attempting to control access to mates of the limiting sex. The degree to which this is possible depends on the costs and benefits associated with such control. Certain environmental factors, particularly the spatial dispersion pattern of key resources and the temporal availability of receptive mates, are important determinants of these costs and benefits. The greater the potential for individuals to monopolize resources or mates, the greater the intensity of sexual selection and the greater the environmental potential for polygamy. The precise form of the mating system will depend on which sex is limiting and on the manner and the degree to which the limited sex controls the resource base or monopolizes mates (or both). An ecological categorization of mating systems is presented that allows a better understanding of the selective forces shaping one mating system over another. Within this ecological framework, specific examples are discussed ranging from the occurrence of leks to the evolution of polyandry.