Mate choice or harassment avoidance? A question of female control at the lek

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Abstract
Recent studies on the reproductive behavior of fallow deer, Dama dama, propose that harassment from nonterritorial males has a major influence on female movements and mate selection, leading ultimately to the evolution of lek mating in this species. In order to support this statement, one must demonstrate that female movements between lek and isolated territories, and among lek males, lead to a reduction in levels of harassment. We argue that current evidence in favor of this view is inconclusive. A quantification of the total harassment costs experienced by females in lek and isolated territories has never been made. In addition, female movements within the lek may actually lead to higher levels of disruption and harassment: The rate at which females join male territories increases with harem size (the number of females present in the territory), even though harems are disrupted increasingly with size due to a higher frequency of intrusions by nonterritorial males. Females also join male territories at a higher rate while these males are engaged in copulatory sequences, but copulatory sequences are again associated with high levels of disruption and harem instability. In the above studies it is argued that females are nonselective in their mating preferences. This assessment is based on the finding that males that adopt different reproductive strategies do not differ in their mating rates. Here mating rate is measured as the number of copulations received per female-hour. There are a number of reasons, however, why females exhibiting mating preferences might remain longer with preferred males, and so the above preference measure cannot be used to exclude the possibility that females are selective. More research is required to identify the major factors influencing patterns of mate selection and the evolution of leks in this species. We suggest a number of field tests that may help to identify these factors.

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