Determinants of mating success in a lek-mating species
Description
- Leks are male-biased aggregations formed for mating, where sperm is the only resource acquired by visiting females.
- One of the many advantages of leks is the possibility to efficiently assess the quality of potential mates by comparing aggregated individuals of the same sex with one another.
- When direct mate choice occurs in a lekking species it is often exhibited by females, but some studies have also demonstrated the presence of male mate choice.
- We investigate mate choice in the lek forming European woodwasp, Sirex noctilio.
- We determine the importance of age and size as predictors of mating success.
- We demonstrate that mating is not random and that male and female traits affect mating success.
- Age plays an important role in mating success in both males and females with older males mating more and younger females being more attractive and more receptive to mating.
- Relative male size seems to play a role in mating success with males being more successful when attempting to mate with females that are larger than them.
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