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Behavioral Ecology Advance Access originally published online on December 5, 2006
Behavioral Ecology 2007 18(2):287-291; doi:10.1093/beheco/arl081
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Kin selection does not explain male aggregation at leks of 4 manakin species

Bette A. Loiselle, Thomas B. Ryder, Renata Durães, Wendy Tori, John G. Blake and Patricia G. Parker

Department of Biology and International Center for Tropical Ecology, One University Boulevard, University of Missouri-St Louis, St Louis, MO 63121, USA

Address correspondence to B.A. Loiselle, who is now at the Department of Biology, One University Boulevard, University of Missouri-St Louis, St Louis, MO 63121, USA. E-mail: loiselle{at}umsl.edu.


  Abstract

In lek-mating systems, males aggregate at display arenas and females visit solely for the purpose of mating. This breeding system is characterized by high variance in male mating success with one male often receiving most copulations. High reproductive skew among males has led to question why males join leks when their chances of reproductive success are so low. Kin selection has been invoked as a mechanism to explain the evolution of lekking behavior, whereby nonreproducing but genetically related males gain indirect inclusive-fitness benefits. Evidence for kin selection among lek-mating birds is, however, mixed. Here, we show that kin selection is unlikely to be an important explanation for evolution of lekking behavior in manakins (Aves: Pipridae). We found that for 4 species chosen from several major clades within Pipridae, males within leks were not significantly more related than expected from random assortment of males in the population. This means that nonreproducing males do not gain indirect inclusive-fitness benefits by joining leks. This result suggests alternative mechanisms must be invoked to explain the evolution of lek-mating systems in manakins.

Key words: genetic relatedness, kin selection, lek breeding, manakin, pipridae.

Received 1 March 2006; revised 22 August 2006; accepted 2 November 2006.


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Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
T. B. Ryder, P. G. Parker, J. G. Blake, and B. A. Loiselle
It takes two to tango: reproductive skew and social correlates of male mating success in a lek-breeding bird
Proc R Soc B, July 7, 2009; 276(1666): 2377 - 2384.
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