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- Title
Male mate choice in Tibetan macaques Macaca thibetana at Mt. Huangshan, China.
- Authors
Min Zhang; Jinhua Li; Yong Zhu; Xi Wang; Su Wang
- Abstract
Though females are generally more selective in mate choice, males may also benefit from mate choice if male reproductive success is limited by factors other than simply the number of female mates, and if females differ in short-term reproductive potential. We studied male mate choice in a free-ranging troop of Tibetan macaques Macaca thibetana at Mt. Huangshan, China, from August 2007 to April 2008. We employed focal animal sampling and all occurrence sampling to record sexual related behaviors. Eight adult females were divided into three female quality categories according to the females' age, rank and parity. Using male mating effort as a proxy for male mate choice, we found that males do distinguish female quality and show time-variant mating strategies. Specifically, females with dominant rank, high fecundity, and middle age attracted significantly more males. Our results suggest that female short-term reproductive potential appears to be an important variable in determining male mating effort. Male Tibetan macaques do exercise mate choice for higher quality females as well as reduce useless reproductive cost, which is consistent with the direct benefits theory of mate choice [Current Zoology 56 (2): 213-221, 2010].
- Subjects
HUANGSHAN Shi (China); CHINA; MACACA thibetana; ANIMAL sexual behavior; ANIMAL infertility; ANIMAL populations
- Publication
Current Zoology, 2010, Vol 56, Issue 2, p213
- ISSN
1674-5507
- Publication type
Article