We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Sex-biased dispersal in a long-lived polygynous reptile ( Crocodylus johnstoni ).
- Authors
Tucker, A. D.; McCallum, H. I.; Limpus, C. J.; McDonald, K. R.
- Abstract
We compared natal dispersals of freshwater crocodiles ( Crocodylus johnstoni) against the prediction of male dispersal bias for a polygynous mating system. The crocodiles inhabited a linear series of pools and we calculated the net distances from natal pools to recapture locations some 12–18 years later, at maturity. Philopatry was assessed in terms of adult social distances. A female social distance was 0.46 pools and a male social distance was 1.0 pool. By these criteria, both sexes showed low levels of philopatry (7–12%). However, individuals of both sexes dispersed from the natal site long before they were sexually mature. Divergence in dispersal patterns by sex occurred after the maturity threshold, as males dispersed two to three times farther than females. Intrasexual competition by males is resolved by a size-based hierarchy. The displacement of small males from local mating access is a probable cause of the longer dispersals undertaken by males. Competition, rather than inbreeding avoidance, is driving dispersal in this population of freshwater crocodiles.
- Subjects
CROCODYLUS johnstoni; CROCODILES; ANIMAL dispersal; ANIMAL sexual behavior; PHILOPATRY
- Publication
Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology, 1998, Vol 44, Issue 2, p85
- ISSN
0340-5443
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s002650050519