Sex-role-reversal and the Bateman gradient in coucals – females benefit from mating with multiple partners

Conventional sex roles imply that males compete more vigorously with each other for fertilizations, whereas females are more selective in choosing a mate. As a consequence, mating and reproductive success is typically more variable in males (Bateman’s principles). However, Charles Darwin already mused that some species may defy these principles, resulting in stronger sexual selection in females than males, but empirical evidence has been mixed. We studied the potential for sexual selection in two sympatric coucals – a bird family with high sex-role-variability. In sex-role-reversed black coucals, females compete for territories while males provide parental care. In white-browed coucals, sex roles are flexible. Females of both species had steeper Bateman gradients than males, suggesting females benefit from multiple mating. Male black coucals benefitted from sneaking copulations with their social mate while she prepared clutches for other mates – a male strategy not conceptually included..., , # Sex-role-reversal and the Bateman gradient in coucals – females benefit from mating with multiple partners

For correspondence regarding the code and statistical analyses, please contact: Guadalupe ([[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]))

For correspondence regarding the data collection, statistical analyses, and study systems, please contact: Wolfgang ([[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]))

In this repository, you can find all the data and code needed to reproduce our study on Bateman Gradients in Black coucals (*Centropus grillii*) and White-browed coucals (*Centropus superciliosus*) inhabiting the Usangu wetlands of Tanzania.

Our study is based on data collected over **15 breeding seasons** for Black coucals and **13 breeding seasons** for White-browed coucals.

#### Github Repository Contents

* [`BatemangradientsCoucals.Rproj`](https://github.com/lguadal/Batemangradients_coucals/blob/main/BatemangradientsCoucals.Rproj)
RStudio proje...,