Reproductive effort and success of males in scramble competition polygyny: evidence for trade-offs between foraging and mate-search

1. Patterns of male reproductive allocation provide insight into life-history characteristics. The trade-offs associated with resource and female group defense are well-defined. However, less is understood about trade-offs in species that practice scramble-competition polygyny, where successful strategies may favor competitive mate-searching rather than contest competition and fighting.
2. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) practice scramble-competition polygyny where solitary males search for and assess receptivity of females scattered across the landscape. Physically mature males are expected to do most of the breeding because of the high energetic costs of reproduction and high social status. However, young males may collectively sire one-third of offspring. To gain a better understanding of trade-offs associated with scramble-competition polygyny, we quantified metrics associated with reproductive effort and success.
3. We quantified changes in body mass of harvested m...

1. 雄性繁殖分配模式可为生活史特征研究提供关键洞见。与资源分配及雌性群体防御相关的权衡关系已有明确阐释，但对于实行掠夺式竞争多配制（scramble-competition polygyny）的物种，其相关权衡机制的认知仍较为匮乏——这类物种的成功繁殖策略更偏向竞争性配偶搜寻，而非争斗性竞争与打斗。
2. 白尾鹿（Odocoileus virginianus）即实行掠夺式竞争多配制，其独居雄性会搜寻并评估散布于栖息环境内的雌性的发情状态。由于繁殖所需的高昂能量成本与社会地位差异，体成熟雄性通常承担绝大多数繁殖任务，但年轻雄性仍可共同参与产下约三分之一的后代。为更深入理解掠夺式竞争多配制相关的权衡关系，本研究对与繁殖投入及繁殖成功率相关的多项指标进行了量化分析。
3. 我们对猎获个体的体重变化进行了量化分析……