Data from: Experimental manipulation suggests effect of polyandry but not mate familiarity on within-pair aggression in the social skink, Liopholis whitii

Long-term monogamy is a key characteristic of family living across animals. The evolutionary maintenance of long-term monogamy has been suggested to be facilitated by increased reproductive coordination as a result of mate familiarity, leading to increased reproductive success. However, such effects can be compromised if females mate outside the pair bond (e.g. female polyandry), introducing conflicts of interest between the male and female. Here, we experimentally test the effects of both mate familiarity and female polyandry on agonistic behaviour and reproduction in a family living lizard, Liopholis whitii. We found that mate familiarity did not decrease the level of aggression between pairs whereas reducing female polyandry did. However, we did not find an effect of either mate familiarity or female polyandry on female reproductive output. These results suggest that male behavioural responses to female polyandry may influence pair stability in Liopholis whitii, providing support for the growing appreciation of the multiple ways in which female polyandry can influence the stability of family living.

长期单配制是各类动物家庭式群居生活的核心特征。此前研究认为，配偶熟悉度提升可增强繁殖协作，进而提高繁殖成功率，从而促进长期单配制的进化维持。然而，若雌性突破配偶关系进行交配（即雌性多配），则会削弱上述效应，并引发雌雄个体间的利益冲突。本研究以家庭群居蜥蜴Liopholis whitii为研究对象，通过实验探究配偶熟悉度与雌性多配对其争斗行为及繁殖情况的影响。研究结果显示，配偶熟悉度并未降低配对个体间的攻击水平，而降低雌性多配程度则可产生此效应。但我们未发现配偶熟悉度或雌性多配对雌性繁殖产出存在显著影响。上述结果表明，雄性对雌性多配的行为响应可能会影响Liopholis whitii的配偶关系稳定性，这为学界日益认可的“雌性多配可通过多种途径影响家庭群居生活的稳定性”这一观点提供了实证支持。