Polygyny in animals
[2] Polygyny is typical of one-male, multi-female groups[3] and can be found in many species including: elephant seal,[4] spotted hyena,[5] gorilla, red-winged prinia, house wren, hamadryas baboon, common pheasant, red deer, Bengal tiger, Xylocopa sonorina, Anthidium manicatum and elk.
[citation needed] Often in polygynous systems, females will provide the majority of parental care.
Evolutionarily speaking, polygyny in birds might have evolved because many females do not require male support to care for their offspring.
Many factors affect female aggression including predator density, habitat quality, nest spacing, and territory size.
[6] The combination of resource distribution, parental care, and female breeding synchrony determines what mating strategies the limited sex will employ.
Polygyny will occur when resources are localized and females form clusters, making it easier for males to control them.
In these cases, the benefits from superior resource access must outweigh the opportunity cost of giving up monogamous parental care by a male.
Males provide resources to their harem, such as nest protection and varying levels of parental care.
Males who arrive earlier increase the likelihood that they will obtain good nesting sites, improving their odds for attracting more females.
[14] It is also possible that broad song repertoires are a supplementary cue for a good mate, in conjunction with male territory size and quality.
[15] Although highly debated, female choice in the great reed warbler may be explained by the good genes theory.
[14] From an evolutionary standpoint, the most predominant characteristic that is often found in polygynous mating systems is extreme sexual dimorphism.
[6] Extra-pair copulations are a strategy used by females to avoid the sexual conflict caused by polygyny, allowing them access to better mate choice.
In these cases, females will choose males based on secondary sexual characteristics, which may indicate access to better and more resources.
For example, female great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) have a preference to mate with males with larger song repertoires, because this indicates that they are older and may have better nesting territories.
[16] Female Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) mate with the winners of battles for the harem because the male has shown that he is stronger than another, potentially offering more protection from predators.
