Why do females of a lekking species mate with multiple males?

Abstract

In Focus: Rivers, P. R., & DuVal, E. H. (2020). Multiple paternity in a lek mating system: Females mate multiply when they choose inexperienced sires. Journal of Animal Ecology, 89, 1142–1152. In many socially monogamous species with biparental care, some females engage in extra-pair copulations, despite the apparent risk of losing male help in raising their brood. Why females mate with multiple males remains the focus of intense debate, but may be linked to constraints in social mate choice. If so, multiple mating is not expected in a lekking mating system, where females receive no resources from the male other than sperm and are free to choose the ‘best’ mate to sire their offspring. Rivers and DuVal (2020) report on the occurrence of multiple paternity in lekking lance-tailed manakins and test several hypotheses to explain it. Their study shows that lower-ranked males and males with less experience were more likely to share paternity. However, the process underlying this pattern remains puzzling. The authors suggest female choice related to male characteristics that change with experience as an explanation, but alternative scenarios cannot be excluded.