social Organization MATING GROUPS OR MATING STRATEGIES jis and females of all organisms form mating ionship in a way that best enhances theig rosucive success. However, the’ mating Frioship yielding maximum success is. not fecesirly the same for both sexes. Mating gjsems are most commonly classified according fo the duration of pair bonding and the number of mates acquired by each sex. Mating groups pave been broadly classified into monogamy, polygamy and promiscuity, and there is further vatation within each category. Ms Monogamy Its the simplest mating system because it involves the smallest number of animals, Prolonged asociain and essentially exclusive mating 309 relationship between one male and one female at a time is monogamy. It is the condition in which one male and one female join to rear atleast a single offspring, it may last for a season or for life time. In other words, two that breed and remain together to rear offspring are called monogamous. 90% birds, less than 4% mammals and only 209% human societies are truly monogamous. Monogamy can include lifelong breeding pairs that spend all time together, if the mate dies then the new mate is accepted 8 gibbon. Typically monogamous pairs are formed by dikdik, duikers, steenbok, grysbok (Ungulates), songbirds, eagles, beavers, foxes, coyotes (Fig. 3) and swans, Monogamy has been classified into three categories based on : (i) The extent of male Parental investment, whether it is less, more or equal as compared, to the female parent, (ii) The extend of territoriality (Spatial : relates to space). (ii) Temporal (relates to time) relationship. Grysbok (male) Fig. 3. Monogamous animals and their grouping.310 Social Organization Golden Lion Emperor Tamarin Tamarin Fig. 4. Animals having ‘more-male investment” monogamy. The category based on male. parental investment is further distinguished into three types. 1. Facultative monogamy. In this the male parental investment is low as compared to female parental investment, ¢.g., bewick’s swans, wood duck. 2. Obligate monogamy. In this type male parental investment is equal to the female parental investment e.g., pelicans, Canada geese. In herring gulls both male and female incubate eggs, defend the nest and collect food for chicks. 3. More male investment monogamy. The males spend more time and energy rearing up the young ones e.g., emperor and golden lion temarins (Fig. 4) both of which are small, beautiful, highly endangered species found in Brazil. Males invest more in young ones as compared to the females, who generally give birth to twins. The mother takes charge of the infants only to feed them, rest of the time the male takes care of both infants, The next category is based on territoriality and is further divided into following types : 1. Territorial monogamy. The monogamous pair shares a common territory, e.g, golden lion Inde Lar Gibbon Animals having territorial monogamy. tamarin, indri, gibbon (Fig. 5), both male and female defend territory. 2, Female defence monogamy. Each male takes possession of a female and defends her instead of defending territory. Last category is based on the temporal relationship between male and female and is further divided into two categories : 1, Annual or serial monogamy. Male and female form a bond for one breeding season ot for an year e.g., small passerine birds, sparrow, warblers, chickadees. 2. Permanent or perennial monogamy. Male and female usually remain together for life e.g. kittiwake, a north American bird pait for life and both parents invest equally in offspring: the other examples are swans, geese, eagles, Siberian cranes and gibbons. Polygamy In the broad sense it covers any form of multiple mating. Kepoductive unit of one individualSocial Organization scut mate @ adult female 6. Territorial polygyny. fone sex and several of another. It has two categories, polygyny and polyandr 1. Polygyny. A single male mates with more than one female cr prolonged association and essentially exclusive mating relationship between one male and two or more females at a time is known as polygyny. It is the most common sexual strategy among mammals. The males do not stay with females to help rear up young. This has further distinction into = (a) Territorial polygyny. Some proportion of males form separate pair bonds with each of two $d o¢d all male 4 me harem Fig. 7. Harem polygyny (Female resource) 3 or more females and keep them in their territories (Fig. 6) during the mating season. (b) Harem polygyny. Males first establish their dominance rank order, social hierarchy or status system, It is the orderly distribution of rights and duties within a group. Strong and experienced animals remain at the top of the dominance hierarchy and have certain advantages (such as priority at the food or drinking site, access to preferred sleeping sites, they have priority for mating 100), but high ranking animals may also have to perform certain duties (leadership role, guard duties, fighting, chasing etc.). The highest ranking group member is designated as the alpha animal, the lowest one the omega animal. This system provides stability of relationship within the group and among themselves. Most dominant males would possess the harem (a group of females). A single male defends access to each social group of females. It can also be called as female resource polygyny, where a male defends a group of females and mates with them (Fig. 7). “The seals have to leave the water once an year and come to suitable beaches, to mate and give birth to pups, suitable -beaches are very few, consequently large number of individuals gather, the males compete for females very aggressively, only the most powerful males are successful and they become harem masters. In langurs, lions, kudus and most of the deer and antelopes, females form small social groups which are visited by males during the mating season. The rest of the males form all male groups. In some polygynous species males neither defend a food resource nor a group of females, instead, the mating previlage among males is determined by dominance hierarchy that males establish among themselves. This kind of system is called male dominance polygyny, the typical example of which is Lek formation in sage grouse (Fig. 8). Leks also occur among insects, fish and mammals, they have been studied most extensively in birds. A Lek is a defined area in which a number of males compete with each other for the possession of very small territories or mating stations, these serve only as mating sites. All the males stay at Lek throughout the breeding | |312 large sized site for leks, Fig, 8 Lek formation in sage grouse season, females visit Lek, mates and leave, lay eggs and rear up offsprings at some other nesting site (Fig. 8). Lek formation is also considered as promiscuity by many workers. Two main types of lek are distinguished, classical leks and exploded leks. In classical leks, individuals gather in small areas, within sight of each other to court and compete. Physical contest in these situations is frequent, and plays a major role in the mating rituals of certain shorebird and game bird species. In a classical lek there is no male parental care, with males aggregating at the leks site where the only resource for females are the males from which they select their mate. In exploded leks, some of these may not hold fan area and males may not aggregate but hold larger territories within which the females may also be able to forage for food. The examples are Capercaillie, Ruff, Sage Grouse, Prairie Chicken, Great Snipe; Musk “Duck, Kakapo, Uganda Kob (€)Territorial harem or resource based olygyny. Males control access to female social groups by defending: group home ranges or habitat where female groups congregate or males defend resources and would mate with visiting females, 8. in impala, which are browsers of African wooded grassland, females tend to form groups, they do not move around much but spend time together in areas where food is abundant, the dominant males take possession of such harems and defend both females and territory (Fig. 9) ‘The males of orange rumped honeyguide, a bird found in Nepal raid the comb or bee hive of giant honey bee, establish their territories around it, defend it and allow only females to enter for mating, in a season, this male may mate with as many as 18 females. In American bird, dickcissel, the males defend territories where vegetation is dense, because that attracts more females, dense male dotends preferred {food resource Fig. 9. Territorial harem or resource based polysyty.313 Fig. 10. A. Territorial polyandry, B. Non-erstorial polyandry, (c) Polyandrous jacana, vegetation provides more safe nest sites. Even the size of territory can also be an important factor. In three spined sticklebacks, the males with larger lerritories attract more number of females. (@) Successive or serial polygyny. One male is bonded with several females during a breeding season, but acquires only one female at a time 8. pied flycatcher, or three spined sticklebacks, larly, the dogs follow the same strategy, they Would mate one bitch after another without having them in a group. (©) Simuttaneous polygyny. Polyzynous males Acquire all their mates at the same time and mate With them after having them in a group e.g., red winged blackbird, fur seals, elk and langurs. 2, Polyandry, It is the rarest and unusual ‘mating system, It involves a reversal of usual roles Of the two sexes. One female bonded with several ‘males or prolonged association and essentially exclusive mating relationship between one female and two or more males at a time, or mating of one female with more than one male is polyandry. It occurs primarily in birds, this strategy also has further variations. (a) Territorial polyandry. Several males are paired with territorial females, i.e., the females have territories where males visit for mating (Fig. 10 (A)] eg.. jacana. (6) Non-territorial polyandry. Females desert their first’ males and pair with new males elsewhere, females do not possess a territory (Fig. 10 (B)L. (c) Polygynous. Polyandrous system. Both males and females form relatively short term pair bonds with several mates ¢.g., rhea, shorebirds. (d) Serial or successive _ polyandry. Polyandrous females acquire each of their mates in temporal succession (one after another) Mf,314 species of shorebirds which form temporary pair bonds and lay complete clutches for their first ‘mates and then desert to repeat the cycle with the next male, (€) Simultaneous polyandry. _Polyandrous females acquire all their mates at the same time eg. jacanas (Fig. 10 (C)} which live on lily covered ponds where their elongated toes enable them to walk on the floating vegetation. Females defend large territories (Fig. 10 (A)] which are subdivided into smaller territories, each defended by a male and containing a floating nest, females male territories, mates and lay eggs, which are incubated totally by respective males (Fig. 10 (A)]. The female is left free from all. parental duties, she spends her lime in mating, egg laying and defending her large territory against other females, she is larger and dominant over male. Polyandry in human relations occurs or has occurred in Tibet; the Canadian Arctic; northern parts of Nepal; Nigeria; Bhutan; parts of India (Kerala; Ladakh; Zanskar) and Sri Lanka, Polynesian societies, some regions of Yunnan and Sichuan regions of China, and in some Sub- Saharan African such as the Maasai people in Kenya and northem Tanzania. Polyandry has Been practised in several cultures — in the Jaunsar- Bawar region in Uttrakhand, among the Toda of South India, and the Nishi of Arunchal Pradesh examples of polyandry, in animals examples are : Myodes glareolus bank voles, species of Boidae, Red Phalarope, Nasonia vitripenni cichlid, Rana dalmatina (agile frog), Harris hawk, desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, African foam nesting frogs (african tree frog) Spotted Sandpiper and pipefish. Promiscuity It refers to species in which no durable mating relationships are formed; members of both sexes mate randomly with several partners (Fig. 11). The two sexes do not form long term bonds or associations, the mating may or may not be multiple by promiscuous animals, the examples are grouse, bears, wildebeests, chimpanzees Promiscuity can also be of different kinds 1, Broadcast promiscuity or explosive breeders. Species which have very short breeding seasons congregate to breed in large numbers, frogs may have a breeding season that lasts only ‘two days, they get together for spawning and mating tkes place randomly. Gametes are shed into the water where extemal fertilization takes place, e.g., fishes and frogs. 2. Overlap promiscuity. Mating occurs between solitary individuals with individuals of overlapping home ranges or during brief visits by fone sex to the home range or territory of the other e.g., rodents. 3. Lek or area promiscuity. Males defend a display area or territory that is used exclusively for attracting females e.g., sage grouse, Uganda ob (antelope) (it has been considered a form of polygyny by some authors). 4, Hierarchial promiscuity. Males establish dominance hierarchies that affect thei ability to mste females e.g., cape buffalo, elands, oryx (Fig. !2):