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This study investigates the effects of individuality and harem‐holding status on the acoustic parameters of rutting calls (bugles) of 14 stags of Siberian wapiti Cervus canadensis sibiricus. The stags competed for mating with hinds in a large herd, free ranging inside a fenced area with complex landscape. We considered as harem‐holders the stags, which kept a harem of 5 or more hinds for at least 2 days. Of the 15 days of observations enveloping the most active rutting period, during 3 days there was only one harem in the enclosure, during 9 days two harems, during 2 days three harems and during 1 day four harems. Stag bugles displayed both individual and status‐related variation. Harem‐holders compared with peripheral stags had shorter bugles with higher minimum fundamental frequency. After winning a harem and changing status from harem‐candidate to harem‐holder, stags shortened the duration of their bugles, lowered the beginning and maximum fundamental frequency and increased the minimum fundamental frequency. Significantly higher than the levels expected by chance, discriminant analysis classified 78.9% of bugles by the correct stag status and 53.2% of bugles by the correct individual callers. Different acoustic parameters encoded the status and individuality of the bugles. Status was encoded by the duration of the start and end parts and by the beginning and end fundamental frequencies. Individuality was encoded by the maximum fundamental frequency. We discuss that rutting calls of Siberian wapiti, although individualized, do not represent vocal signatures. However, these calls reliably mark stag harem‐holding status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores reactions to the practice of polygyny in Denmark over the last 30 years. While bigamy was listed in the criminal code, the public approach to marital choices up until the 1990s was generally one of non-interference. In the face of immigration from non-Western countries, the clause on bigamy becomes an instrument to criminalise polygyny and limit access to residence permits. Unpacking this rationale through the study of the political and public discourse surrounding four occurrences of polygyny in Denmark and their legal consequences, we flesh out the underlying values that structure private relations and personal choices in Danish liberal democracy. We demonstrate how the criminalisation of certain non-monogamous unions must be negotiated within a liberal approach to marriage, religious belief, and right to privacy. Here, women’s rights and equality, in an increasingly multicultural Denmark, become a trope activated to problematise this practice. The rejection of divergent cultural practices such as polygyny, we argue, serves both to reaffirm the superiority of Danish values and to produce more restrictive migration laws. The criminalisation of pologyny thus, serves as a case study to examine the scopes and limits for pluralism in Western liberal democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mating systems, influenced by the social and ecological environment and individual attributes, are fundamental components of animal social organisation, impacting behaviour, animal distribution, ecosystem processes, individual reproductive success, and population dynamics. Bats are of particular interest for studies of mating systems as they are thought to exhibit a greater diversity in mating systems than any other mammalian order, and thus make great models for improving our fundamental understanding of causes and consequences of social organisation. Here, we review the current knowledge of bat mating systems. Our analyses show that research on bat mating systems has not kept pace with research on bats in general and that traditional typologies do not accommodate the mating system of several species. Therefore, we propose an alternative, functional framework to categorise mating systems of bats and by extension of other taxa. We argue that mating systems can be classified according to a male reproductive skew continuum, with an increasing skew from monogamy to true lekking. We include an additional category of lek‐like mating system along the continuum to account for previous trans‐categorical cases that have the appearance of resource defence but are functionally akin to a lek. The new framework has a total of seven categories: promiscuity, monogamy, female defence polygyny, resource defence polygyny, a lek‐like mating system, exploded classical lek, and clustered classical lek. Applying this framework to bats reveals that lek mating systems are more prevalent in bats than previously recognised. It is our aim that this review and the proposed framework provide a greater understanding of bat mating systems particularly and provoke research into the factors that shape mating systems across animal taxa more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In polygynous ungulates, males are often larger than females and bear more elaborate/larger weapons. Quantifying sexual dimorphism in different traits could provide insights into species-specific evolutionary pathways of sexual selection. Concerning the combination of secondary sexual traits, we found that Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) is unique among the ~20 species in the tribe Caprini, as its body mass dimorphism is ~2-fold greater than the dimorphism in horn size, whereas horn shape appears to be near-monomorphic. Whilst horns show the same growth rate in both sexes, body mass increases faster in males. Considering age variation, dominant, golden-ruffed males are also heavier than brown-ruffed, lower-ranking males. Unlike most bovids, male–male competition in tahr does not seem to have influenced weapon development, suggesting a lower importance of horns in male–male competition compared to body mass, as their unritualized combat style also suggests. Our study highlights alternative evolutionary pathways occurring in the Caprinae, where intraspecific signals involve different traits, from weapons to pelage features. Accordingly, male tahr use their ruff colour as an 'honest' signal of rank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Darwin–Bateman paradigm predicts that females enhance their fitness by being choosy and mating with high‐quality males, while males should compete to mate with as many females as possible. In many species, males enhance their fitness by defending females and/or resources used by females. That is, males directly defend access to mating opportunities. However, paternity analyses have repeatedly shown that females in most species mate polyandrously, which contradicts traditional expectations that male defensive behaviours lead to monandry. Here, in an extensive meta‐analysis, encompassing 109 species and 1026 effect sizes from across the animal kingdom, we tested if the occurrence of defensive behaviours modulates sexual selection on females and males. If so, we can illuminate the extent to which males really succeed in defending access to mating and fertilisation opportunities. We used four different indices of the opportunity for sexual selection that comprise pre‐mating and/or post‐mating episodes of selection. We found, for both sexes, that the occurrence of defensive behaviours does not modulate the potential strength of sexual selection. This implies that male defensive behaviours do not predict the true intensity of sexual selection. While the most extreme levels of sexual selection on males are in species with male defensive behaviours, which indicates that males do sometimes succeed in restricting females' re‐mating ability (e.g. elephant seals, Mirounga leonina), estimates of the opportunity for sexual selection vary greatly across species, regardless of whether or not defensive behaviours occur. Indeed, widespread polyandry shows that females are usually not restricted by male defensive behaviours. In addition, our results indicate that post‐mating episodes of selection, such as cryptic female choice and sperm competition, might be important factors modulating the opportunity for sexual selection. We discuss: (i) why male defensive behaviours fail to lower the opportunity for sexual selection among females or fail to elevate it for males; (ii) how post‐mating events might influence sexual selection; and (iii) the role of females as active participants in sexual selection. We also highlight that inadequate data reporting in the literature prevented us from extracting effect sizes from many studies that had presumably collected the relevant data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Field Ornithology is the property of Resilience Alliance and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In polygynous species, male reproductive success is often determined by their ability to dominate female harems. Harem‐holders sire a disproportionate number of offspring. Male dominance tends to correlate with age, but intense competition and early male mortality limit most males from achieving high social status. To maximize reproductive success despite low rank, offspring sex ratio adjustment may have evolved, favoring the sex with higher fitness. If traits influencing dominance are heritable and confer reproductive advantages, we expect fathers with higher reproductive success to produce more sons, as they are more likely to become dominant. In contrast, subordinate males with lower success may benefit from siring more daughters. We tested this hypothesis on a colony of southern elephant seals breeding on the Kerguelen Archipelago. We used genetic markers to link the paternity of 540 pups to 58 breeding males. We found that the probability of siring a son increases from 43% to 54% with paternal relative reproductive success, supporting the offspring sex ratio adjustment hypothesis. Given that various factors influence sex ratio in a population, future studies should tease apart these ecological processes (e.g., paternal dominance, maternal condition, local density, or adult sex ratio) and investigate how they interact with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Historically, researchers' biases about male and female behavior have affected the study of mate choice (animals' selective responses to certain sexual partners over others), and female mate choice has often been dismissed as unimportant. In this study, we investigated whether female blue monkeys could exercise mate choice successfully by siring offspring with their preferred males. Blue monkeys generally live in a one-male multi-female social organization, but multiple males may join the group during the breeding season. Female blue monkeys, thus, have access to multiple potential mates, and initiate sexual interactions more than males, making them an appropriate species in which to study female choice. We found that a female's most preferred male was most likely to be the father of her infant, even if he was not a consistent group member. Though competition between males may still influence paternity outcomes, these results suggest that blue monkey females can exercise mate choice successfully, even in a social organization that would seem to favor male control. Female mate choice may drive sexual selection, but discerning whether female behaviors reflect free expression of choice or responses to constraints can be difficult. We investigated the efficacy of female choice in wild blue monkeys using 10 years of behavior and paternity data (N = 178 male–female dyads). Although blue monkeys live modally in one-male polygynous groups, where male-biased intersexual power is expected, females can access multiple potential mates during seasonal male influxes and occasional intergroup encounters. Additionally, extra-group males sire offspring. We examined female resistance rates to male-initiated sexual interactions, and unsolicited proceptive behavior that females directed to males (corrected for male availability). Females seldom resisted male solicitation, but initiated sexual interactions more than males. Females generally preferred residents. Those who preferred non-residents tended to have residents with longer tenures, but neither female parity nor rank influenced the tendency to prefer non-residents vs. residents. The male most solicited by a particular female fathered that female's infant 82% of the time; odds of siring were 26 times higher for most vs. nonpreferred males. Female preference predicted paternity even more strongly among non-resident males, with odds of siring 33 times higher for most vs. nonpreferred non-residents. Neither female rank nor parity influenced her likelihood of having her preferred partner as sire. Paternity by preferred males did not affect infant survival. While we cannot fully discount the effect of male–male competition on paternity, these results suggest that blue monkey females can exercise choice successfully, even in a polygynous mating system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marriage law in Indonesia adheres to the principle of non-absolute monogamy. The Marriage Law states that a husband may have more than one wife if the parties concerned wish, or this is known as polygamy. Polygamy is divided into two, namely polygyny and polyandry, but only polygyny is recognized in Indonesia. Polygyny has been regulated in such a way by the Government, however, the practice of serial polygyny (underhand) is still widespread, which has an impact on the distribution of assets. This research aims to find out about the validity of siri polygynous wives as heirs and the judge’s decision ratio regarding the distribution of assets to siri polygynous wives. The research model used is normative juridical with a statutory approach, conceptual approach and case approach. So the result is that the wife of a polygynous marriage in a serial manner gets a division of assets (both joint assets and inherited assets) if the marriage is solemnized and in court can prove that the marriage actually occurred and was in accordance with the requirements and pillars of Islamic law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Field Ornithology is the property of Resilience Alliance and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Southern Ocean, its ecosystem, and inhabitants are vulnerable to climate‐mediated shifts in habitat conditions. These changes can affect marine predators in the long term through changes in the distribution, density, and quality of prey. To understand how these changes affect vital rates requires longitudinal studies integrating demography and environmental states. We analyzed 22 years of capture–mark–recapture data to quantify the influence of broad‐scale climate on the survival of male southern elephant seals from Macquarie Island, Tasmania, Australia. Weaning mass was incorporated as a quadratic predictor of survival to account for the known influence of maternal investment. First‐year survival was greatest for weaners weighing 160 kg. Subsequent developmental stages were grouped into juvenile, subordinate, and breeding adult states to reflect the known life history of individuals. We found increased juvenile and subordinate survival with positive values of the previous years' Southern Annular Mode. This is likely due to the northward shift of westerly winds increasing productivity and prey availability in the Sub‐Antarctic region. In contrast to females of this population, the Southern Oscillation Index did not affect male survival. In this highly polygynous mating system, sex‐dependent differences in foraging behavior may be causing the small number of successful breeding adult males to be less susceptible to external influences after reaching the minimum age and body size required to be socially competitive for mating. These extremely large bulls will breed with multiple females and thus make a disproportionate contribution to the gene pool of the next generation. Considering the susceptibility of males to climate influences is therefore highly relevant to assessing the future adaptive capability of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual and auditory signals are well-established components of avian courtship, but the role of chemical signaling remains poorly understood, particularly in mating systems with elaborate courtship displays. To test how chemical cues influence mating behavior we conducted two experiments in the lance-tailed manakin (Chiroxiphia lanceolata). First, in a field experiment, we tested the response of free-living males and females to manipulation of chemical cues at male display perches by cleaning the perches with ethanol or a dry cloth (control) and quantified a potential chemical signaling behavior (bill-wiping) in response to experimental manipulation. During bouts of dance perch maintenance and displays with a female present (i.e., activity relevant to female mate choice) males increased bill-wiping behavior during initial ethanol treatment periods. We also detected carryover effects of the ethanol treatment; in later treatment periods males bill-wiped more when the prior treatment was ethanol. The likelihood of a female either revisiting a display area or copulating with a male was unrelated to experimental treatment. Next, in captive trials, we assessed female preference for olfactory cues from males that differed in their genetic diversity, a trait previously identified as relevant to female mate choice. In contrast to similar trials in other bird species, females showed no clear preference. Together, these results provide some evidence for chemical signaling by males at display perches, but it remains unclear what information chemical cues convey. Significance statement: Chemical communication is an understudied phenomenon in birds, and especially so when it occurs as part of complex courtship displays. We investigated chemical signaling in the mating behavior of a highly polygynous bird with elaborate courtship displays by experimentally altering the chemical cues at courtship sites that are actively maintained by males. Male lance-tailed manakins detect and respond to changes in the chemical environment on display perches, however we detected no response from females. Our results contrast with other studies that detected significant responses to chemical cues by both males and females and suggest that association time with chemical cues may be important to their detection in avian systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding what processes shape the formation of species' geographic range limits is one central objective linking ecology and evolutionary biology. One potentially key process is sexual selection; yet, theory examining how sexual selection could shape eco-evolutionary dynamics in marginal populations is still lacking. In species with separate sexes, range limits could be shaped by limitations in encountering mates at low densities. Sexual selection could therefore modulate mate limitation and resulting extinction–colonization dynamics at range margins, through evolution of mate encounter ability and/or mate competition traits, and their demographic consequences. We use a spatially explicit eco-genetic model to reveal how different forms of sexual selection can variably affect emerging range limits. Larger ranges emerged when sexual selection acted exclusively on traits increasing mate encounter probability, thus reducing female's mate limitation toward the range margins. In contrast, sexual selection via mate competition narrowed range limits due to increased trait-dependent mortality in males and elevated mate limitation for females. When mate encounter coevolved with mate competition, their combined effects on range limits depended on the mating system (polygyny vs. monogamy). Our results demonstrate that evolution of species' ranges may be importantly shaped by feedbacks between sexual selection and spatial population demography and dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated whether the availability of male mates affected mating strategies in a predominantly socially monogamous passerine, the grass wren Cistothorus platensis. We used the natural variation in adult sex ratio (ASR) and a male removal manipulation to assess if social polygyny was more frequent when male mates were less abundant. We evaluated the potential costs that females paid when breeding with a polygynous male by assessing how males distributed parental care between nests and analysing four correlates of breeding success (clutch size, nestling body condition, number of fledglings, and nest fate). Social monogamy was predominant when males were abundant while social polygyny was more frequent when the ASR was female-biased. The removal of males was associated with a high rate of social polygyny. Social polygyny occurred when males annexed the territory of a neighbouring female or when an unpaired female settled within the territory of a mated male. We identified several potential costs of social polygyny to females. Secondary females (females that laid eggs after the primary female) produced nestlings of lower body condition during the first half of the breeding season, received less help in feeding the brood, and increased their parental contribution. We suggest that while intrasexual competition may constrain social polygyny when males are abundant, reduced female life expectancy combined with moderate costs of male desertion may facilitate social polygyny when potential male mates are not available. Significance statement: Social mating systems are thought to reflect the outcomes of optimal decisions made by females and males confronted with variation in the quality of territories and/or mates. However, demographic factors and life-history traits may constrain individual decisions. We studied how the availability of male mates might predispose grass wrens to social monogamy and constrain social polygyny. We found that social monogamy was predominant when males were more frequent while social polygyny increased when males were less abundant (female-biased adult sex ratio). Moreover, the removal of males in a plot early in the breeding season biased the adult sex ratio towards females and produced a polygyny rate comparable to rates in years when males were less abundant in other plots. Our results suggest that the abundance of male mates can affect individual mating decisions, by reducing male-male competition and/or the mating option for females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female spiders and praying mantises are renowned for their cannibalism of male partners before, during, or after mating. While several hypotheses have been proposed to explain species-specific examples of sexual cannibalism, much variation remains unexplained, including why the timing of cannibalism varies across taxa. Here, I outline how sexually cannibalistic behavior could evolve via sexually antagonistic selection as a type of behavioral resistance to male-imposed mating costs, and how such a generalizable interpretation provides a framework for understanding the evolution of both sexual cannibalism in females and anti-cannibalistic traits in males. I discuss how differences between mating systems that physiologically constrain males to mate only once (monogyny) or twice (bigyny) and systems where the sexes can potentially mate multiply (polygyny and polyandry) are likely to influence how sexual conflict shapes cannibalistic behavior. I review key examples from the literature that suggest how sexually cannibalistic behavior might function as a female resistance trait and provide comprehensive predictions for testing this hypothesis empirically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Mating systems, influenced by the social and ecological environment and individual attributes, are fundamental components of animal social organisation, impacting behaviour, animal distribution, ecosystem processes, individual reproductive success, and population dynamics. Bats are of particular interest for studies of mating systems as they are thought to exhibit a greater diversity in mating systems than any other mammalian order, and thus make great models for improving our fundamental understanding of causes and consequences of social organisation. Here, we review the current knowledge of bat mating systems. Our analyses show that research on bat mating systems has not kept pace with research on bats in general and that traditional typologies do not accommodate the mating system of several species. Therefore, we propose an alternative, functional framework to categorise mating systems of bats and by extension of other taxa. We argue that mating systems can be classified according to a male reproductive skew continuum, with an increasing skew from monogamy to true lekking. We include an additional category of lek‐like mating system along the continuum to account for previous trans‐categorical cases that have the appearance of resource defence but are functionally akin to a lek. The new framework has a total of seven categories: promiscuity, monogamy, female defence polygyny, resource defence polygyny, a lek‐like mating system, exploded classical lek, and clustered classical lek. Applying this framework to bats reveals that lek mating systems are more prevalent in bats than previously recognised. It is our aim that this review and the proposed framework provide a greater understanding of bat mating systems particularly and provoke research into the factors that shape mating systems across animal taxa more generally.

Abstract Background The highly eusocial stingless bees are crucial pollinators of native and agricultural ecosystems. Nevertheless, genomic studies within this bee tribe remain scarce. We present the genome assembly of the stingless bee Melipona bicolo r. This bee is a remarkable exception to the typical single-queen colony structure, since in this species, multiple queens may coexist and share reproductive duties, resulting in genetically diverse colonies with weak kinship connections. As the only known genuinely polygynous bee, M. bicolor’s genome provides a valuable resource for investigating sociality beyond kin selection. Results The genome was assembled employing a hybrid approach combining short and long reads, resulting in 241 contigs spanning 259 Mb (N50 of 6.2 Mb and 97.5% complete BUSCOs). Comparative analyses shed light on some evolutionary aspects of stingless bee genomics, including multiple chromosomal rearrangements in Melipona. Additionally, we explored the evolution of venom genes in M. bicolor and other stingless bees, revealing that, apart from two genes, the conserved repertoire of venom components remains under purifying selection in this clade. Conclusion This study advances our understanding of stingless bee genomics, contributing to the conservation efforts of these vital pollinators and offering insights into the evolutionary mechanisms driving their unique adaptations.

Background: The highly eusocial stingless bees are crucial pollinators of native and agricultural ecosystems. Nevertheless, genomic studies within this bee tribe remain scarce. We present the genome assembly of the stingless bee Melipona bicolor. This bee is a remarkable exception to the typical single-queen colony structure, since in this species, multiple queens may coexist and share reproductive duties, resulting in genetically diverse colonies with weak kinship connections. As the only known genuinely polygynous bee, M. bicolor's genome provides a valuable resource for investigating sociality beyond kin selection. Results: The genome was assembled employing a hybrid approach combining short and long reads, resulting in 241 contigs spanning 259 Mb (N50 of 6.2 Mb and 97.5% complete BUSCOs). Comparative analyses shed light on some evolutionary aspects of stingless bee genomics, including multiple chromosomal rearrangements in Melipona. Additionally, we explored the evolution of venom genes in M. bicolor and other stingless bees, revealing that, apart from two genes, the conserved repertoire of venom components remains under purifying selection in this clade. Conclusion: This study advances our understanding of stingless bee genomics, contributing to the conservation efforts of these vital pollinators and offering insights into the evolutionary mechanisms driving their unique adaptations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adaptive effects of inbreeding are understudied, but accumulating evidence suggests that it plays a major adaptive role in speciation, as populations with a history of inbreeding are more prone to it. Differences in inbreeding tolerance in two populations of Microtus hartingi voles were studied through a series of experiments on reproductive behaviour and partner choice. Modelling an artificial polygyny via the formation of trios composed of a brother, sister, and an unrelated female has shown an uneven attitude towards inbreeding, which was closely linked to the reproduction strategy: voles of the Rhodopean population (RP) would reproduce communally with only a moderate decrease in reproduction success, while in monogamous M. hartingi ankaraensis voles from Central Anatolia (CAP), the reproductive success dropped almost to zero due to severe social stress resulting in heavily antagonistic behaviour between females; aggression levels rose with maturation. Studies of reproduction in pairs of relatives revealed the absence of inbreeding avoidance in the polygynous population (RP) and a sharp decrease in reproduction probability in the monogamous subspecies (CAP). Olfactory three-choice behavioural tests have proven that voles do not choose the smell randomly, juveniles do not have partner preferences, and adults choose the unrelated individual's odour. RP voles prefer to mate with kin first, whereas CAP voles mate with non-kin first. The differences in reproductive strategy might have evolved due to habitat fragmentation and restriction of natal dispersal in the RP which has been isolated from the ancient Anatolian Microtus hartingi population since the Pleistocene. The adaptation to communal reproduction via kin selection resulted in increased inbreeding tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social behaviour is thought to be a major component of survival, reproduction, and resilience of populations. Thus, it is a key component in management and conservation of wild populations. In polygynous breeding species, group size influences the reproductive success of males and females, and hence it is essential to understand the environmental and demographic factors that shape the phenology of group size within populations. Here, we investigate harem size and its determinants using a 15‐year dataset of annual harem size phenology‐based metrics from a reintroduced population of wild Przewalski horses in Hortobágy National Park, Hungary. From the initial reintroduction of 21 animals in 1997, the population grew to 174 animals in 2012. During that same period, the number of harems increased from three to 23. Despite the 8‐fold increase in population size, harem sizes remained stable, and variability among harems within years decreased. The annual phenological cycle of harem size was not consistent over the 15‐year period, and the associated annual phenology‐based metrics varied differently over the years. The best predictors of our phenology‐based harem size metrics were adult sex ratio, annual adult mortality and annual mean number of harems, with some evidence that mean age of harem stallions and drought severity were contributing factors. Our findings reveal that complex interactions between demography, climate, and harem size can emerge in social animals. Taken together, our results demonstrate that intrinsic population processes can regulate group size even in the presence of non‐stationary climatic conditions during periods of growth in human‐introduced, semi‐free ranging animal populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygamy is a form of "one-sided" consensually non-monogamous relationship where one person has multiple committed partners, each of whom is only involved with that one person. It was likely a reoccurring feature of ancestral mating that posed adaptive problems for our ancestors. Yet polygamy, and multi-partnering more generally, is understudied in Western cultures, raising questions about the existence of polygamous interest and whether this is calibrated adaptively to personal conditions. In two studies, we examined polygamous interest in two heterosexual online samples from the UK. In Study 1 (N = 393), modest interest was found for polygamous relationships overall. Men were six times more open to polygyny than women, but there was little sex difference in openness to polyandry. Further analysis revealed that all forms of multi-partnering were undesirable relative to singlehood and monogamy; however, consensual multi-partner relationships were less undesirable than non-consensual ones. Sex differences were largest for polygyny and arrangements where men had agreed access to a casual partner alongside a committed one, yet these were two of the most acceptable forms of multi-partnering when men and women's responses were combined. Sociosexuality positively predicted interest in most forms of multi-partnering. Study 2 (N = 735) focused on polygyny and added status-linked traits as predictors. The results of Study 1 were broadly replicated, though the status-linked traits did not predict polygynous interest specifically. Instead, sociosexuality and male intrasexual competitiveness uniquely predicted general interest in multi-partner relationships. Overall, interest in polygamy appears to emerge despite social discouragement and sex differences in interest track the relative costs and benefits associated with it. However, there is no strong evidence that polygamous interest is uniquely calibrated to personal conditions when compared to other forms of multi-partnering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fisher proposed that female preference for mates with extreme traits could evolve as an essentially arbitrary outcome of a self-reinforcing process. Although Fisher's runaway has been shown to be a theoretical possibility, it is not clear whether it occurs in real populations, in part because existing models express the necessary conditions in terms of parameters that would be nearly impossible to estimate in the wild. Here, I reformulate models of the runaway in terms of two estimable parameters, the heritability and phenotypic variance of realized mate choices. Higher values of both quantities make the runaway more likely. In the most realistic model considered, in which mate choices are based on a mixture of absolute and relative criteria, a runaway cannot occur unless mate choice increases the variance of the male trait, which seems incompatible with the strong directional mating preferences typically observed in polygynous species. Even in the most favourable case for the runaway, purely relative preference without direct selection on preference, a substantial heritability of realized mate choices would be required if there is moderately strong stabilizing selection on the male trait. These results cast some doubt on whether the runaway is a plausible outcome in natural populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although random meiosis should prevent the facultative adjustment of offspring sex ratio, theory predicts that females should produce more of the sex with the higher reproductive value. We reported a case of offspring sex ratio manipulation in grass wrens Cistothorus platensis. Males in better body condition would have higher reproductive value than females due to the potential for social polygyny and extra-pair fertilizations. On the other hand, local demography influences reproductive strategies in grass wrens as male abundance affects both social polygyny and extra-pair paternity frequencies. We evaluated whether females bias their brood sex ratio in response to adult sex ratio and nestling body condition (a proxy for female's prospects of producing high-quality males). Females raised more male offspring when males were less abundant in the population (female-biased adult sex ratio). However, we found no relationship between nestling body condition and brood sex ratio, suggesting that females did not bias the brood sex ratio towards males when able to raise nestlings in better body condition. Taken together, our results provide the first suggestive evidence that female birds can manipulate their offspring sex ratio in response to the adult sex ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mismatches between current and potential species distributions are commonplace due to lags in the response of populations to changing environmental conditions. The prevailing mating system may contribute to such lags where it leads to mating failure at the range edge, but how active dispersers might mitigate these lags using social information to inform dispersal strategies warrants greater exploration. We used an individual-based model to explore how different mating systems for species that actively search for habitat can impose a filter on the ability to colonise empty, fragmented landscapes, and explored how using social information during dispersal can mitigate the lags caused by more constrained mating systems. The mate-finding requirements implemented in two-sex models consistently led to slower range expansion compared to those that were not mate limited (i.e., female only models), even when mating was polygynous. A mate-search settlement strategy reduced the proportion of unmated females at the range edge but had little impact on rate of spread. In contrast, a negative density-dependent settlement strategy resulted in much faster spread, which could be explained by a greater number of long-distance dispersal events. Our findings suggest that even low rates of mating failure at the range edge can lead to considerable lags in range expansion, though dispersal strategies that favour colonising more distant, sparsely occupied habitat patches may effectively mitigate these lags. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coexistence of multiple reproductives in eusocial insects is widespread, yet the decisions leading to additional queen acceptance are not well understood. Unlike in vertebrates, acceptance decisions are likely controlled by the more numerous helper population rather than the parent reproductive. Yet there are likely to be queen-worker differences in acceptance criteria because workers and queens differ in their relatedness to a secondary queen. We develop a model that examines queen-worker conflict in two scenarios: accepting a queen's sister or daughter. We additionally ask how the mating frequency and split sex ratios affect the outcomes of these conflicts. Our results reveal that conflict over queen acceptance is highest in monandrous mating systems. We identify a "window of conflict" in which a queen is selected to accept her sister but her workers do not. Our result, that polyandry neutralizes conflict over acceptance thresholds, suggests that conflict suppression may be an additional contributor to the maintenance of polyandrous mating systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double brooding, the laying of a second clutch after successfully fledging young from a first nest in a season, is a common reproductive strategy among short-lived birds to increase annual breeding success. Nevertheless, there is widespread intra- and interspecific variation in the probability of producing a second clutch. Given that the frequency of double brooding could affect population growth rate, knowing what factors contribute to this phenomenon is also important in the conservation management of threatened facultative double-brooded species. Here, we examine the frequency of double brooding and the factors affecting the probability of this reproductive strategy in a population of the Great Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus arundinaceus, in south-western Slovakia. Results of a 15-year study (2008–2022) revealed low overall rate of double brooding in the Great Reed Warbler (5.6% per year, 0–15.4%). The length of breeding season, timing of the first clutch laying date and the size of the first broods were key factors influencing the female's decision to initiate a second clutch. On the other hand, successful brood parasitism did not affect second clutch initiation, which contrasts with our prediction. Given that only monogamous or primary females initiated a second clutch after successfully rearing a first one, we assume that producing two broods within the same season may be an alternative strategy for monogamous males to increase their annual reproductive output in this facultatively polygynous species. Therefore, due to relatively high rate of polygyny, we probably cannot expect higher rate of double broodings in the Great Reed Warbler in the future either. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful reproduction of two subspecies of Harting's vole in monogamous pairs (monogamous groups, 35 pairs for each) was shown. The results obtained in modeling the experimental polygyny revealed a different attitude of females of the two subspecies to the formation of communal groups. In polygynous groups of M. h. lydius, regardless of the relationship of the females (35 groups consisting of sisters and 20 groups of unrelated females), the intensity of reproduction and the proportion of successfully reared pups decreased significantly compared to the monogamous groups. With high energy costs for reproduction, there were significantly fewer reared pups per mother giving birth than in the monogamous groups, thus suggesting the predominance of monogamy in this subspecies. On the contrary, related females of M. h. hartingi bred successfully in communal groups (35 groups of sisters), demonstrating a high tolerance, a tendency to co-rearing and feeding the pups, and low infant mortality. In polygynous groups consisting of unrelated females (20 groups), reproductive success decreased due to increased infant mortality. Possible benefits of communal reproduction in this subspecies are discussed, as well as the likely relationship with habitat fragmentation under such conditions and with a lack of vacancies for the dispersal of young animals, which may be an important adaptation for this subspecies of voles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bowfins, Amia, have been regarded as regarded as promiscuous or polygynous spawners, although this has not been directly observed. Species of Amia spawn largely at night in male-constructed and male-guarded nests, making it difficult to view spawning behavior. Furthermore, in many species, field observations of spawning behavior do not always match genetic observations. To investigate the mating system of Amia, we collected fin tissue from guarding males and a sample of associated eggs or fry from 15 broods to assess the number of parents involved in each brood. Using these tissues, we genotyped individuals at 11 microsatellite DNA loci. The genotype of the male was known; we inferred the genotype of the primary female by subtraction, using the most abundant fry genotypes and the known male genotype. We inferred polygamy (presence of multiple fathers or multiple mothers) in cases where there was more than a single fry at a single locus for which the genotype could not be explained by primary parental genotypes. Among sampled broods, seven contained offspring of a single male–female pair. Fry from eight broods show evidence of polygamy: in one brood, there was evidence of an extra-pair male; in five broods, there was evidence of at least one additional female, and in two of these five broods, there was also involvement by at least one additional male; in two broods, it could not be determined whether the additional parent was male or female. Thus, nearly half of our sampled broods were both behaviorally and genetically monogamous, while other broods were genetically polygamous. It has been suggested previously that female bowfin may spawn with more than one male, but there are no behavioral observations to support this claim and our genetic data cannot discern whether females are spawning in more than one nest. We conclude that Amia is behaviorally monogamous and weakly genetically polygynous. With respect to the evolution of mating systems of fishes, it is interesting that Amia, representing a member of the Holostei or the sister group to teleosts, is behaviorally monogamous, albeit with opportunistic participation in spawning by either extra males or extra females or both. A review of the literature on spawning behavior of non-teleostean ray-finned fishes suggests that additional behavioral and genetic studies of these fascinating taxa are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on maternal filicide has noted a lack of resources and mental illness as important causal factors. Although most scholars accept that filicide should be understood in an appropriate cultural context, the processes by which macro-level structures such as culture and ideology are embodied in the situated behaviors of offenders and victims have been insufficiently explored. This paper explores maternal filicide in Korea from 1948 to 1962. It finds that cultural factors unique to mid-twentieth century Korea, such as polygyny and shame, influenced the characteristics of maternal filicide in ways that differentiate it from the West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Female density and distribution are dependent on resource phenology and female availability strongly influences male mating behaviour and success. When a male adopts a 'resource defence' tactic, his reproductive success depends on the location and attractiveness of his territory. Environmental factors associated with territory quality are expected to influence mating success, for example, through territory features or male–male competition. In a protected population of a mountain‐dwelling polygynous herbivore, the Alpine chamois Rupicapra r. rupicapra, we investigated the relationships among mating opportunities, some environmental variables (snow depth, topographic features and size of territories) and male intra‐sexual competition for mating. We recorded the mating behaviour and territory size of 15 GPS‐GSM radio‐tagged territorial males, during five rutting seasons (early November to early December: N = 8 individuals in 2011, N = 9 in 2012, N = 8 in 2015, N = 11 in 2016, N = 7 in 2017; 80% of them were observed for more than one mating season) and related them to snow depth and topography of territories. In ruts with deep snow cover, territorial males had smaller territories and higher number of mating opportunities than in ruts with lower snow cover. Smaller territories showed the highest values of terrain roughness, in turn with little or no snow cover in the mating season, and were visited by a greater number of females, than larger territories. Number of wins was positively influenced by snow depth and negatively related to the frequency of aggressions. The frequency of male–male aggressive interactions was greater during ruts with deep snow cover and for males with territories at higher elevations; additionally, it was negatively related to interactions won. Thus, snow depth, which influences resource distribution and female movements, is confirmed as a strong determinant of male mating opportunities and mating behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygamy is allowed in almost two third of all the human societies around the world under religious or cultural contexts where a man has more than one wife at the same time. The accurate data about the existence of polygamy is not available for any country in the world. Polygamy is legally practiced in Pakistan as well but not much appreciated culturally. As the previous studies have found polygamy causes various economic, physical and emotional problems for women and children living under, it becomes important to study the functioning of polygamous families. The present study is conducted with qualitative research methodology opting phenomenological research design by interviewing fifteen individuals, 5 husbands and 10 wives, currently living under polygamy in Kasur city of Pakistan. The study found first wife's infertility or inability to produce male child a leading cause of polygamy here in Pakistan and better functioning of polygamous families where second marriage was also arranged and both wives were living in the same house. In cases where second marriage is out of love through the court of law the first wife and other family members did not accept the second wife, not even allowed her to enter the home in most cases. In almost all cases the polygamous husbands give preferential treatment to second wife because of being younger than the first wife, being more beautiful and attractive or producing male child etc. First wife is neglected and developed a sense of deprivation in case of being infertile or unable to produce a male child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invasive social insects rank among the most damaging of terrestrial species. They are responsible for extensive damage and severely threaten the biodiversity of environments where they are introduced. Variation in colony social form commonly occurs in introduced populations of yellowjacket wasps (genus Vespula). In particular, invasive colonies may contain multiple queens (i.e., polygyne) and persist several years, while in the native range, the colonies are usually annual and harbor a single queen (i.e., monogyne). In this study, we used genome-wide loci obtained by double digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) to investigate the genetic structure and queen turnover in colonies of the western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, in their introduced range in Hawaii. Of the 27 colonies monitored over four months (October-January), 19 were polygyne and already contained multiple queens on the first day of sampling. Contrary to previous speculation, this finding suggests that polygyny often arises early in the annual colony cycle, before the production of new queens in the fall. Furthermore, polygyne colonies exhibited a prolonged average lifespan relative to those headed by a single queen. As a result, there is no clear window during which colony eradication efforts would be more effective than upon first discovery. The relatedness among nestmate queens was slightly above zero, indicating that these colonies are generally composed of nonrelatives. The queen turnover within each colony was low, and we detected some full-sibling workers sampled up to four months apart. Finally, we did not detect any population structure among colonies, suggesting that queens disperse up to several kilometers. Taken together, our results provide the first insights into the requeening dynamics in this invasive and incipiently polygyne population and illuminate the early establishment of multiple long-lasting queens in these damaging colonies.

Secure land tenure is critical in enabling farmers to make productivity-enhancing investments. While substantial research exists on the relationship between property rights and investment, this relationship is complicated in the presence of polygyny and customary law. If households are acting according to theory, we would expect households to make investments in land held under more individualized and secure tenure (non-customary). We test if this pattern holds across household types, namely monogamous vs. polygynous households in Uganda. Using five waves of the Uganda Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA), we measure the effects of parcel tenure on both fertilizer and long-term agricultural investment across different marriage structures. Our results suggest that customary land tenure in monogamous households leads to a decrease in organic and inorganic fertilizer use, and a decrease in the likelihood of erosion prevention and planting perennial crops. Contrary to expectations, polygynous households invest more in fertilizer and fallowing on customary land. Our results suggest that land privatization, without concurrent attention to customary law and marriage structure, could have a deleterious effect on investment incentive mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inbreeding is a clinically significant measure of a population dependent on human social structures including the population size or the cultural traits. Here, we propose an expanded and elaborate model to analyze the inbreeding within a population where explicit polygyny and inbreeding bounds are taken into account. Unlike the models presented so far, we implemented biologically realistic assumptions that there is the disproportionate probability of males to reproduce (polygyny) and female reproduction is bounded. Using the proposed model equations, we changed the parameters that represent the polygyny degree, the female reproductive bound correlated to the mutation rate, and the total population size. The disappearance of the polygyny that numerous human societies experienced results in the long-lasting effect of the decreasing inbreeding coefficient. Decreased female reproductive bound correlated with a higher mutation rate reveals similar results. After the effect of each factor is analyzed, we modeled the dynamics of the inbreeding coefficient throughout an imaginary human population where polygyny disappears and late marriage becomes prevalent. In this group, the population size gradually and exponentially increases reflecting the traits of prehistoric human society and rising agricultural productivity. To observe how late and less marriage, the feature of the modern developed society, affects the inbreeding dynamics, the female reproductive bound and the population size were assumed to decrease after the population upsurge. The model can explain the decreasing trend of the prehistoric inbreeding coefficient of the actual human population and predict how the trend will be shifted when traits of modern societies continue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In polygynous systems, such as that exhibited by reindeer Rangifer tarandus , mate choice can be difficult to disentangle from male intrasexual competition because male behavior may constrain female choice. Multiple mating may provide an avenue for female mate choice, though it is difficult to identify using behavioral estimators alone. Molecular techniques address this issue by affording ecologists an opportunity to reassess mating systems from a genetic perspective. We assessed the frequency and possible explanations for multiple mating in reindeer using a genetic approach to determine the success of observed copulations in a semi-domesticated herd in Kaamanen, Finland. Behavioral and genetic data were synthesized with population characteristics over a 7-year period to test the hypothesis that, if present, polyandry in reindeer is driven by sexual harassment from sub-dominant males. We observed multiple mating in 42% of females, with as many as 60% exhibiting multiple mating in certain years. We found no evidence that multiple mating resulted from sexual harassment by sub-dominant males, suggesting that it is likely a deliberate strategy among females. Conversion rate of copulations into paternities varied with male size, with smaller males more likely to experience mismatch than larger males. Female preference for larger males persisted despite the occurrence of multiple mating, possibly suggesting a mechanism for cryptic post-copulatory selection. We suggest further research to delineate the possible influence of cryptic post-copulatory selection and multiple mating to defend against infertility in exhausted males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vocalizations differ substantially between the sexes in many primates, and low-frequency male vocalizations may be favored by sexual selection because they intimidate rivals and/or attract mates. Sexual dimorphism in fundamental frequency may be more pronounced in species with more intense male mating competition and in those with large group size, where social knowledge is limited and efficient judgment of potential mates and competitors is crucial. These non-mutually exclusive explanations have not been tested simultaneously across primate species. In a sample of vocalizations (n = 1914 recordings) across 37 anthropoid species, we investigated whether fundamental frequency dimorphism evolved in association with increased intensity of mating competition (H1), large group size (H2), multilevel social organization (H3), a trade-off against the intensity of sperm competition (H4), and/or poor acoustic habitats (H5), controlling for phylogeny and body size dimorphism. We show that fundamental frequency dimorphism increased in evolutionary transitions towards larger group size and polygyny. Findings suggest that low-frequency male vocalizations in primates may have been driven by selection to win mating opportunities by avoiding costly fights and may be more important in larger groups, where limited social knowledge affords advantages to rapid assessment of status and threat potential via conspicuous secondary sexual characteristics. Sexual dimorphism in the fundamental frequency of primate vocalizations is variable. Here, the authors examine 1914 vocalizations from 37 anthropoid species to find that fundamental frequency dimorphism increased with larger group size and polygyny, due to sexual selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group genetic diversity is usually associated with a reduced risk of disease outbreak and a slower rate of pathogen transmission. In social insects, multiple mating by queens (polyandry) evolved several times albeit reducing worker's inclusive fitness. One major hypothesis suggests that polyandry has been selected for to mitigate the risk of outbreak thanks to increased genetic diversity within colonies. We investigated this hypothesis in the ant Cataglyphis mauritanica, in which nestmate workers are produced by several clonal, single-mated queens. Using natural colonies, we correlated genetic diversity with worker survival to a fungal entomopathogen. We further tested whether workers from different paternal lineages (but a common maternal genome) show differential resistance in experimentally single- or multiple-patriline groups, and whether an increased number of patrilines in a group improved disease resistance. We show that workers from distinct patrilines vary in their resistance to a pathogen in single-patriline colonies, but the difference among patrilines disappears when they are mixed in multiple-patriline colonies. Furthermore, pathogen resistance was affected by the number of patrilines in a group, with two- and three-patriline groups being more resistant than single-patriline groups. However, resistance did not differ between groups made of two and three patrilines; similarly, it was not associated with genetic diversity in natural colonies. Overall, our results suggest that collective disease defenses might homogenize workers' resistance from different patrilines and, thereby, stabilize colony resistance. Significance Statement: The occurrence of multiple breeders in insect societies has been hypothesized to be selected for because increased within-colony genetic diversity reduces the risk of severe outbreaks. We show that nestmate workers from distinct paternal lineages vary in their resistance to pathogens when reared in single-patriline groups. However, this difference disappears when workers are mixed in multiple-patriline groups. These results suggest that multiple mating by queens dilutes the deleterious consequences of a single patriline producing only susceptible offspring, rather than directly enhancing pathogen resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperation between kin and cooperation between non-kin often appear functionally similar, but the evolutionary mechanisms that drive the emergence of these two forms of cooperation can be dramatically different. The mechanisms responsible for non-kin cooperation, in particular, are not well established in an empirical context. To truly understand the emergence of non-kin cooperation, the fitness outcomes of cooperation should be compared with the alternate strategy of solitary living in the same environment. Ant populations that contain a mix of queens who found nests alone (monogyny), and cooperative unrelated ant queens who found nests together and remain together through colony development (primary polygyny), provide a useful natural context to make such a comparison. To estimate the reproductive costs for primary polygyny relative to solitary nest founding, we measured alate (reproductive) production for colonies in a mixed population of polygynous and monogynous California harvester ant colonies over a 2-year period. Colony-level reproductive output was not substantially higher in polygynous colonies compared to those with single queens, and consequent per-queen reproductive gain was significantly lower. Given that polygynous queens in this population are unrelated, nest sharing thus generates a significant annual and potentially lifetime cost for cooperative queens. Comparative measures of colony dynamics, however, suggest that polygynous colonies have a larger or more active workforce than monogynous colonies. Additionally, polygynous colonies may be more conservative than monogynous colonies in resource allocation towards reproduction. These results collectively suggest that primary polygyny generates annual reproductive fitness costs. However, polygynous colonies likely also shift life history strategies in ways that emphasize long-term survival and colony growth over immediate reproduction. Over time, this shift may mitigate the annual fitness costs of cooperation. Significance statement: When things get difficult, it pays to work together. In some ant species, unrelated queens form long-term cooperative associations that share resources and a workforce within a single nest. The fitness consequences and evolutionary drivers of non-kin cooperation in this and other systems are unclear. We compared the reproductive investment and colony dynamics of single-queen and multi-queen California harvester ant colonies in a shared environment to directly compare the fitness of cooperative and non-cooperative queens. Our data suggest that cooperation not only lowers annual per-queen reproduction, but also produces a more robust colony that may recoup annual fitness losses by extending colony longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, published in the journal Ecosphere, discusses the impact of climate-mediated shifts in habitat conditions on the population dynamics of southern elephant seals. The study, conducted on Sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, analyzed 22 years of data and found that male survival rates were influenced by weaning mass and a one-year lagged Southern Annular Mode. The study also found that breeding adult males showed resilience to broad-scale climate influences, possibly due to the species' highly polygynous mating system. Understanding these dynamics is important for predicting how southern elephant seals may adapt to future environmental challenges. [Extracted from the article]

The book "Woman between Two Kingdoms: Dara Rasami and the Making of Modern Thailand" by Leslie Castro-Woodhouse explores the formation of modern Thailand through the lens of Dara Rasami, a consort to King Chulalongkorn and daughter of the king of Chiang Mai. The author highlights the often overlooked role of women and those on the peripheries of the nation-state in Thai history. The book delves into Dara's political influence, her role as a hostage and diplomat, and her promotion of "northern" culture. It also examines the legacy of Dara in Chiang Mai and the political implications of her actions. The conclusion reflects on the demise of polygyny and the continued importance of women in embodying identity in post-1932 Siam. Overall, the book provides a nuanced understanding of modernity, nation, and identity in Thailand and Southeast Asia. [Extracted from the article]

In most ant species, workers have retained functional ovaries, allowing them to potentially lay viable unfertilized eggs that develop into males. Mechanisms (ex.: queen and/or worker policing) have nevertheless evolved to control worker reproduction when the queen is present. In many species with a high degree of polygyny, especially in tramp species, complete sterility of workers has evolved, presumably to “trap” them within their “worker phenotype”. Our study showed for the first time that in the highly polygynous and polydomous ant Crematogaster pygmaea, workers retained the full capacity to produce reproductive eggs in queenless colonies, with at least some of them developing in adult males. We provide evidence that worker-produced males are reproductively functional. Although most queenless colonies produced eggs, few larvae developed into pupae and adult males. We conclude that workers strongly police the worker-produced offspring, even in the queen's absence. Probable high relatedness between queens of C. pygmaea colonies and strong genetic proximity between brood and workers could force the workers in their helper, non-reproductive function even if they keep the ability to reproduce. Our observations indicate that the production of adult males and gynes in C. pygmaea is controlled by seasonal factors related to the rainy season.

Strumigenys is one of the largest genera of ants, and one of the few which has received relatively recent global taxonomic treatment at the species level. Despite this, many new species continue to be found in most biogeographic regions. Strumigenys flavianae sp. nov. is described based on material collected in Viçosa, in the state of Minas Gerais, among secondary growth remnants of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Three workers of this new taxon are known, and the lack of additional specimens in the main ant collections harboring Atlantic Forest ants indicates its rarity. Strumigenys flavianae can be differentiated from all Neotropical Strumigenys for its overall slenderness, flagellate and wire-like pilosity, extremely long head, large and medially notched subpetiolar spongiform tissue and a mostly reticulate pleura. The new species is distinct from all other species found in the Atlantic Forest. It has similarities to some Amazonian species in the hyphata-group (S. cincinnata and S. hyphata) and the probatrix-group (S. doryceps), while still having significant differences relative to both. Therefore, a new species group was created to account for the new species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burrowing rodents display diverse patterns of social organization, ranging from solitary to group living. Differences in social organization are often inferred from patterns of space use, particularly differences in the degree to which individual home ranges overlap. Here, we characterize patterns of space use in a poorly studied species of burrow-dwelling echimyid rodent, the Broad-headed Spiny Rat (Clyomys laticeps). Specifically, we use radiotelemetry studies of a free-living population in Parque Estadual da Serra de Caldas Novas (Goiás, Brazil) to evaluate previous, apparently contradictory reports suggesting that this species is both solitary and social. A total of 20 adult (12 females, 8 males) C. laticeps were monitored via telemetry during two consecutive cycles of annual wet and dry seasons. The resulting data indicate that although overlap of individual home ranges was common, co-occurrence of adults in time and space was rare and was limited to male–female pairs, a pattern that is most consistent with a solitary lifestyle in which individuals occupy distinct burrow systems. Neither sex nor season affected spatial overlap; this outcome is consistent with evidence suggesting that reproduction in this species occurs throughout the year. Although home ranges for males were larger than those for females, areas occupied by both males and females overlapped with multiple opposite-sex individuals, making it difficult to determine from spatial data whether the study population was polygynous or polygynandrous. While genetic data are needed to characterize fully the mating system of these animals, our analyses provide the first detailed information regarding spatial relationships in C. laticeps , thereby allowing more accurate placement of this species within a larger, comparative behavioral framework and facilitating efforts to identify factors contributing to social diversity among burrow-dwelling rodents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordination in timing of reproduction is driven by multiple ecological and sociobiological processes for a wide array of species. Eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) use a male dominance polygynous mating system, where males communicate with females via elaborate courtship displays and vocalizations at display sites. Most females prefer to mate with dominant males; therefore, asynchronous breeding and nesting may occur which can disproportionately influence individual fitness within breeding groups. For female wild turkeys, there are reproductive advantages associated with earlier nesting. As such, we evaluated reproductive asynchrony within and between groups of GPS‐tagged female eastern wild turkeys based on timing of nest initiation. We examined 30 social groups with an average of seven females per group (range 2–15) during 2014–2019 in west central Louisiana. We found that the estimated number of days between first nest initiation across females within groups varied between 3 and 7 days across years, although we expected 1–2 days to occur between successive nesting attempts of females within groups based on observations of captive wild turkeys in the extant literature. The number of days between successive nest attempts across females within groups was lower for successful than failed attempts, and nests with an average of 2.8 days between initiation of another nest were more likely to hatch. Our findings suggest that asynchronous reproduction may influence reproductive success in female wild turkeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of expansive multi-nest and multi-queen supercolonies is perhaps the most important factor responsible for the ecological success of invasive ants. The odorous house ant, Tapinoma sessile, is a widespread ant native to North America. T. sessile is a challenging urban pest, but also serves as an interesting system to study ant social organization and invasion biology. This is due to its remarkable dichotomy in colony social and spatial structure between natural and urban environments. Natural colonies typically consist of a small number of workers, inhabit a single nest, and are monogyne whereas urban colonies show extreme polygyny and polydomy and form large supercolonies. The current study examined the extent to which T. sessile colonies from different habitats (natural vs. urban) and social structures (monogynous vs. polygynous) exhibit aggression toward alien conspecifics. Additionally, interactions between mutually aggressive colonies were examined in colony fusion experiments to assess the potential role of colony fusion as a mechanism leading to supercolony formation. Aggression assays demonstrated high levels of aggression in pairings involving workers from different urban colonies and workers from different natural colonies, but low aggression in pairings involving queens from different urban colonies. Colony merging tests demonstrated that urban T. sessile colonies are highly aggressive to each other, but capable of fusing under laboratory conditions when competing for limited nesting and food resources. Despite highly aggressive interactions and relatively high worker and queen mortality, all colony pairs merged in 3–5 days. Fusion occurred after most workers died and the survivors merged. This result suggests that the success of T. sessile in urban areas may be driven, at least in part, by successful colony mergers of unrelated colonies which may be determined by ecological constraints such as seasonal shortages in nest and/or food availability. In summary, two independent factors including the growth of a single colony and/or the merger of multiple colonies may be responsible for the evolution of supercolonies in invasive ants. Both processes may be happening simultaneously and may act synergistically to produce supercolonies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As small-bodied terrestrial organisms, insects face severe desiccation risks in arid environments, and these risks are increasing under climate change. Here, we investigate the physiological, chemical, and behavioral mechanisms by which harvester ants, one of the most abundant arid-adapted insect groups, cope with desiccating environmental conditions. We aimed to understand how body size, cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, and queen number impact worker desiccation resistance in the facultatively polygynous harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex californicus. We measured survival at 0% humidity of field-collected worker ants sourced from three closely situated populations within a semi-arid region of southern California. These populations vary in queen number, with one population dominated by multi-queen colonies (primary polygyny), one population dominated by single-queen colonies, and one containing an even mix of single- and multi-queen colonies. We found no effect of population on worker survival in desiccation assays, suggesting that queen number does not influence colony desiccation resistance. Across populations, however, body mass and cuticular hydrocarbon profiles significantly predicted desiccation resistance. Larger-bodied workers survived longer in desiccation assays, emphasizing the importance of reduced surface area-to-volume ratios in maintaining water balance. Additionally, we observed a positive relationship between desiccation resistance and the abundance of n-alkanes, supporting previous work that has linked these high-melting point compounds to improved body water conservation. Together, these results contribute to an emerging model explaining the physiological mechanisms of desiccation resistance in insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Odalisques feature prominently in western paintings of the secluded harem especially at the height of such paintings' popularity in the colonial nineteenth and twentieth centuries (Lewis, 2004). When a painter draws an Oriental odalisque, he is sure to draw an artistically scopophilic object. While indulging himself in his sensual art, this same painter exercises his masculine power to exploit the body of the woman whom the odalisque now represents. Noticeably, the presence of a harem odalisque, be it a presence in writing or in visual art, recalls the seminal The Arabian Nights, the mecca of odalisques' lovers; and its enchanting harems and harem women, on top of them is the arch-odalisque Scheherazad. It is drawing on the heritage of The Arabian Nights and its plethora of Orientalist images that the Arab American poet Mohja Kahf (b. 1967) is inspired to entitle both her poetry collection E-mails from Scheherazad (2003) and the poem under scrutiny in this paper "Thawrah des Odalisques at the Matisse Retrospective" (Kahf, 2003, pp. 64–69). In drawing on that heritage, Kahf, a writer who belongs to a racial minority and is a feminist herself, uses the renowned odalisques painted by the French artist Henri Matisse (1869–1954) as a mouthpiece that exposes the enduring Orientalist stereotypes and counterattacks them. Through Matisse's odalisques, Kahf narrates a story of how a past replete with misconceptions about the Orient and Oriental women continues to feed mainstream Western thought sabotaging the image of Arabs and Arab Americans (and the women among them in particular). It is in the heart of New York, one of the world's most modern cities, that those women-slaves of art inaugurate their revolution against the enduring stereotypes and liberate themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]