Function of weaponry in females: the use of horns in intrasexual competition for resources in female Soay sheep.

Détails

ID Serval
serval:BIB_547E55E72F19
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Titre
Function of weaponry in females: the use of horns in intrasexual competition for resources in female Soay sheep.
Périodique
Biology Letters
Auteur⸱e⸱s
Robinson M.R., Kruuk L.E.
ISSN
1744-9561 (Print)
ISSN-L
1744-9561
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2007
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
3
Numéro
6
Pages
651-654
Langue
anglais
Résumé
In many species, females show reduced expression of a trait that is under sexual selection in males, and this expression is thought to be maintained through genetic associations with the male phenotype. However, there is also the potential for the female trait to convey an advantage in intrasexual conflicts over resources. We tested this hypothesis in a feral population of Soay sheep, in which males and females have a polymorphism for horn development, producing either full (normal horned), reduced (scurred) or no (polled, females only) horns. During the lambing period, females who possessed horns were more likely to initiate and win aggressive interactions, independent of age, weight and birthing status. The occurrence of aggression was also context dependent, decreasing over the lambing period and associated with local density. Our results demonstrate that a trait that confers benefits to males during intrasexual competition for mates may also be used by females in intrasexual competition over resources: males use weaponry to gain mates, whereas females use weaponry to gain food.

Mots-clé
Aggression, Animals, Behavior, Animal, Breeding, Competitive Behavior, Female, Horns/physiology, Mating Preference, Animal, Population Density, Seasons, Sex Characteristics, Sex Factors, Sheep/anatomy & histology, Sheep/physiology
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Oui
Création de la notice
06/12/2017 13:42
Dernière modification de la notice
20/08/2019 15:09
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