Social Organisation in the Rufous Bettong, Aepyprymnus Rufescens

1996 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Frederick ◽  
CN Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Social Organisation ◽  
Overt Aggression ◽  
Association Patterns ◽  
Intimate Knowledge ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Almost All

This study examined association patterns and reproductive behaviour in a sexually monomorphic potoroid marsupial, the rufous bettong, Aepyprymnus rufescens. A total of 29 individuals was marked, and 22 of these were observed regularly over a six-month period; these 22 individuals accounted for almost all the animals using the study area. Rufous bettongs at this site were predominantly solitary (71% of sightings were of single animals) and groups, when they formed, were generally small (maximum of six individuals). Most groups of two were male-female pairs, and unisex groups occurred significantly less often than expected. These male-female groups formed as a result of sexual investigations of females by males, and were shore-lived. Analysis of the frequency with which particular males and females were seen together (excluding occasions when females were in oestrus) showed that most males did not persistently associate with any particular female. Instead, they appeared to maintain transitory contact with as many females as possible. However, three pairs were regularly seen together, suggesting that some males may maintain especially close contact with particular females. Females as they approached oestrus were followed continually by several males, with one male following very closely and preventing others from approaching. In two well-studied cases, the male who defended priority of access to the female was the same individual who had most often associated with that female when not in oestrus. These males demonstrated intimate knowledge of the nesting locations of the females and were able to join them very early each evening, and defended them against other males with little overt aggression. The mating system in this population appears to be promiscuous, but with a hint of monogamy arising from the tendency of some males to persistently investigate and ultimately to guard sexual access to certain individual females.

The social organisation and mating system of an Australian subalpine rodent, the broad-toothed rat, Mastacomys fuscus Thomas

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 405 ◽  
Author(s):  
TM Bubela ◽  
DCD Happold
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Social Organisation ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Spatial Organisation ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Alpine Regions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
The World ◽  
Males And Females

Mastacomys fuscus is a grass-eating rodent of south-eastern Australia that lives mainly in subalpine habitats where snow covers the ground for about four months of the year. Radiotelemetry revealed that in summer the females were territorial. Home ranges of males were larger than those of females and overlapped extensively with the home ranges of other males and with the home ranges of up to three females. In winter, males and females huddled together in communal nests. The locations of nest sites, cover, water and grass also determined the spatial organisation of individuals. The evidence suggests that M. fuscus is not monogamous, but there were insufficient data to determine whether polygyny or promiscuity is the preferred mating system. The social organisation of this species, solitary in summer and communal in winter, is a response to the cold snowy winters and the limited time for reproduction in summer. The social organisation of M, fuscus is different from that of the other conilurine rodents of Australia, but similar to that of rodents that live in other alpine regions of the world.

Variation in reproductive success of male and female Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus)

2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 736-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip H. Jones ◽  
Jeffrey L. Van Zant ◽  
F. Stephen Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating System ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Offspring Production ◽  
Bateman Gradient ◽  
Coefficients Of Variation ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Columbian Ground Squirrels

The imbalanced reproductive success of polygynous mammals results in sexual selection on male traits like body size. Males and females might have more balanced reproductive success under polygynandry, where both sexes mate multiply. Using 4 years of microsatellite DNA analyses of paternity and known maternity, we investigated variation in reproductive success of Columbian ground squirrels, Urocitellus columbianus (Ord, 1815); a species with multiple mating by both sexes and multiple paternity of litters. We asked whether male reproductive success was more variable than that of females under this mating system. The overall percentage of confirmed paternity was 61.4% of 339 offspring. The mean rate of multiple paternity in litters with known fathers was 72.4% (n = 29 litters). Estimated mean reproductive success of males (10.27 offspring) was about thrice that of females (3.11 offspring). Even after this difference was taken into account statistically, males were about three times as variable in reproductive success as females (coefficients of variation = 77.84% and 26.74%, respectively). The Bateman gradient (regression slope of offspring production on number of successful mates) was significantly greater for males (βM = 1.44) than females (βF = 0.28). Thus, under a polygynandrous mating system, males exhibited greater variation in reproductive success than females.

scholarly journals Population and reproductive traits of a freshwater amphipod (Crustacea, Peracarida, Hyalellidae) from northwest of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela da Silva Castiglioni ◽  
Marcio Limberger ◽  
Vanessa da Silva Castro ◽  
Francieli Ubessi
Keyword(s):  
No Reduction ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Bimodal Distribution ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Natural Pond ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Anthropic Influence ◽  
Almost All

Abstract The study of population and reproductive traits provides information about the ecological structure of natural populations. This study aimed to characterize dynamics and reproductive traits of Hyalella palmeirensis from a natural pond from southern Brazil. The amphipods were sampled monthly (August 2012 to July 2013) by a person with the aid of a hand net for 20 minutes. Ovigerous females and pre-copulatory pairs were individualized in the field. A total of 12,325 individuals were sampled, being 1,421 males, 6,983 females (including 215 ovigerous females) and 3,921 juveniles. Paired and unpaired males were significantly greater in size than females. There was a positive correlation between body size (CL) of paired males and females. Males and females showed bimodal distribution. Total sex ratio favored females, and these were more frequent in almost all months. Ovigerous females and precopulatory pairs were found throughout the year, but with high frequency in winter and autumn, respectively, characterizing a seasonal reproduction. Juveniles were sampled throughout the year, with greater intensity in the spring. The mean fecundity was 19.6 ± 4.34 eggs. No reduction in the number of eggs was observed during embryonic development. The results observed in H. palmeirensis demonstrate that this species has a population and reproductive dynamics very similar to other species of Hyalella already analyzed in southern Brazil. Moreover, it can be seen that although the H. palmeirensis occurs in an environment with anthropic influence (soy cultivation,) the population is managing to remain in the area, with reproduction and recruitment in most months of year.

2. Mating systems, or who goes with whom, and for how long

2018 ◽  
pp. 16-33
Author(s):  
Leigh W. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mating System ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Multiple Partners ◽  
Monogamous Species ◽  
Genetic Techniques ◽  
Males And Females

‘Mating systems, or who goes with whom, and for how long’ examines the variation in how males and females associate during the breeding season, ranging from brief couplings with multiple partners to lifelong monogamy. It also shows how the discovery that females mate with many partners, even in supposedly monogamous species such as songbirds, was made possible by modern genetic techniques. Variation in mating systems holds considerable implications for the operation of sexual selection. The way that animal mating systems have been explained historically is outlined before considering how a more contemporary understanding of genetic and social relationships has reshaped our thinking and how understanding a species’ mating system can have practical applications.

scholarly journals SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN PSEUDOPUS APODUS (REPTILIA: SAURIA: ANGUIDAE) FROM THE STEPPE CRIMEA

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Oleg V. Kukushkin ◽  
Igor V. Dovgal
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Morphometric Parameters ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Proportions ◽  
Reliable Determination ◽  
Kerch Peninsula ◽  
The Crimea ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Almost All

The current paper is focused on sexual dimorphism of a giant glass lizard, or sheltopusik, Pseudopus apodus apodus (Pallas, 1775) from its northernmost populations inhabiting the Crimea. In total, 72 P. apodus individuals (45 males and 27 females) were collected at the Kerch Peninsula during 2013–2017. To estimate the variability, 13 morphometric parameters and 18 indices characterizing the head and body proportions were used. It was found that males and females differed significantly by means of almost all parameters, except the body and tail sizes. Besides that, the differences by 10 ratios characterizing head proportions were revealed as well. However, a reliable determination of the lizard sex using linear sizes and/or ratios values seems to be impossible because of the strong overlap of the variability ranges in both sexes. At the same time, the use of the canonical discriminant analysis by the complex of morphometric parameters and by ratios has shown that the males and females in both datasets are classified correctly basing on the sex with an accuracy approximating 100%. The differences in the allometric growth of males and females partially define the sexual dimorphism of P. apodus on head size and shape. A sex-related differences in the development of at least one pair of parameters (head and snout lengths) were clearly evident, since isometry was established for males, while allometry ‒ for females. Moreover, the systems of correlation between the body and head parts differ in both sexes. Thus, male characterisitics correlate significanly, while the female ones were less toughly connected, and some pairs of parameters did not correlate at all.

scholarly journals Social capital and cannabis supply

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 382-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G Scott ◽  
Jodie Grigg ◽  
Monica Barratt ◽  
Simon Lenton
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Drug Distribution ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Organisation ◽  
Social Harm ◽  
Drug Dealer ◽  
Financial Gain ◽  
Almost All

The distribution of cannabis in Australia is examined with reference to motivations for supplying drugs. We argue that the distribution of cannabis in Australia is best understood with reference to the concept of social supply, where a supplier, not considered to be a ‘drug dealer proper’, brokers, facilitates or sells drugs, for little or no financial gain to friends and acquaintances. The article draws on data from surveys and interviews with 200 young Australian cannabis users, almost all of whom had also supplied cannabis at some point in their lifetime. We further theorise the concept of social supply with reference to social capital. We argue that a sociological understanding of drug distribution should focus on drug communities, as opposed to markets, describing the features of social organisation that exist between people within social networks and related implications that such features might have in terms of social harm and well-being.

Space use, cave choice, and spatial learning in the dendrobatid frog Colostethus palmatus

2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Horst Lüddecke
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Learning ◽  
Daily Activity ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Search Time ◽  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Habitat Choice ◽  
Test Area ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Similar Search

AbstractMoving in and out of small cavelike structures is a common daily activity of Colostethus palmatus. Such sites are used for shelter and spawning. Therefore, cave quality is important to survival and reproductive success. The frogs' association with caves was studied in a 24-cave communal paludarium. Adult frogs recognised cave quality, and chose large damp caves for spawning, but large, wet and dark caves were preferred for shelter, while small ones were used less or ignored. The search time needed to find an available cave gradually shortened over trials, reaching a minimum in about eight days, indicating that frogs learned cave position. Males and females had similar search times. Frogs less familiar with the test area had longer initial search times than frogs with more experience, but achieved equally short search times after about eight days. In conjunction with previous findings the results suggest that visual cues are important in habitat choice and spatial learning, and that territorial and reproductive behaviour are intimately associated with learning performance.

Trends in the population of the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat Lasiorhinus krefftii in Epping Forest National Park, Central Queensland

1994 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doug G. Crossman ◽  
Christopher N. Johnsow ◽  
Alan B. Horsup
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Absolute Size ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Prolonged Drought ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Almost All

The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat Lasiorhinus krefftii now survives only in Epping Forest National Park, central Queensland. The species was formerly more widespread in the Epping Forest region than at present. Its decline appears to have occurred in three distinct episodes of contraction, two of which were associated with prolonged drought. Indirect monitoring of abundance suggests that the population was stable from 1974 to 1981, when cattle were excluded from the Park, but has increased since 1983. A trapping programme between 1985 and 1989 suggests that the absolute size of the population may be about 70. The population contains approximately equal numbers of males and females; almost all females breed; and a large and apparently increasing proportion of the population consists of young animals. Further increases in density and range within Epping Forest National Park appear possible. Removal of some animals for translocation should be attempted when it is clear that such removals will not jeopardize the stability and vigour of the Epping Forest population.

Testing the resource economic monopolization hypothesis and its consequences for the mating system ofAlpheus estuariensis(Decapoda, Caridea, Alpheidae)

2018 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 639-647
Author(s):  
Danillo Barroso ◽  
Douglas Fernandes Rodrigues Alves ◽  
Gustavo L. Hirose
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Random Distribution ◽  
Great Abundance ◽  
North East ◽  
The Social ◽  
Average Abundance ◽  
Males And Females

The aim of the present study is to test the resource economic monopolization hypothesis and the hypothesis of monogamy using the shrimpAlpheus estuariensisas a model. The shrimps were collected in two areas in the Vaza-Barriz estuary, north-east Brazil, from August to November 2016. The average abundance of refuges was obtained through 30 random replicates. The shrimp presented a random distribution in both areas. Males and females found together showed a weak relation between their sizes, with males being larger than females. In addition, the cheliped of males grows proportionally more than that of females. The great abundance of refuges present in the environment, added to the aforementioned results, do not support the idea of refuge-guarding behaviour or monogamy. These results, which are in disagreement with those already found for some shrimps of the same family, genus, and even species, reinforce the idea that Alpheidae can be used as a model in the study of how environmental conditions are capable of shaping the social behaviour of a species.

Mating experience influences mate choice and reproductive output in an aphidophagous ladybird, Menochilus sexmaculatus

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankita Dubey ◽  
Swati Saxena ◽  
Geetanjali Mishra ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Mating Status ◽  
Mating Experience ◽  
Males And Females

AbstractInformation about mating status can be used to decide about whether to invest resources in mating with a particular partner. In the present study, we evaluated mate choice in relation to the mating experience of males and females ofMenochilus sexmaculatus. We subjected both unmated and multiply mated males and females to different mate choice trials. The mating experience of the adults includes unmated, once-mated, twice-mated and multiply mated. The mate choice trials revealed that unmated adults were preferred over mated adults by both unmated and multiply mated partners. This preference for unmated partners also had consequences for mating behaviour and reproductive output. Unmated and multiply mated females commenced mating with unmated males earlier. In addition, unmated and multiply mated males invested more time in copula with unmated females. Moreover, females mated with unmated males were more fecund than those mated with previously mated males. This suggests that mating experience of mates may influence mating and reproductive behaviour in this species.

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