Social organization of sea otters in Prince William Sound, Alaska

1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 2648-2658 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Garshelis ◽  
Ancel M. Johnson ◽  
Judith A. Garshelis
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Reproductive Strategies ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
Male Mating Success ◽  
Territory Quality ◽  
Sea Otters ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Expanding Population

Sea otters in Prince William Sound. Alaska, were spatially segregated into predominantly (97%) male areas at the front of the expanding population and breeding areas with fewer (up to 33%) males. From 1975 to 1984 we captured and marked 267 otters with tags and (or) radio transmitters and investigated their reproductive strategies, social relationships, and patterns of sexual segregation. Mating occurred year-round, but peaked in September and October. Females first bred at 4 years of age and were capable of pupping annually; they generally separated from their pup before mating. Males established breeding territories that enabled prolonged precopulatory interactions that may have prompted female–pup separation and post-copulatory interactions that precluded females from mating with other males. Male mating success was related to age, weight, territory quality, and the length of time they maintained their territory. After the breeding season, territorial males returned to male areas where food was more abundant. Young, dispersing males also entered male areas and remained there until attaining breeding age. In male areas, otters commonly rested in groups of >50 individuals. Gregariousness promoted social interactions and likely enhanced food finding and (historically) predator protection. As food diminished, males moved into adjacent, unoccupied regions; females then occupied former male areas.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MALE MATING SUCCESS IN THE POLYGYNOUS DUSKY WARBLER (PHYLLOSCOPUS FUSCATUS)

Behaviour ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 139 (10) ◽  
pp. 1361-1381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Forstmeier
Keyword(s):  
Mating Success ◽  
Competitive Ability ◽  
Good Genes ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Male Mating Success ◽  
Territory Quality ◽  
Harem Size ◽  
Long Tails ◽  
General Variation

AbstractIn a mating system where females obtain multiple benefits from choosing a partner, male reproductive success will depend on a variety of factors. Females may seek (1) a high-quality territory (2) a good parent and (3) good genes for offspring viability. Looking at the dusky warbler Phylloscopus fuscatus, a system of resource-defence polygyny, I try to establish the relative importance of these factors for determining male mating success. Male success in social pairing (i.e. harem size) largely depended on territory quality and thereby on success in competition over the best territories. Old males and males with high body mass had a greater chance of mating polygynously, while first-year males and males of low body weight more often remained unmated. In addition, males with long tails were more likely to stay unmated. Interestingly, males with long tails contributed less to offspring care, which suggests that the social mating decisions of primary females also depended on the readiness of males to provision the young. Analysis of extra-pair paternity showed that females did not prefer to copulate with males that were most successful in competition over territories. Nevertheless, polygynous males, on average, sired 3.4 times more offspring than monogamous males. Socially unmated males sired 0.7 times as many. In general, variation in competitive ability had a roughly two times larger effect on male mating success than variation in male attractiveness. The effect of variation in parental qualities was probably less than one tenth of the effect of competitive ability.

Interannual assessment of territory quality for male sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in Simpson Bay, Prince William Sound, Alaska

2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon E. Finerty ◽  
Heidi C. Pearson ◽  
Randall W. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Territorial Male ◽  
Territory Size ◽  
Sea Otter ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
Enhydra Lutris ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Territory Quality ◽  
Sea Otters ◽  
Territory Holder

Territory quality and site fidelity were assessed for male sea otters ( Enhydra lutris (L., 1758)) in Simpson Bay, Prince William Sound, Alaska, during the summer months (May–August) from 2003 to 2006. Territory quality was coded with a score of 0–2 for four attributes: territory size, shoreline enclosure, territory accessibility, and number of females observed feeding in each territory. Total quality scores ranged from 0.14 to 1.96 (0.9 ± 0.61, mean ± SD), with the highest quality territories having large areas, moderate to little shoreline enclosure, high accessibility, and many foraging females. A total of 13.1 km2 (62.5%) of Simpson Bay was occupied at least once by a territorial male during the 4-year study, and 7.9 km2 (37.5%) was never occupied by a territorial male. There were 7 ± 2.4 (mean ± SD) territorial males in Simpson Bay each year. Five males maintained territories for two consecutive years, with their respective territories having a 16%–34% overlap between years, indicating that repeat territory holders returned to the same area. The number of territorial sea otters, the size of territories, and whether or not a sea otter was a repeat territory holder did not significantly influence the size or quality of male territories.

scholarly journals Co-father relationships among the Suruí (Paiter) of Brazil

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S Walker ◽  
Cédric Yvinec ◽  
Ryan M Ellsworth ◽  
Drew H Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Reproductive Strategies ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Male Mating Strategies ◽  
Human Mating ◽  
Multiple Male

Partible paternity refers to the conception belief that children can have multiple fathers (“co-fathers”) and is common to indigenous cultures of lowland South America. The nature of social relationships observed between co-fathers reveals information about the reproductive strategies underlying partible paternity. Here we analyze clan, genealogical, and social relationships between co-fathers for the Suruí, an indigenous horticultural population in Brazil. We show that co-fathers roughly assort into two separate categories. In the affiliative category, co-father relationships are amicable when they are between close kin, namely brothers and father-son. In the competitive category, relationships are more likely of avoidance or open hostility when between more distant kin such as cousins or unrelated men of different clans. Results therefore imply multiple male mating strategies, including both cooperative and competitive contexts, under the rubric of partible paternity. The complexities of partible paternity institutions add to our knowledge of the full range of cross-cultural variation in human mating/marriage arrangements and speak to the debate on whether or not humans should be classified as cooperative breeders.

Longevity and Male Mating Success in Drosophila pseudoobscura

1981 ◽  
Vol 117 (6) ◽  
pp. 1035-1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles E. Taylor ◽  
Cindra Condra ◽  
Michael Conconi ◽  
Mary Prout
Keyword(s):  
Mating Success ◽  
Drosophila Pseudoobscura ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Male Mating Success

scholarly journals Three Strategies for Describing Social Interactions of Adolescents in a Multicultural Environment—Indicators for the Quality of Life Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 8166
Author(s):  
Alicja Szerląg ◽  
Arkadiusz Urbanek ◽  
Kamila Gandecka
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Life Assessment ◽  
Multicultural Environment ◽  
Multicultural Community ◽  
The Social

Background: The analysis has involved social interactions in a multicultural environment. The social context has been defined by the Vilnius region (Lithuania), where national, religious, and cultural differences exist across generations (multicultural community). The space of “social relationships”, as one of the modules of the WHO quality of life assessment, has been studied. An innovation of the research has been related to the analysis of the phenomenon of community of nationalities and cultures as a predictor of quality of life (QoL). The social motive of the research has been the historical continuity (for centuries) of the construction of the Vilnius cultural borderland. Here, the local community evolves from a group of many cultures to an intercultural community. Interpreting the data, therefore, requires a long perspective (a few generations) to understand the quality of relationships. We see social interactions and strategies for building them as a potential for social QoL in multicultural environments. Methods: The research has been conducted on a sample of 374 respondents, including Poles (172), Lithuanians (133), and Russians (69). A diagnostic poll has been used. The respondents were adolescents (15–16 years). The research answers the question: What variables form the interaction strategies of adolescents in a multicultural environment? The findings relate to interpreting the social interactions of adolescents within the boundaries of their living environment. The description of the social relations of adolescents provides an opportunity to implement the findings for further research on QoL. Results: An innovative outcome of the research is the analysis of 3 interaction strategies (attachment to national identification, intercultural dialogue, and multicultural community building) as a background for interpreting QoL in a multicultural environment. Their understanding is a useful knowledge for QoL researchers. The data analysis has taken into account cultural and generational (historical) sensitivities. Therefore, the team studying the data has consisted of researchers and residents of the Vilnius region. We used the interaction strategies of adolescents to describe the category of “social relationships” in nationally and culturally diverse settings.

scholarly journals The Role of Daily Social Interactions in Detecting Mild Cognitive Impairment

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 598-598
Author(s):  
Ruixue Zhaoyang ◽  
Stacey Scott ◽  
Eric Cerino ◽  
Martin Sliwinski
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Normal Cognitive Function ◽  
Social Markers

Abstract Social relationships play an important role in cognitive health and aging. However, it is unclear how older adult’s cognitive function affects their everyday social interactions, especially for those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study examined whether older adults with intact cognition vs. MCI differed in their daily social interactions. Community-dwelling older adults from the Einstein Aging Study (N=244, 70-91 yrs) reported their social interactions five times daily for 14 consecutive days using smartphones. Compared to those with normal cognitive function, older adults with MCI reported less frequent positive social interactions (p=0.012) and in-person social activities (p=0.006) on a daily basis. These two groups, however, did not show significant differences in their social relationships assessed by a conventional global questionnaire. The results support that, relative to global social relationships, daily social interactions are more sensitive, ecologically valid social markers that can facilitate the early detection of MCI.

scholarly journals ADAPTATION AT SPECIFIC LOCI. IV. DIFFERENTIAL MATING SUCCESS AMONG GLYCOLYTIC ALLOZYME GENOTYPES OF COLIAS BUTTERFLIES

Genetics ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-175
Author(s):  
Ward B Watt ◽  
Patrick A Carter ◽  
Sally M Blower
Keyword(s):  
Mating Success ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Heterozygote Advantage ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Genotype Distribution ◽  
Male Mating Success ◽  
Evolutionary Forces ◽  
Fitness Index ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Specific Variation

ABSTRACT Male mating success as a function of genotype is an important fitness component. It can be studied in wild populations, in species for which a given group of progeny has exactly one father, by determining genotypes of wild-caught mothers and of sufficient numbers of their progeny. Here, we study male mating success as a function of allozyme genotype at two glycolytic loci in Colias butterflies, in which sperm precedence is complete, so that the most recent male to mate fathers all of a female's subsequent progeny.—For the phosphoglucose isomerase, PGI, polymorphism, we predict mating advantage and disadvantage of male genotypes based on evaluation of their biochemical functional differences in the context of thermal-physiological-ecological constraints on the insects' flight activity. As predicted, we find major, significant advantage in mating success for kinetically favored genotypes, compared to the genotype distribution of males active with the sampled females in the wild. These effects are repeatable among samples and on different semispecies' genetic backgrounds.—Initial study of the phosphoglucomutase, PGM, polymorphism in the same samples reveals heterozygote advantage in male-mating success, compared to males active with the females sampled. This contrasts with a lack of correspondence between PGI and PGM genotypes in other fitness index or component differences.—Epistatic interactions in mating success between the two loci are absent.—There is no evidence for segregation distortion associated with the alleles of either primary locus studied, nor is there significant assortative mating.—These results extend our understanding of the specific variation studied and suggest that even loci closely related in function may have distinctive experience of evolutionary forces. Implications of the specificity of the effects seen are briefly discussed.

scholarly journals Male competition and the evolution of mating and life-history traits in experimental populations of Aedes aegypti

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1904) ◽  
pp. 20190591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alima Qureshi ◽  
Andrew Aldersley ◽  
Brian Hollis ◽  
Alongkot Ponlawat ◽  
Lauren J. Cator
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Aedes Aegypti ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Male Mating Success ◽  
Reproductive Control ◽  
Evolutionary Response ◽  
Mating Conditions

Aedes aegypti is an important disease vector and a major target of reproductive control efforts. We manipulated the opportunity for sexual selection in populations of Ae . aegypti by controlling the number of males competing for a single female. Populations exposed to higher levels of male competition rapidly evolved higher male competitive mating success relative to populations evolved in the absence of competition, with an evolutionary response visible after only five generations. We also detected correlated evolution in other important mating and life-history traits, such as acoustic signalling, fecundity and body size. Our results indicate that there is ample segregating variation for determinants of male mating competitiveness in wild populations and that increased male mating success trades-off with other important life-history traits. The mating conditions imposed on laboratory-reared mosquitoes are likely a significant determinant of male mating success in populations destined for release.

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