Courtship tactics in garter snakes: How do a male's morphology and behaviour influence his mating success?

The behavioural determinants of male mating success play a pivotal role in sexual selection, but remain poorly known for most kinds of organisms, including most reptiles. In Manitoba, Canada, large numbers of red-sided garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis, court and mate in early spring near communal overwintering dens. To understand how a male's morphology and behaviour might influence his mating success, we videotaped 21 groups of snakes each comprising four males of varying body sizes plus a female. All males engaged in courtship, and mating occurred in all groups. Males with better body condition courted more vigorously and successfully than their smaller rivals did. The males that obtained matings were those that maintained their own cloaca closest to that of the female, aligned most of their body with the female, showed high rates of caudocephalic waving, chin pressing and tail searching, and did not allow other males to insert their body beside the female's. These behavioural differences between 'winners' and 'losers' were apparent from the beginning of each trial. Thus, male mating success in this 'scramble' system is determined not by chaotic, stochastic struggle (as has often been inferred) but instead is strongly linked to male courtship tactics. Energy stores (as evidenced by good body condition) may be critical determinants of mating success in these vigorous courtship episodes.