TY - JOUR
T1 - Snakes in search of sex
T2 - The relation between mate-locating ability and mating success in male garter snakes
AU - Shine, Richard
AU - O'Donnell, Ryan P.
AU - Langkilde, Tracy
AU - Wall, Michael D.
AU - Mason, Robert T.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Al and Gerry Johnson for help and encouragement, and the Manitoba Department of Natural Resources (especially Dave Roberts) for permits. Financial support was provided by the Australian Research Council (to RS), and by a National Science Foundation National Young Investigator Award (IBN-9357245), and the Whitehall Foundation (W95-04) to RTM.
Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2005/6
Y1 - 2005/6
N2 - Is a male's ability to find fertilizable females an important determinant of his mating success? We exploited unique logistical advantages offered by courting aggregations of garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis, in Manitoba, Canada, to ask: (1) does the order at which a male arrives at a solitary female affect either his courtship tactics or his chances of inseminating her; and (2) does a male's body size affect his probability of arriving before his rivals? Experimental trials in the field and in outdoor arenas (to control group size and arrival intervals) suggested that, in the area near the main den, being the first to find a solitary female conveys limited or no fitness benefits to a male snake. Other males were likely to arrive before the male could achieve copulation; and early arrival did not guarantee optimal positioning within the mating ball. Thus, late-arriving males were as likely to obtain copulations as were early arrivers. Male body size enhanced mating success more in early arrivers than latecomers, but did not affect arrival times. However, although mate-finding ability was unimportant for male garter snakes competing near the den, it was critical in surrounding woodland where densities of rivals were much lower.
AB - Is a male's ability to find fertilizable females an important determinant of his mating success? We exploited unique logistical advantages offered by courting aggregations of garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis, in Manitoba, Canada, to ask: (1) does the order at which a male arrives at a solitary female affect either his courtship tactics or his chances of inseminating her; and (2) does a male's body size affect his probability of arriving before his rivals? Experimental trials in the field and in outdoor arenas (to control group size and arrival intervals) suggested that, in the area near the main den, being the first to find a solitary female conveys limited or no fitness benefits to a male snake. Other males were likely to arrive before the male could achieve copulation; and early arrival did not guarantee optimal positioning within the mating ball. Thus, late-arriving males were as likely to obtain copulations as were early arrivers. Male body size enhanced mating success more in early arrivers than latecomers, but did not affect arrival times. However, although mate-finding ability was unimportant for male garter snakes competing near the den, it was critical in surrounding woodland where densities of rivals were much lower.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.10.005
DO - 10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.10.005
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:20444368489
SN - 0003-3472
VL - 69
SP - 1251
EP - 1258
JO - Animal Behaviour
JF - Animal Behaviour
IS - 6
ER -