Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Female grouping best predicts lekking in blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra)

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The study of intraspecific variation can provide insights into the evolution and maintenance of behavior. To evaluate the relative importance of ecological, demographic and social conditions thought to favor lekking, I studied variation in mating behavior among and within populations of the blackbuck, Antilope cervicapra, an Indian antelope. Rather than viewing lekking as a discrete mating strategy, I took a continuous approach and treated lekking as a question of the clustering of mating territories, with leks representing one extreme in a range of territory distributions. I surveyed nine blackbuck populations, which differed in population density and in habitat conditions. For each population, I described the mating system in terms of the clustering of mating territories, and measured various factors suggested to favor lekking. I found that large-scale, among-population variation in territory clustering was most strongly related to female group size. Territory clustering was not related to population density. Female group size, in turn, was best explained by habitat structure. Interestingly, these among-population patterns were repeated at a finer spatial scale within one intensively studied population. These findings suggest that territorial males respond to local patterns in female distribution (represented by group size) when making decisions regarding territory location. Finally, although female distribution may explain territory clustering at the population level and more locally within a population, other selective factors (e.g., female preference, male competition, male harassment) are likely to shape the clustering and size of territories at even finer scales.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Almeida JB, Macedo RH (2001) Lek-like mating system of the monogamous blue-black grassquit. Auk 118:404–411

    Google Scholar 

  • Anonymous (1999) Climatological tables of observatories in India, 1951–1980. Government of India

  • Anonymous (2002) Comparative climatic data for the United States [1971–2000]. Southern Regional Climate Center

  • Apollonio M (1989) Lekking in fallow deer—just a matter of density? Ethol Ecol Evol 1:291–294

    Google Scholar 

  • Apollonio M, Festa-Bianchet M, Mari F, Mattioli S, Sarno B (1992) To lek or not to lek—mating strategies of male fallow deer. Behav Ecol 3:25–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Balmford A (1990) Lekking in Uganda kob. PhD Thesis. University of Cambridge

  • Balmford A (1992) Social dispersion and lekking in Uganda kob. Behaviour 120:177–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Balmford A, Albon S, Blakeman S (1992) Correlates of male mating success and female choice in a lek-breeding antelope. Behav Ecol 3:112–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Balmford A, Deutsch JC, Nefdt RJC, Clutton-Brock TH (1993a) Testing hotspot models of lek evolution—data from 3 species of ungulates. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 33:57–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Balmford A, Bartos L, Brotherton P, Herrmann H, Lancingerova J, Mika J, Zeeb U (1993b) When to stop lekking: density-related variation in the rutting behaviour of sika deer. J Zool 231:652–656

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradbury J (1981) The evolution of leks. In: Alexander RD, Tinkle TW (eds) Natural selection and social behavior. Carron, New York, pp 138–169

  • Bradbury J, Gibson R, Tsai IM (1986) Hotspots and the dispersion of leks. Anim Behav 34:1694–1709

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradbury JW, Gibson RM, McCarthy CE, Vehrencamp SL (1989) Dispersion of displaying male sage grouse.2. The role of female dispersion. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 24:15–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Bro-Jørgensen J (2002) Overt female mate competition and preference for central males in a lekking antelope. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99:9290–9293

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bro-Jørgensen J (2003a) The significance of hotspots to lekking topi antelopes (Damaliscus lunatus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 53:324–331

    Google Scholar 

  • Bro-Jørgensen J (2003b) No peace for estrous topi cows on leks. Behav Ecol 14:521–525

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock TH (1989) Mammalian mating systems. Proc R Soc Lond B 236:339–372

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock TH, Guinness FE, Albon SD (1982) Red deer: behavior and ecology of two sexes. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh

    Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock TH, Green D, Hiraiwa-Hasegawa M, Albon SD (1988) Passing the buck—resource defense, lek breeding and mate choice in fallow deer. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 23:281–296

    Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock TH, Price OF, Maccoll ADC (1992) Mate retention, harassment, and the evolution of ungulate leks. Behav Ecol 3:234–242

    Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock TH, Deutsch JC, Nefdt RJC (1993) The evolution of ungulate leks. Anim Behav 46:1121–1138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies NB (1991) Mating systems. In: Krebs JR, Davies NB (eds) Behavioural ecology, 3rd edn. Blackwell, Oxford

  • Deutsch JC (1994) Lekking by default—female habitat preferences and male strategies in Uganda kob. J Anim Ecol 63:101–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson RM, Taylor CE, Jefferson DR (1990) Lek formation by female choice: a simulation study. Behav Ecol 1:36–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosling LM (1986) The evolution of the mating strategies in male antelopes. In: Rubenstein DI, Wrangham RW (eds) Ecological aspects of social evolution: birds and mammals. Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp 244–281

  • Gosling LM (1991) The alternative mating strategies of male topi, Damaliscus lunatus. Appl Anim Behav Sci 29:107–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gosling LM, Petrie M (1990) Lekking in topi—a consequence of satellite behavior by small males at hotspots. Anim Behav 40:272–287

    Google Scholar 

  • Hjorth I (1970) Reproductive behaviour in Tetraonidae. Swed Wildl 7:190–596

    Google Scholar 

  • Höglund J, Alatalo RV (1995) Leks. Princeton University Press, Princeton

  • Isvaran K (2003) The evolution of lekking: insights from a species with a flexible mating system. PhD Thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville

    Google Scholar 

  • Isvaran K, Jhala Y (2000) Variation in lekking costs in blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra): relationship to lek-territory location and female mating patterns. Behaviour 137:547–563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isvaran K, St. Mary CM (2003) When should males lek? Insights from a dynamic state variable model. Behav Ecol 14:876–886

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarman PJ (1982) Prospects for interspecific comparison in sociobiology. In: King’s College Sociobiology group (eds) Current problems in sociobiology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 323–342

  • Jhala YV (1997) Seasonal effects on the nutritional ecology of blackbuck Antelope cervicapra. J Appl Ecol 34:1348–1358

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiguet F, Arroyo B, Bretagnolle V (2000) Lek mating systems: a case study in the little bustard Tetrax tetrax. Behav Proc 51:63–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koivisto I (1965) Behavior of the black grouse, Lyrurus tetrix, during spring display. Finn Game Res 26:1–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Langbein J, Thirgood SJ (1989) Variation in mating systems of fallow deer (Dama dama) in relation to ecology. Ethology 83:195–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis RA (1985) Do blue grouse form leks? Auk 102:180–184

    Google Scholar 

  • Lingle S (2001) Anti-predator strategies and grouping patterns in white-tailed deer and mule deer. Ethology 107:295–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maher CR (2000) Quantitative variation in ecological and hormonal variables correlates with spatial organization of pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) males. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 47:327–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mungall EC (1978) The Indian blackbuck antelope: a Texas view. Kleberg Studies in Natural Resources, College Station

    Google Scholar 

  • Mungall EC (1998) Bucks in the black: India vs. Texas. Exotic Wildl 8:1–3

    Google Scholar 

  • Nefdt RJC (1995) Disruption of matings, harassment and lek-breeding in Kafue lechwe antelope. Anim Behav 49:219–429

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nefdt RJC, Thirgood SJ (1997) Lekking, resource defense, and harassment in two subspecies of lechwe antelope. Behav Ecol 8:1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinheiro JC, Bates DM (2000) Mixed-effects models in S and S-PLUS. Statistics and Computing Series, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York

  • Prasad NLNS (1983) Home range size of blackbuck, Antilope cervicapra, at Mudmal. Z Saeugetierkd 48:109–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Prasad NLNS (1989) Territoriality in the Indian blackbuck, Antilope cervicapra (Linnaeus). J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 86:187–193

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranjitsinh MK (1989) The Indian blackbuck. Natraj, Dehradun

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry: The principles and practice of statistics in biological research. Freeman, Oxford

  • Stillman RA, Clutton-Brock TH, Sutherland WJ (1993) Black-holes, mate retention, and the evolution of ungulate leks. Behav Ecol 4:1–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Stillman RA, Deutsch JC, Clutton-Brock TH, Sutherland WJ (1996) Black hole models of ungulate lek size and distribution. Anim Behav 52:891–902

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland WJ (1996) Mammals. In: Sutherland WJ (ed) Ecological census techniques: a handbook. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 260–278

  • Thirgood SJ, Robertson A, Jarvis AM, Belbin SV, Robertson D, Nefdt RJ, Kamweneshe B (1992) Mating system and ecology of black lechwe (Kobus, Bovidae) in Zambia. J Zool 228:155–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Thirgood S, Langbein J, Putman RJ (1999) Intraspecific variation in ungulate mating strategies: the case of the flexible fallow deer. Adv Stud Behav 28:333–361

    Google Scholar 

  • Wegge P, Rolstad J (1986) Size and spacing of capercaillie leks in relation to social behavior and habitat. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 19:401–408

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiley RH (1974) Evolution of social organization and life-history patterns among grouse. Q Rev Biol 49:201–227

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to J. Brockmann, C. St. Mary, Y.V. Jhala, C. Chapman, M. Sunquist, J. Eisenberg, B. Bolker, and S. Quader for useful discussions and valuable comments on previous versions of the manuscript; the University of Florida, the Animal Behavior Society, the American Society for Mammalogists, and Sigma Xi for research funds; the Forest Departments of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu in India for considerable logistical support and kind permission to work in various protected areas; Y.V. Jhala, the USFWS funded project titled Conservation of the Indian Wolf, and the Wildlife Institute of India for immense logistical help; K.V.R. Priyadarshini and B. Jethva for useful discussions and help in the field; E. Mungall, W. Kyle and J. Kyle for extensive support and help with the Texas population; and T. Czeschlik and three anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on the manuscript. This work complies with the current laws of the countries in which the work was carried out.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Kavita Isvaran

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Florida, 223 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA

    Kavita Isvaran

Authors
  1. Kavita Isvaran
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kavita Isvaran.

Additional information

Communicated by T. Czeschlik

Electronic Supplementary Material

Appendix

Appendix

Table 4 is the Electronic Appendix, S1, and gives estimates (mean±SE) of territory clustering and ecological, demographic and social variables in nine blackbuck populations.

Table 4 Electronic Appendix, S1. Estimates (mean±SE) of territory clustering and ecological, demographic and social variables in nine blackbuck populations
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Isvaran, K. Female grouping best predicts lekking in blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 57, 283–294 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-004-0844-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-004-0844-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation