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Male “macho” mammals exploiting females versus male “Don Juan” birds exploited by females: the opposite‐sex exploitation (OSEX) theory
Author(s) -
Alain Caizergues,
Lambrechts
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1461-0248.1999.00080.x
Subject(s) - mating , biology , race (biology) , ecology , zoology , arms race , adult male , reproductive success , reproduction , demography , population , history , botany , sociology , economic history , endocrinology
We hypothesize that the general differences in breeding systems between birds and mammals results from a different outcome of the between‐sex arms race. The arms race has been won by male mammals that can impose their mating decision over females, but has been lost by male birds because of the extreme specialization of forearms that do not allow males to trap and hold females during copulation. Male birds compensate for their inability to force copulation by developing “Don Juan” behaviour to persuade females to accept copulation.