Reviews and theory

Beehler, BM & Foster MS 1988. Hotshots, Hotspots and female preferences in the organization of lek mating systems. Am Nat. 131: 203-219.

Just one of many papers discussing the mechanisms that determine where and when males aggregate.

Bradbury, JW, 1981,The evolution of leks. In RD Alexander and D.W. Tinkle, eds., Natural selection and Social Behavior pp 138-169. Chiron Press, New York and Concord.

Includes BradburyÕs ideas on what constitutes a lek. (as discussed in seminar).

Hoglund, J & Alatalo, R. 1995. Leks. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Extensive review of the subject, and of course, extensive bibliography.

Wiley, RH 1991. Lekking in birds and mammals: Behavioral and evolutionary issues. Adv. Study Behav., 20; 201-227

Discusses female preferences for mating at given locations, as opposed to mating with given males. Includes section on direct vs indirect mate choice, and the fact that the two do not differ in their probobility of leading to sexual selection.

Black grouse

Hoglund J, Johansson, T, & Pelabon, C, 1997 Behaviourally mediated sexual selection: Characteristics of successful male black grouse. Anim. Behav. 54: 255-264.

Behaviors of males on lek differ depending on whether females are present. Male-male competition and direct female choice are important in black grouse sexual selection.

Hovi, M, Alatalo, R, Hoglund, J, Lundberg, A, Rintamaki, P 1994 Lek centre attracts black grouse females. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond., Ser. B. 258: 303-305.

As stated in title, this paper containes evidence that the lek centre is attractive to females.

Hovi, M, Alatalo, R, Siikakmaki, P, 1995. Black Grouse leks on ice: Female mate sampling by incitation of male competition? Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 37: 283-288.

Suggests that females incite male-male competition by approaching one male, then walking towards other males to watch the first males reaction. Dominant males scared off a second male, or fought with him, thus preventing a second male from courting.

Rintamaki, P, Alatalo, R, Hoglund, J, Jundberg, A, 1995. Male territoriality and female choice on black grouse leks. Anim Behav. 49: 759-767.

Temporal spillover vs spatial spillover on black grouse leks. They found no evidence for temporal spillover - no correlation in the popularity of a given site. Spatial spillover is suggested by the fact that new territories were established near the copulation centre of the lek from the previous year.

Sage Grouse

Gibson, RM 1992. Lek Formation in sage grouse: the effect of female choice on male territory settlement. Anim Behav. 43:443-450.

Temporal vs spatial spillover on sage grouse leks. Males showed a preference to resettle on previously successful territories. Male territory fidelitity increased with previous mating success. Spatial spillover was not supported.

Gibson, RM, Bradbury JW 1985. Sexual selection in lekking sage grouse: Phenotypic correlates of male mating success. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 18: 117-123.

An example of a study that did find correlations between certain male characteristics and mating success.

Gibson, RM, Bradbury JW 1986. Male and female mating strategies on a sage grouse lek. in Rubenstein, DI and Wrangham, RW eds. Ecological Aspects of Social Evolution. pp. 379-398. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Gibson, RM, Bradbury JW, Vehrencamp, SL 1991. Mate choice in lekking sage grouse revisited: The roles of vocal display, female site fidelity, and copying. Behav. Ecol. 2: 165-180.

This paper discusses "secondary" female mate choice strategies, such as site fidelity and copying.

Wiley, RH 1973, Territoriality and non-random mating in sage grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus. Anim. Behav. Monogr. 6: 85-169.

Wiley, RH 1973. The strut display off male sage grouse: A "fixed" action pattern. Behaviour 47: 129-152.

Other

Deutsch, JC, Nefdt, RJC 1992. Olfactory cues influence female choice in two lek breeding antelopes Nature 356: 596-598.

In these 2 lek breeding antelope, females show strong preferences for sites, not individual males. Soil relocation experiments provided evidence that there is an olfactory cue in the soil which leads females to choose given sites. Previously unsuccessful males became much more successful when soil from successful territories was transplanted.