Information about Tournament Species
Tournament species in zoology are those species in which members of one sex (usually males) compete in order to mate. In tournament species, most members of the competing sex never win the competitions and never mate, but almost all members of the other sex do mate with the small group of winners.
Since in the vast majority of tournament species the males compete, the competing sex will be referred to as "the males". Tournament species are characterized by fierce male-to-male competition; males which are significantly larger (up to three times the mass of the female) or possess more natural weaponry or are more gaudily decorated than females; by high variability in male reproductive success, as winning males mate with many females and losing males mate with few or none or die in the competition itself; and by high promiscuity in both sexes, which occasions small or no male parental investment.
In some species, the competition between males involves displays in which females choose winning males; these contests are called leks. In other species, competition is more direct, in the form of fighting between males.
Examples of tournament species include peacocks, in which the female peahens judge male peacocks on the size and coloration of their large and gaudy tail, several species of antelope, in which males use their antlers to fight one another, and Elephant seals, the males of which use their large size to fight one another.
In a small number of species, females compete for males; these include species of Jacana, species of Phalarope, and the Spotted Hyena. In all these cases, the female of the species shows stereotypically "male" traits: larger bodies, aggressiveness, or even maintenance of a multiple-male "harem".
Most species fall on a continuum between tournament species and pair-bonding species.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Since in the vast majority of tournament species the males compete, the competing sex will be referred to as "the males". Tournament species are characterized by fierce male-to-male competition; males which are significantly larger (up to three times the mass of the female) or possess more natural weaponry or are more gaudily decorated than females; by high variability in male reproductive success, as winning males mate with many females and losing males mate with few or none or die in the competition itself; and by high promiscuity in both sexes, which occasions small or no male parental investment.
In some species, the competition between males involves displays in which females choose winning males; these contests are called leks. In other species, competition is more direct, in the form of fighting between males.
Examples of tournament species include peacocks, in which the female peahens judge male peacocks on the size and coloration of their large and gaudy tail, several species of antelope, in which males use their antlers to fight one another, and Elephant seals, the males of which use their large size to fight one another.
In a small number of species, females compete for males; these include species of Jacana, species of Phalarope, and the Spotted Hyena. In all these cases, the female of the species shows stereotypically "male" traits: larger bodies, aggressiveness, or even maintenance of a multiple-male "harem".
Most species fall on a continuum between tournament species and pair-bonding species.
See also
Zoology (from Greek: ζῴον, zoion, "animal"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
species is one of the basic units of biological classification. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Male (♂) refers to the sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilisation.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
For other uses, see Lek (disambiguation).
A lek is a gathering of males, of certain animal species, for the purposes of competitive mating display. Leks assemble before and during the breeding season, on a daily basis...... Click the link for more information.
Pavo
Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Pavo cristatus
Pavo muticus
The term peafowl can refer to the two species of bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae.
..... Click the link for more information.
Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Pavo cristatus
Pavo muticus
The term peafowl can refer to the two species of bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae.
..... Click the link for more information.
Antelope are herbivorous mammals of the family Bovidae, often noted for their horns. These animals are spread relatively evenly throughout the various subfamilies of the Bovidae and many are more closely related to cows or goats than to each other.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Mirounga
Species
M. leonina
M. angustirostris
Elephant seals are large, oceangoing mammals in the genus Mirounga, in the earless seal family (Phocidae).
..... Click the link for more information.
Species
M. leonina
M. angustirostris
Elephant seals are large, oceangoing mammals in the genus Mirounga, in the earless seal family (Phocidae).
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Phalaropus
Brisson, 1760
Species
Red Phalarope, P. fulicaria
Red-necked Phalarope, P. lobatus
Wilson's Phalarope, P.
..... Click the link for more information.
Brisson, 1760
Species
Red Phalarope, P. fulicaria
Red-necked Phalarope, P. lobatus
Wilson's Phalarope, P.
..... Click the link for more information.
Crocuta
Species: C. crocuta
Binomial name
Crocuta crocuta
(Erxleben, 1777)
..... Click the link for more information.
Species: C. crocuta
Binomial name
Crocuta crocuta
(Erxleben, 1777)
Spotted Hyena range
..... Click the link for more information.
In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species between the male and female in a breeding pair. Pair-bonding, from 1940, is a term frequently used in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology circles and is typically meant to imply either a life-long
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Sexual selection is the theory proposed by Charles Darwin that states that the frequency of traits can increase or decrease depending on the attractiveness of the bearer. Biologists today distinguish between "male to male combat" (it is usually males who fight), "mate choice"
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Mating rituals: see
..... Click the link for more information.
- Mating, for mating rituals in the animal kingdom
- Courtship, for mating rituals in human culture
..... Click the link for more information.
This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus
