In
animal behavior
Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th century, including Charle ...
, resource defense polygyny is a
mating strategy
A mating system is a way in which a group is structured in relation to sexual behaviour. The precise meaning depends upon the context. With respect to animals, the term describes which males and females mate under which circumstances. Recognised ...
where a male is able to support multiple female mates by competing with other males for access to a resource.
In such a system, males are territorial. Because male movement is restricted,
female-female competition for a male also results. Males capable of maintaining a larger territory are said to have greater resource holding power.
It is one of the three major types of
polygyny
Polygyny () is a form of polygamy entailing the marriage of a man to several women. The term polygyny is from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); .
Incidence
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any other continent. Some scholar ...
, the other two being
female defense polygyny and
leks.
Examples
Resource defense polygyny is a common strategy in insects. For examples, damselflies in the family
Calopterygidae
Calopterygidae is a Family (biology), family of damselfly, damselflies, in the suborder Zygoptera.
They are commonly known as the broad-winged damselflies, demoiselles, or jewelwings. These rather large damselflies have wingspans of 50–80 ...
typically display resource defense polygyny, in which territorial males guard riverine habitat that is sought after by females for egg deposition. Within a species there may be a territorial and nonterritorial morph.
[{{Cite book , last1=Thornhill , first1=Randy , url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.4159/harvard.9780674433960/html , title=The Evolution of Insect Mating Systems , last2=Alcock , first2=John , date=1983-12-31 , publisher=Harvard University Press , isbn=978-0-674-43395-3 , doi=10.4159/harvard.9780674433960]
Many bird species also display resource defense polygyny. The
yellow headed blackbird is an example, where a male may have multiple females nesting in his territory.
See also
*
Polygyny threshold model
The polygyny threshold model is an evolutionary explanation of polygyny, the mating of one male of a species with more than one female. The model shows how females may gain a higher level of biological fitness by mating with a male who already has ...
References
Ethology
Mating systems
Polygyny