Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Hogan-Warburg, A.J. (1992) Female choice and the evolution of mating strategies in the Ruff Philomachus pugnax. ARDEA 80 (2): 395-403
This paper originated as a review of the book "The Ruff' by van Rhijn (1991). Throughout the review, and in two separate sections, comments and alternative interpretations are offered on many ofthe topics raised. It is suggested that females choose their mating partners on the lek by evaluating individual males, both resident and satellite males, on the basis of behavioral differences, in particular by a male's inclination to interrupt his squat posture. Individual males on the lek compete with each other for the opportunity to attract and mate with females. Residences differ from each other in their attractiveness to females. This is related to the variation in the ability of individual males to interrupt their squat during a visit by the female to the residence and to the variation in the level of intolerance shown by a resident male to satellite males visiting his residence. The most attractive residence is occupied by a resident male who shows a spontaneous ability to rise from the squat during a visit by a female and a level of absolute intolerance to a satellite male visiting his residence. It is suggested that appeasement is responsible for the origin of the satellite strategy, and that the interactions of the immature naked-nape males with gregarious groups ofRuffs and Reeves during foraging stops while migrating north provide clues to its evolution.


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