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Dryad

Male reproductive tactics in house mice: consistent individual differences, intrinsic factors and density effects

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Mar 19, 2025 version files 237.89 KB

Abstract

Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) describe fixed or flexible alternative strategies to secure fertilization within species. For example, while some males defend territories to attract females, others invade them to attempt sneaky matings. Often, male ARTs are considered to be status-dependent, explained by mass or competitive differences. Here, we used 244 male mice, Mus musculus domesticus, from semi-natural populations to address those caveats and describe ARTs in Mus musculus for the first time. We followed males throughout their life and categorized them as territorials or roamers over multiple monthly intervals, after validating our method of assigning a tactic with detailed spatial data. We explored if tactic choice is consistent, whether multiple social and/or intrinsic factors predict tactic choice, and tested for fitness consequences and physiological differences between ARTs. Tactic choice was consistent and associated with mass, age, the operational sex ratio, and population size. We also found that territorials had a higher probability of reproduction but a lower gonadosomatic index. Our results reveal a personality component of ARTs, confirm equal fitness among tactics, and show ARTs as multifaceted traits that probably are under various selective pressures.