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Do red deer hinds prefer stags that produce harsh roars in mate choice contexts?

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 18:38 authored by B D Charlton, M T Wyman, Y Locatelli, W T Fitch, David Reby
Red deer stags give two types of roars during the breeding season, termed ‘common’ and ‘harsh’ roars. This study tested the hypothesis that the characteristic spectro-temporal structure of male harsh roars functions to directly attract females towards male callers during the breeding season. The results show that oestrous hinds look for longer towards speakers broadcasting sequences containing harsh roars, but do not preferentially approach or spend more time in close proximity to speakers broadcasting harsh roars over those broadcasting only common roars. While these observations confirm that the specific acoustic structure of male harsh roars functions to draw the attention of hinds, they are not consistent with the notion that these calls have an immediate impact on mate choice decisions by stimulating oestrous hinds to move towards male callers. Consequently, we suggest that intersexual selection through female mate choice is unlikely to be a major factor driving the evolution of male red deer harsh roars.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Journal of Zoology

ISSN

09528369

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Issue

1

Volume

293

Page range

57-62

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2014-10-09

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