2006/06/23 by Stephen J. Rossiter, Roger D. Ransome, Chris G. Faulkes +2 · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Bat Biology and Ecology Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-294x.2006.02987.x
openalex publication_date 2006/06/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Most mammalian groups are characterized by male-biased sexual size dimorphism, in which size-dependent male-male competition and reproductive skew are tightly linked. By comparison, little is known about the opportunity for sexual selection in mammalian systems without male-biased dimorphism, where the traits under sexual selection might be less obvious. We examined 10 years of parentage data in a colony of greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) to determine the magnitude of male reproductive skew and the opportunity for sexual selection in a mammal in which females are the larger sex. Annual paternity success was weakly skewed but consistent patterns led to strong longitudinal paternity skew among breeders. Just three males accounted for a third of all paternity assignments, representing at least a fifth of all colony offspring born in a decade. Paternity success was in part determined by age but was not influenced by dispersal status. Our results show that paternity skew and the opportunity for sexual selection in a species with reversed sexual size dimorphism can approach levels reported for classical examples of species with polygyny and male-biased dimorphism, even where the traits under sexual selection are not known.