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A male red-veined darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) clasping a female behind the neck after copulation to prevent other males from mating and to increase the chances of successful paternity

Mate guarding is a competitive reproductive behaviour, primarily exhibited by males, to monopolize a mate and ensure exclusive paternity by guarding, dissuading, or physically blocking rivals from copulating with the female. Mate guarding behaviour can be pre- or post-copulatory.[1]

Mate guarding has similar aims and may overlap with but is distinct from territoriality where mating exclusivity is achieved by expelling rivals from an area and monopolizing resources, and sperm competition.

Fitness

While increasing the probability of paternity by reducing possibilities for secondary matings and sperm competition, mate guarding has fitness costs; guards spend energy, they can be injured in fights with rivals, they lose opportunities to feed[2], and lose additional mating opportunities.[3]

Depending on the mechanism employed, a female being guarded may lose opportunities to seek additional mating which would increase her fitness by diversifying paternity[4][5], be injured in rival male fights, and have her movement inhibited, but benefit from being defended from predation, receiving male assistance, and protection from injurious harassment by competing males.[6][7]

Mate guarding strategies

  • Physical guarding through displays or force – In many species of birds, males closely accompany fertile females during breeding seasons.[8]
  • Frequent copulation[8]
  • Chemical deterrence and mate behavior modulation – The noctuid moth Heliothis virescens practices chemical mate guarding. Male H. virescens, who prefer virgin females, mark females they mate with chemical compounds after copulation that render them less attractive to males. The pheromone separately functions as an anti-aphrodisiac to discourage female mating for up to two days.[10]
  • Mating plugs – a physical obstruction is placed in the female’s reproductive tract after mating to block rival sperm fertilization.

See also

  • Territoriality – a sexual strategy to preserve exclusivity of mating opportunities through control of land and resources

References

  1. ^ Birkhead, Tim (2000). Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm Competition. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-00666-9.
  2. ^ Steele, B. B.; Lehikoinen, A.; Öst, M.; Kilpi, M. (2007). “The cost of mate guarding in the Common Eider”. Ornis Fennica. 84 (2): 49–56. ISSN 0030-5685.
  3. ^ Alcock, J (1994). “Postinsemination Associations Between Males and Females in Insects: The Mate-Guarding Hypothesis”. Annual Review of Entomology. 39 (1): 1–21. doi:10.1146/annurev.en.39.010194.000245. ISSN 0066-4170.
  4. ^ JENNIONS, MICHAEL D.; PETRIE, MARION (May 1995). “Why do females mate multiply? A review of the genetic benefits”. Biological Reviews. 75 (1): 21–64. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185x.1999.tb00040.x. ISSN 1464-7931.
  5. ^ Birkhead, T.R.; Møller, A.P. (1998), “Sperm Competition, Sexual Selection and Different Routes to Fitness”, Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection, Elsevier, pp. 757–781, ISBN 978-0-12-100543-6, retrieved 2026-03-06{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  6. ^ Zuk, Marlene (2011). “Animal Behavior: Stay Close for Comfort”. Current Biology. 21 (21): R885–R886. Bibcode:2011CBio…21.R885Z. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.09.043. PMID 22075426.
  7. ^ Jormalainen, Veijo (1998). “Precopulatory Mate Guarding in Crustaceans: Male Competitive Strategy and Intersexual Conflict”. The Quarterly Review of Biology. 73 (3): 275–304. doi:10.1086/420306. ISSN 0033-5770. JSTOR 3036917. S2CID 83475247.
  8. ^ a b Harts AM, Booksmythe I, Jennions MD. Mate guarding and frequent copulation in birds: A meta-analysis of their relationship to paternity and male phenotype. Evolution. 2016 Dec;70(12):2789-2808. doi: 10.1111/evo.13081. Epub 2016 Oct 27. PMID: 27714783.
  9. ^ Zwick, Peter (January 2001). “CORBET, P.S. (1999): Dragonflies: Behaviour and Ecology of Odonata”. Aquatic Insects. 23 (1): 83–83. doi:10.1076/aqin.23.1.83.4929. ISSN 0165-0424.
  10. ^ Hosseini, Seyed Ali; van Wijk, Michiel; Ke, Gao; Goldansaz, Seyed Hossein; Schal, Coby; Groot, Astrid T. (2016). “Experimental evidence for chemical mate guarding in a moth”. Scientific Reports. 6 (1) 38567. Bibcode:2016NatSR…638567H. doi:10.1038/srep38567. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 5146913. PMID 27934963.