Definition
- (I)
Cohesive social group that is constituted by one or few dominant individuals of one sex (usually males) and, respectively, two or more individuals of the other sex (usually females), and in which dominant individuals actively fight nonmember competitors for all or, at least, the vast majority of the copulations with the group members of the other sex.
- (II)
The assembly of individuals of one sex (usually females) that is sexually monopolized by one or few individuals of the other sex (usually males).
Introduction
Polygyny (i.e., the mating combination in which one male is paired to two or more females) is found in different forms, including resource defense polygyny, female defense polygyny, scramble competition, and leks (Emlen and Oring 1977). In these mating systems, high-quality males acquire more than...
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References
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Macedo-Rego, R.C., Santos, E.S.A. (2017). Harems. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2722-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2722-1
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