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Body size, assortative mating and divorce rates in a little-known skua taxon, the Falkland Skua Stercorarius antarcticus antarcticus
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Authors
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Several studies have attempted to identify the selective pressures leading to reversed size dimorphism (RSD), a characteristic
of skuas and of a wide range of bird species with a raptorial lifestyle. One of the prevailing hypotheses posits that females
in species of aggressive and well-armed males should select males that are smaller than themselves, to avoid injuries during
pair formation and mating. This hypothesis predicts assortative mating by size in such species, and in previous research,
this was confrmed to occur in two skua species. This study presents, for the frst time, biometric data for Falkland Skuas
Stercorarius antarcticus antarcticus based on large sample sizes. Despite the clear RSD, we found no assortative mating by
size, which could be related to the low divorce rates and few opportunities for mate selection in this population. Our results
highlight the need for further work to fnd an explanatory hypothesis for the evolution and maintenance of reversed size
dimorphism in skuas.
Description
Keywords
Falkland Skua Body size Reversed size dimorphism Assortative mating
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Pich, C., & Catry, P. (2022). Body size, assortative mating and divorce rates in a little-known skua taxon, the Falkland Skua Stercorarius antarcticus antarcticus. Polar Biology, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03035-2
Publisher
Springer Verlag