Intersexual selection and reproductive success in the pheasant Phasianus colchicus

Abstract:
Some recent sexual selection models predict that female choice in species without paternal care may function to discriminate among males in order to pass ''good genes'' to offspring. Data quantifying the relationship between female mate choice and reproductive success are scarce. In a Swedish population of pheasants females prefer to mate with long-spurred males. Male viability also correlates with male spur length. We used DNA fingerprinting to measure individual pheasants' reproductive success in terms of both hatchlings and surviving offspring. The data show that long-spurred males sired more hatchlings and surviving offspring and also that the females' production of surviving offspring correlated with their mate's spur length. The analyses also indicate that offspring of females who mated with long-spurred males experienced an increased survival rate.