Lekbased

Lek-based, or lek-based mating, refers to a reproductive system in which male animals gather at a common display area, known as a lek, to perform courtship displays for visiting females. In a lek-based system, males typically do not provide resources or parental care to females or offspring. Instead, females visit the display sites to choose a mate, often mating with one or a few males. Males establish and defend display territories, and success in reproduction is usually highly skewed, with a small number of males fathering the majority of offspring.

Displays can be visual, vocal, or a combination of both, and are often elaborate to attract female attention. Leks are commonly found in birds, especially some grouse and manakins, but similar lek-like aggregations occur in other taxa as well. The spatial layout of leks can vary from tightly clustered to dispersed, and lek sites may be reused across breeding seasons.

Evolutionary explanations for lek-based systems include the hotspot hypothesis, which posits that leks form in places where female movement naturally concentrates; the hotshot hypothesis, which suggests subordinate males cluster around a highly attractive male; and the female preference hypothesis, which emphasizes female choice as the driver of display elaboration. Variants include exploded leks, where displays are spread over a wider area, and satellite males, whose calls or displays accompany the main lek without holding territory.

Notable examples include the sage grouse (Centrocercus spp.) and various manakin species, where lekking behavior shapes mating dynamics and reproductive skew. See also sexual selection, mating systems, and bird displays.