Lekbreeding

Lekbreeding, or lek mating, is a mating system in which males gather in a lek, a communal display arena, to perform courtship displays aimed at attracting females. Females visit the lek, evaluate the displays, and choose a mate, after which they generally breed without further male involvement. In lekbreeding, males provide little to no parental care and do not defend resources or territories that benefit females; reproductive success is driven largely by female choice and display quality rather than territory availability.

Key features include highly skewed male mating success, with a minority of males siring most offspring while many others sire few or none. Males occupy discrete display sites and employ visual, vocal, or behavioral signals to attract females. Leks can be stable across seasons or form around specific attractants, and several models describe lek dynamics, such as hotspot and hotshot theories. In classic leks, no resources are gained by displaying males, whereas some systems exhibit indirect effects where a successful male’s presence increases nearby mates for others.

Evolutionary explanations focus on the benefits of concentrated female choice, constraints on parental care, and ecological factors that bring females to the same area. The lek paradox highlights how strong sexual selection on a few males can maintain genetic diversity through female mating patterns. Examples of lekbreeding species include certain grouses, manakins, and other songbirds, with variations in structure and behavior across taxa. Habitat disruption can threaten lek sites and reproductive success.