Discrete clutch sizes, local mate competition, and the evolution of precise sex allocation (Q1918058)

The evolution of sex allocation can be influenced by the way a population is spatially structured with respect to mating and competition. Under ``local mate competition'', mating takes place in small groups, formed by the broods of only a few females, whereas the inseminated females disperse widely to compete in a larger population. Under this population structure, natural selection favours female-biased sex ratios when the number of ``foundresses'' (females contributing offspring to a mating group) is small. The evolutionarily stable (ES) proportion of daughters \((f^*)\) is given by: \(f^*= (N+ 1)/2N\), where \(N\) is the number of foundresses. This classical model and most of its later extensions treat sex ratios as continuous and deterministic. The aim of this article is to show the consequences of (1) the more realistic assumption that offspring are discrete entities and (2) the inevitable possibility that sex ratios can have nonzero variance. The article investigates how the sex ratio mean and variance evolves under local mate competition in the more general case of multiple foundresses, thereby taking into account that offspring are produced as discrete units. Game-theoretical models are constructed to determine (by numerical methods) ES sex allocation for a range of foundress numbers and clutch sizes. This is done both for females with precise sex ratio control and for females constrained to binomial control. Populations are studied that consist of only precise females, only binomial females, or a mixture of both types in various proportions. Studying mixed populations makes it possible to investigate the relative advantage of precise control and the frequency dependence of this advantage.