Polygamy in human and animal species (Q1113839)

A mathematical model for describing the dynamics of polygamous mating populations is presented which takes into account age structure and sex- dependent age of maturity including such factors as survival and fertility rates. It consists of a nonlinear delay system of two difference equations for the number of mature males and females in the population. It is assumed that the sex-ratio at birth of male versus female offspring is fixed by species. For a density independent reproductive function (which is defined as the total number of female offspring in a particular year) the species becomes extinct in the long run (i.e. as time t gets large) or grows exponentially in total number. It is shown that the greatest species growth will be attained if the sex-ratio at maturity is in perfect balance with the degree of polygamy when adult males and females are equally likely to survive. But if adult survival is sex-dependent the sex-ratio shifts to favour the ``weaker'' sex. For the more realistic case of density dependent reproductive function there can exist a positive equilibrium point of the system of difference equations. The stability condition of the equilibrium is established and it is shown that the stability does not depend on either the population's survival or sex-ratio parameters.