INTERSEXUAL SELECTION AND REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS IN THE PHEASANT PHASIANUS-COLCHICUS

Some recent sexual selection models predict that female choice in spec ies without paternal care may function to discriminate among males in order to pass ''good genes'' to offspring. Data quantifying the relati onship 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' reproducti ve success in terms of both hatchlings and surviving offspring. The da ta show that long-spurred males sired more hatchlings and surviving of fspring and also that the females' production of surviving offspring c orrelated with their mate's spur length. The analyses also indicate th at offspring of females who mated with long-spurred males experienced an increased survival rate.