Lifetime mating success, sexual selection and life history of fallow bucks(Dama dama)

We used data from a long-term study (15 years) of fallow deer to report for the first time the lifetime mating success, overall variance in lifetime m ating success, and age-specific mortality levels of males. Fallow bucks tha t gain matings have higher social dominance rank, higher rates of fighting, and invest more in vocal display during the breeding season than unsuccess ful males. Therefore, we examined if mating was associated with trade-offs in terms of survival, lifespan, and mating potential. We found that the var iance in lifetime mating success was very high: 34 (10.7%) males mated, and of those, the 10 most successful males gained 73% of all matings (n=934). Mortality rates were generally high and only 22.3% (71/318) of males reache d social maturity, i.e., 3 years. The oldest male was 13 years old. We foun d that fallow bucks that mated were not more likely to die during the follo wing year, did not suffer from a reduction in lifespan, and did not incur l ower mating success later in lift: au a result of mating during the early y ears of social maturity. Our results show that mating males at age 5 years (and possibly 9 years) may be more likely to survive than non-mating males. Additionally, the number of matings gained by males during the first years of social maturity was positively correlated with lifespan. We suggest tha t mating males are of higher quality than non-mating males because they are not more likely to incur tl ade-offs as a result of their increased reprod uctive efforts.