Indirect partner choice through manipulation of male behaviour by female fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus

The direct and indirect consequences of female copulatory behaviour for cop ulation success have seldom been quantified. In feral fowl, most copulation s were forced by males and copulation success was determined by two factors . First, female differential resistance and solicitation directly affected copulation success and were displayed non-randomly with respect to male soc ial status. Second, another female copulatory behaviour, the distress call, had an indirect effect on both copulation success and the quality of copul ation partners. Distress calls triggered male attention to a copulation, wh ich increased the probability of higher-ranking males than the copulating m ale disrupting the copulation and inseminating the calling female. Females preferentially uttered distress calls when mounted by low-ranking males. Bo th copulation resistance and distress calling influenced copulation success , but only distress calling increased the probability of copulation disrupt ion by other males. Consistent with the effect of direct selection, differe ntial distress calling indirectly biased copulation success in favour of do minant males. Female fowl may thus ameliorate the effect of male sexual coe rcion by manipulating male behaviour.