Olfactory cues influence female choice in two lek-breeding antelopes

Pronounced differences in mating success between males holding territories clustered on traditional mating grounds (leks) are commonly cited as evidence of female choice for male phenotypes, but female ungulates appear to prefer particular territories even when no other individuals are on the lek. Female choice of territories may be influenced by spatial features, but observations suggest that females may also be attracted to successful territories by olfactory cues in the soil. Here we report that transferring the topsoil between successful and unsuccessful territories on leks of two reduncine antelope species caused the numbers of females and matings on the unsuccessful territories to increase tenfold. Females were probably attracted to the soil by smells that had accumulated from heavy use by other females. Because of this attraction, stochastic process may play an important part in generating the variance in mating success between territory holders on leks.