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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies
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Bet hedging via multiple mating: A meta-analysis.

Luke Holman1

  • 1Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. luke.holman@anu.edu.au.

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|November 25, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Polyandry, where females mate with multiple males, may reduce offspring fitness variance. However, this study shows that the fitness benefits of this "bet hedging" strategy are minimal, likely not driving the evolution of polyandry.

Keywords:
Evolutionfitness variancemultiple matingpolyandrysimulation

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Behavioral ecology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Polyandry is hypothesized to provide a selective advantage by enabling females to
  • bet hedge
  • against poor mate choice, thereby reducing offspring fitness variance.
  • This fitness variance reduction could theoretically favor polyandrous genotypes, especially in small populations, even if polyandry incurs direct costs.
  • Empirical testing of the bet hedging hypothesis for polyandry has been challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the potential selective advantage of multiple mating through reduced offspring fitness variance using a novel simulation model.
  • To test the bet hedging hypothesis for the evolution of polyandry across diverse empirical datasets.

Main Methods:

  • Application of a novel simulation model to 49 published empirical datasets.
  • Quantification of the selective advantage of multiple mating by assessing offspring fitness variance reduction.

Main Results:

  • Under a wide range of assumptions, including those most conducive to bet hedging, the study found meager fitness gains from polyandry.
  • The variance in offspring quality attributable to mate identity was insufficient to provide a substantial selective advantage for bet hedging.

Conclusions:

  • The bet hedging hypothesis, as a primary driver for the evolution of polyandry, is not strongly supported by this analysis.
  • The observed variance in offspring quality due to mate choice is unlikely to be sufficient to promote the evolution of polyandry through bet hedging.