Capybaras, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (Rodentia: Caviidae: Hydrochoerinae), show a strict social hierarchy among males, wherein the top-ranking male gains preferential access to females. Despite minimal sexual size dimorphism, males have a prominent scent gland on their snouts that is greatly reduced in the females. Top-ranking males have a larger gland and mark more frequently than subordinate males. This species also shows a moderately complex courtship that seems to be modulated by female behavior. In this study, we evaluated several components of courtship, as well as the females' interactions with males during and outside courtship, in relation to the hierarchy rank of males. We found that subordinate males engaged in longer courtships than top-ranking males. However, there was no difference in the number of mount attempts or the success rate of these mounts as a function of the social status of the male, despite the longer courtship performed by subordinate males in comparison to top-ranking males. Outside courtship, females directed the same number of social interactions to males regardless of status. However, during courtship, females avoided copulation by subordinate males both directly and indirectly by encouraging courtship disruption by higher-ranking males. Females' avoidance of subordinates may force these males to invest a higher amount of effort in courtships, thus engaging in longer courtships, yet achieving similar mount success as top-ranking males. We show that the original assumption of male hierarchy as the main mechanism of reproductive distribution is incomplete, and female mate choice plays an important role in determining which males reproduce.

中文翻译：

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雄性主导系统中潜在的雌性配偶选择：雌性水豚，Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris

水豚，Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris（啮齿动物：Caviidae：Hydrochoerinae），在雄性中表现出严格的社会等级，其中排名靠前的雄性优先接近雌性。尽管性别大小二态性极小，但雄性的鼻子上有一个突出的气味腺，而雌性则大大减少。排名靠前的雄性有一个更大的腺体，并且比下级雄性更频繁地标记。该物种还表现出中等复杂的求偶行为，似乎受雌性行为的影响。在这项研究中，我们评估了求爱的几个组成部分，以及女性在求爱期间和外部与男性的互动，与男性的等级等级有关。我们发现下属雄性比顶级雄性进行更长时间的求爱。然而，尽管与顶级雄性相比，下属雄性进行的求爱时间更长，但作为雄性社会地位的函数，尝试坐骑的次数或这些坐骑的成功率没有差异。在求爱之外，无论地位如何，女性都会对男性进行相同数量的社交互动。然而，在求爱过程中，雌性通过鼓励高级雄性破坏求爱行为，直接或间接地避免了下属雄性的交配。女性对下属的回避可能会迫使这些男性在求爱上投入更多的精力，从而进行更长的求爱，但获得与排名靠前的男性类似的成功。我们表明男性等级作为生殖分配的主要机制的原始假设是不完整的，