In polygynous species, male reproductive success is predicted to be monopolized by a few dominant males. This prediction is often not supported, suggesting that ecological and alternative mating tactics influence siring success. The spatiotemporal distribution of individuals and the number of males competing for each receptive female are often overlooked because they are difficult to monitor in wild animals. We examined how spatial overlap of female–male pairs, the time spent by a male on the breeding site, number of competitors, and morphological traits influence siring probability in eastern gray kangaroos (Macropus giganteus). We compared home range overlap for 12 208 dam–male pairs and 295 known dam–sire pairs to define local competitive groups and to estimate every male’s opportunity to sire the young of each female. We compared models considering morphological traits relative to the entire population or to local competitive groups. Including local competition improved model performance because it estimated the intensity of competition and compared each male’s morphological traits to those of its competitive group. Regardless of size, males can increase their probability to sire a young by increasing their mating opportunity relative to the mother. We underline the importance of considering spatial structure to assess the intensity of competition in species where males cannot equally access all females in a population. The estimation of mating opportunity and intensity of local competition improves our understanding of how morphological traits affect siring success when each mating event involves a different set of competing males, a characteristic of most wild species.

中文翻译：

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在袋鼠中成功取得成功：在正确的时间，正确的地方放置大小动物至关重要

在一夫多妻制物种中，预计雄性繁殖成功将由少数优势雄性垄断。通常不支持此预测，这表明生态和替代交配策略会影响求助成功。人们常常忽略个体的时空分布和争夺每个接受雌性的雄性数量，因为它们在野生动物中难以监测。我们研究了雌雄配对的空间重叠，雄性在繁殖场所所花费的时间，竞争者的数量以及形态特征如何影响东部灰袋鼠（Macropus giganteus）。我们比较了12 208个水坝—雄性对和295个已知的水坝—公母对的重叠范围，以定义当地的竞争群体，并估计每个雄性为每个雌性的幼年作父的机会。我们比较了考虑相对于整个人口或当地竞争群体的形态特征的模型。包括本地竞争改善了模型性能，因为它可以估计竞争强度并将每个男性的形态特征与其竞争群体的形态特征进行比较。不论大小，雄性都可以通过增加交配机会来增加对年轻的父亲的机率。相对于母亲。我们强调了考虑空间结构来评估物种竞争竞争强度的重要性，在这种竞争中，雄性无法平等地接近种群中的所有雌性。估计交配机会和当地竞争的强度，可以使我们更好地理解当每个交配事件涉及一组不同的雄性竞争雄性时（大多数野生物种的特征）形态特征如何影响育种成功。