WHY SHOULD LEK-BREEDERS BE MONOMORPHIC?

Approximately one-quarter of all lek-breeding bird species are sexually monomorphic. Understanding the significance, if any, of this exception to the usual correlation between sexual selection and dimorphism requires detailed data on the mating systems of both monomorphic and dimorphic species. The capuchinbird (Perissocephalus tricolor) is a sexually monomorphic, lek-breeding member of the cotinga family. I studied the social and sexual behavior of this species, and compared it with the Guianan cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola rupicola), a dimorphic, lekking member of the same family. Male-male competition in capuchinbirds involved direct contests for dominance, rather than territorial displays as in classic lek species. In each year, one dominant individual was able to control the most desired display site on the 8-male lek, and was the only male that copulated. In contrast to dimorphic lek birds, female as well as male capuchinbirds engaged in frequent and intense aggression at the lek, and both males and females engaged in sexual mimicry. I suggest that plumage monomorphism in lek birds has evolved as a result of social competition affecting both sexes. This hypothesis accounts for the exaggerated plumage characters shared by males and females in capuchinbirds and a number of other monomorphic lek birds. The evolution of plumage can best be analyzed as an arms race, in which the balance of selective forces acting on each sex can produce a variety of equilibrium states, ranging from sexual indistinguishability to extreme dimorphism.