Metopidius indicus - juvenile
The breeding system of the bronze-winged jacana leads to intense sperm competition, as female jacanas copulate with multiple males prior to laying their clutch. Before laying the clutch, the female would spend more time with the specific male that would receive the clutch (called the “receiver”). Studies have also shown that receivers gain more copulations than non-receivers. Since the receivers provide all of the parental care, females should, in theory, comply with male demands for copulations to convince them of their paternity, so they will care for the clutch. Receivers have been observed to destroy clutches in which they only had a low share of the paternity. Although females offer copulations to non-receiver males in order to maintain their presence in her harem, these copulations are less important than copulations to assure the receivers of their paternity. The cost of clutches being destroyed by receivers is much higher than losing males from her harem.
Since the males have no individual control over the maximum number of their copulations, the males in polyandrous harems vie for the female’s attention through a call, called a “yell,” to attract her and gain sexual access. It has been shown that male jacanas in larger harems yelled at higher rates during the periods of time when all copulations took place, while males that already received their clutch or were involved in chick care yelled at lower and rates. These yells attracted the female bronze-winged Jacana when she is far from the yeller. A study showed that females seem to use yells to assess male quality, as the males that yelled at the highest rates were able to receive the greatest number of copulations Females may also respond to the yells of males in their territory since they could attract other females who could intrude on their territory
Metopidius indicus - juvenile
The breeding system of the bronze-winged jacana leads to intense sperm competition, as female jacanas copulate with multiple males prior to laying their clutch. Before laying the clutch, the female would spend more time with the specific male that would receive the clutch (called the “receiver”). Studies have also shown that receivers gain more copulations than non-receivers. Since the receivers provide all of the parental care, females should, in theory, comply with male demands for copulations to convince them of their paternity, so they will care for the clutch. Receivers have been observed to destroy clutches in which they only had a low share of the paternity. Although females offer copulations to non-receiver males in order to maintain their presence in her harem, these copulations are less important than copulations to assure the receivers of their paternity. The cost of clutches being destroyed by receivers is much higher than losing males from her harem.
Since the males have no individual control over the maximum number of their copulations, the males in polyandrous harems vie for the female’s attention through a call, called a “yell,” to attract her and gain sexual access. It has been shown that male jacanas in larger harems yelled at higher rates during the periods of time when all copulations took place, while males that already received their clutch or were involved in chick care yelled at lower and rates. These yells attracted the female bronze-winged Jacana when she is far from the yeller. A study showed that females seem to use yells to assess male quality, as the males that yelled at the highest rates were able to receive the greatest number of copulations Females may also respond to the yells of males in their territory since they could attract other females who could intrude on their territory