Number of partners an individual copulated with in a breeding season. Whether males and females form pair bonds and cooperate in parental care. How long the pair bond is maintained. Polygyny is the most common mating system.
Some males mate with more than one female in a breeding season.
This is a population definition. If some are mating with more than one female, others will be monogamous, mating with only one female, and still others will be forced to be celibate, assuming that females are mating with only one male. Polygyny is so common because male reproductive success is often a simple function of the number of females inseminated, which generates intense competition among males Kinds of polygyny 1. Female defense polygyny When females are in a herd or group, males can easily defend them resulting in female defense polygyny If females are clumped they can be monopolized economically by males. Scattered females are less likely to be monopolized.