Location of rut stands vs. mating opportunities in Przewalski’s gazelle: A field test of the “Resource-based Hypothesis” and “Female Traffic Version of the Hotspot Hypothesis”

Abstract We studied the mating tactics of Przewalski’s gazelle on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau from 2002 to 2005. Przewalski’s gazelle is a cluster mating animal whereby female groups, including juveniles, travel to and from their resting grounds along fixed routes and dominant males stand on or near these travel routes during rut. To explain rut patterns in male gazelles, we tested predictions arising from the “Resource-based Hypothesis” and “Female Traffic Version of the Hotspot Hypothesis”. We marked the location of each rut stand and female travel route, measured food availability in each rut stand and recorded the mating opportunities of rut stand owners. We also conducted a field experiment to force female groups to change their daily travel route, and observed whether males abandon their original rut stands and shift their rut stands to new travel routes of females during the 3rd rut. We found that: (1) male gazelle defending rut stands closer to a female travel route had a higher chance of mating; (2) food resources within rut stands had no effect on mating opportunities of the rut stand owner; (3) when the female travel route was obstructed, female groups changed grazing sites, and all males abandoned their original rut stands and defended new rut stands along the new female travel route. In conclusion, the location of rut stands in relation to female travel routes is the ultimate factor for consolidating mating opportunities in male gazelle, supporting the “Female Route Version of Hotspot Hypothesis”.