Another way to win: Learning and intrasexual competition in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

Abstract

Two experiments were designed to test whether learning affects the opportunity to obtain cloacal contact with female sexual partners during male-male contests in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). The aim of Experiment 1 was to evaluate the relationship between competitive status and efficiency of access to cloacal contact. Six groups of 3 males each were observed for 40 days. Observed males established stable dominance relationships in which winner status positively correlated with copulatory efficiency. In Experiment 2, the effect of learning on cloacal contact access of the loser male was evaluated. The loser male of each group was trained during 10 consecutive days and then tested together with untrained competitors during 3 days. In the test trials, the conditioned loser male copulated with the female before the other competitors of his group. These results suggest a potential adaptive value of learning in the context of intrasexual competition for mating access. (PsycINFO Database Record