Editing Behavioral ecology (section)

===Mating systems with male parental care===

====Monogamy====
Monogamy is the mating system in 90% of birds, possibly because each male and female has a greater number of offspring if they share in raising a brood.<ref>Lack, D. (1968) Ecological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds. Methuen, London.</ref> In obligate monogamy, males feed females on the nest, or share in incubation and chick-feeding. In some species, males and females form lifelong pair bonds. Monogamy may also arise from limited opportunities for polygamy, due to strong competition among males for mates, females suffering from loss of male help, and female–female aggression.<ref name="Davies et al., (2012) pp. 266">Davies, N. B., Krebs, J. R and West, S. A., (2012). ''An Introduction to Behavioral Ecology.'' West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 266. {{ISBN|978-1-4051-1416-5}}.</ref>

====Polygyny====
In birds, polygyny occurs when males indirectly monopolize females by controlling resources. In species where males normally do not contribute much to parental care, females suffer relatively little or not at all.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lightbody | first1 = J.P. | last2 = Weatherhead | first2 = P.J. | year = 1988 | title = Female settling patterns and polygyny: tests of a neutral-mate-choice hypothesis | journal = American Naturalist | volume = 132 | pages = 20–33 | doi=10.1086/284835| s2cid = 84147769 }}</ref> In other species, however, females suffer through the loss of male contribution, and the cost of having to share resources that the male controls, such as nest sites or food. In some cases, a polygynous male may control a high-quality territory so for the female, the benefits of polygyny may outweigh the costs.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Verner | first1 = J. | last2 = Wilson | first2 = M.F. | year = 1966 | title = The influence of habitats on mating systems of North American passerine birds | journal = Ecology | volume = 47 | issue = 1| pages = 143–147 | doi=10.2307/1935753| jstor = 1935753 }}</ref>

====Polyandry threshold====
There also seems to be a "polyandry threshold" where males may do better by agreeing to share a female instead of maintaining a monogamous mating system.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Gowaty | first1 = P.A. | year = 1981 | title = An extension of the Orians-Verner-Willson model to account for mating systems besides polygyny | journal = American Naturalist | volume = 118 | issue = 6| pages = 851–859 | doi=10.1086/283875| s2cid = 83991131 }}</ref> Situations that may lead to cooperation among males include when food is scarce, and when there is intense competition for territories or females. For example, male [[lion]]s sometimes form coalitions to gain control of a pride of females. In some populations of [[Galapagos hawks]], groups of males would cooperate to defend one breeding territory. The males would share matings with the female and share paternity with the offspring.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Faaborg | first1 = J. | last2 = Parker | first2 = P.G. | last3 = DeLay | first3 = L. | year = 1995 | title = Confirmation of cooperative polyandry in the Galapagos hawk Buteo galapagoensis | journal = Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology | volume = 36 | issue = 2| pages = 83–90 | doi=10.1007/bf00170712| s2cid = 3334592 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

====Female desertion and sex role reversal====
In birds, desertion often happens when food is abundant, so the remaining partner is better able to raise the young unaided. Desertion also occurs if there is a great chance of a parent to gain another mate, which depends on environmental and populational factors.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Beissinger | first1 = S. R. | last2 = Snyder | first2 = N. F. R. | year = 1987 | title = Mate desertion in the snail kite | journal = Animal Behaviour | volume = 35 | issue = 2| pages = 477–487 | doi=10.1016/s0003-3472(87)80273-7| s2cid = 53192930 }}</ref> Some birds, such as the phalaropes, have reversed sex roles where the female is larger and more brightly colored, and compete for males to incubate their clutches.<ref>(Reynolds)</ref> In jacanas, the female is larger than the male and her territory could overlap the multiple territories of up to four males.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Butchart | first1 = S. H. M. | last2 = Seddon | first2 = N. | last3 = Ekstrom | first3 = J. M. M. | year = 1999b | title = Yelling for sex: harem males compete for female access in bronze-winged jacanas | journal = Animal Behaviour | volume = 57 | issue = 3| pages = 637–646 | doi=10.1006/anbe.1998.0985| pmid = 10196054 | s2cid = 24253395 }}</ref> In the frog species ''[[Bibron's toadlet|P. bibronii]],'' the female is fertilizes multiple nests, and the male is left to tend to each nest while the female moves on.