Editing Behavioral ecology (section)

===Mating strategies and tactics===
As with any [[competition]] of resources, species across the animal kingdom may also engage in competitions for mating.  If one considers mates or potentials mates as a resource, these sexual partners can be randomly distributed amongst resource pools within a given environment.  Following the ideal free distribution model, suitors distribute themselves amongst the potential mates in an effort to maximize their chances or the number of potential matings.  For all competitors, males of a species in most cases, there are variations in both the strategies and tactics used to obtain matings.  Strategies generally refer to the genetically determined behaviors that can be described as [[causality|conditional]].  Tactics refer to the subset of behaviors within a given genetic strategy.  Thus it is not difficult for a great many variations in mating strategies to exist in a given environment or species.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dominey |first=Wallace |title=Alternative Mating Tactics and Evolutionarily Stable Strategies |journal=American Zoology |year=1984 |volume=24|issue=2|pages=385–396|doi=10.1093/icb/24.2.385|doi-access=free }}</ref>

An experiment conducted by Anthony Arak, where playback of synthetic calls from male [[natterjack toad]]s was used to manipulate behavior of the males in a chorus, the difference between strategies and tactics is clear. While small and immature, male natterjack toads adopted a satellite tactic to parasitize larger males. Though large males on average still retained greater reproductive success, smaller males were able to intercept matings. When the large males of the chorus were removed, smaller males adopted a calling behavior, no longer competing against the loud calls of larger males.  When smaller males got larger, and their calls more competitive, then they started calling and competing directly for mates.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Arak|first=Anthony|title=Sexual selection by male–male competition in natterjack toad choruses |journal=Nature |year=1983 |volume=306 |issue=5940 |doi=10.1038/306261a0 |pages=261–262 |bibcode = 1983Natur.306..261A |s2cid=4363873}}</ref>