Male-Male Competition - Simulation
Adjust the parameters to the right:
The population represented to the right consists of 100 males (only some of which breed) and 100 females (all of which breed). The genetically determined traits are: body size, male territory preference, and female territory preference.
The body size gene is expressed in males only (all females have the same phenotypic body size). The male territory preference gene determines if a particular male will attempt to fight for a particular territory or not (based on territory size). The female territory preference gene determines if the female will mate with the dominant male of a particular territory or not (based on territory size).
Territories are redrawn at the beginning of each generation. Males then move from territory to territory attempting to establish dominance. Males which do not establish dominance do not mate. Females arrive and survey the territories based on size, choosing a territory that is large enough based on their preference. Dominant males then mate with all females in their territory.
All traits follow a normal distribution. If the traits are heritable, then the average between mother and father is used as a mean for their offspring. Variance in a trait for a breeding pair is constant, although the variance of the whole population may change. If the trait is not heritable, the mean used initially is used througout to determine offspring trait values.