TANG-MARTINEZ, Z.; RYDER, T.B.; University of Missouri-St. Louis; University of Missouri-St. Louis: The Problem with Paradigms: Bateman’s Predictions as a Case Study

Bateman’s Principle, its corollaries, and its predictions constitute an important paradigm in behavioral ecology. This paradigm has influenced numerous areas of research in behavior, including sexual selection theory, hypotheses on the evolution of mating systems, parental investment theory, sexual dimorphism in male and female behavior, and human sociobiology. Nonetheless, many aspects of this paradigm have been challenged in recent years; at the same time, some recent studies have provided strong evidence that appears to validate Bateman’s ideas. We will discuss briefly the findings of Bateman’s 1948 paper, including some of the aspects that have been overlooked, as well as some of the modern evidence that challenges Bateman’s ideas. We will then review and discuss three areas in which an over-reliance on Bateman’s predictions hindered our ability to understand the potential importance of certain behaviors: 1) male mate choice and sperm costs; 2) the role of females in initiating and soliciting extra-pair copulations and fertilizations; and 3) the role of females in lekking systems, in which recent evidence suggests that multiple matings by females and polyandrous behavior may be common. We conclude this introduction to the symposium by emphasizing the heuristic value, as well as the pitfalls, that characterize Bateman’s paradigm viewed through the lens of modern behavioral ecology and evolutionary theory.