Polygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.[1] In sexually reproducing diploid animals, different mating strategies are employed by males and females, because the cost of gamete production is lower for males than it is for females.[2] The different mating tactics employed by males and females are thought to be the outcome of stochastic reproductive conflicts both ecologically and socially.[2]
Reproductive conflicts in animal societies may arise because individuals are not genetically identical and have different optimal strategies for maximizing their fitness; and often it is found that reproductive conflicts generally arise due to dominance hierarchy in which all or a major part of reproduction is monopolized by only one individual. In the wasp Polistes carolina, the dominant queen amongst female wasps is determined by whoever arrives at the nest first rather than the largest foundress, who is expected to be the best at fighting (wasp). In a study of the bird Prunella collaris, the close proximity and sharing of ranges on the mountain tops of the French Pyrenees led to a polygynandrous mating system, where two to four males would mate with a range of two to four females within the same vicinity.
Polygynandry is another way to describe a multi-male and multi-female polygamous mating system. When females have multiple mating partners, it is known as polyandry, and when males have multiple mating partners, it is known as polygyny. Each sex has potential benefits in being promiscuous; females, especially those with genetically 'inferior' social partners, have the chance to increase the genetic quality of their offspring,[3] while males are able to fertilize the eggs of many other mates.[1] Essentially, the ideal mating behavior for males is to be promiscuous rather than monogamous (when they only have one mating partner), because this leads to multiple offspring, and these males monopolize their female partners by physically preventing them from copulating with other males.[2] On the other hand, females benefit through polyandry, as they have more sired offspring.[3]
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