Female copying increases the variance in male mating success.

Theoretical models of sexual selection assume that females choose males independently of the actions and choice of other individual females. Variance in male mating success in promiscuous species is thus interpreted as a result of phenotypic differences among males which females perceive and to which they respond. Here we show that, if some females copy the behavior of other females in choosing mates, the variance in male mating success and therefore the opportunity for sexual selection is greatly increased. Copying behavior is most likely in non-resource-based harem and lek mating systems but may occur in polygynous, territorial systems as well. It can be shown that copying behavior by females is an adaptive alternative to random choice whenever there is a cost to mate choice. We develop a statistical means of estimating the degree of female copying in natural populations where it occurs.