Mating systems

thumb|Four Rajput wives of Ranjit Singh perform sati, detail from a painting of the funeral of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, ca.1840

thumb|upright=1.20|alt=Illustration of Draupadi, a princess and queen in the ancient Indian epic "Mahabharata", with her five brother husbands|[[Draupadi and her five brother husbands, the Pandavas. Top down, from left to right: the twins Nakula and Sahadeva stand either side of the throne on which Yudhishthira and Draupadi sit between Bhima and Arjuna.]]

[[File:Legality of polygamy.svg|thumb|400px |

thumb|upright=1.2|Esther is crowned in this 1860 [[woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld.]] Hypergamy (colloquially referred to as "dating up" or "marrying up") is a term used in social science for the act or practice of a person dating or marrying a spouse of higher mating value than themselves.

ecological theory concerning the selection of life history traits

Polygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season. 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. The different mating tactics employed by males and females are thought to be the outcome of stochastic reproductive conflicts both ecologically and socially.

system of sexual reproduction in a population

natural history of mating systems in which species pair bond to raise offspring

mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male

overview about Polyandry in nature

Androdioecy is a reproductive system characterized by the coexistence of males and hermaphrodites. Androdioecy is rare in comparison with the other major reproductive systems: dioecy, gynodioecy and hermaphroditism. In animals, androdioecy has been considered a stepping stone in the transition from dioecy to hermaphroditism, and vice versa.

marriage of people with the same surname, esp. in Asia

A quantitative ratio of sexually active population