摘要
In the animal kingdom there are countless strategies via which males optimize their reproductivesuccess when faced with male-male competition. These male strategies typically fall into two maincategories： pre- and post-copulatory competition. Within these 2 categories, a set of behaviors,referred to as reproductive suppression, is known to cause inhibition of reproductive physiologyand/or reproductive behavior in an otherwise fertile individual. What becomes evident when con-sidering examples of reproductive suppression is that these strategies conventionally encompassreproductive interference strategies that occur between members of a hierarchical social group.However, mechanisms aimed at impairing a competitor＇s reproductive output are also present innon-social animals. Yet, current thinking emphasizes the importance of sociality as the primarydriving force of reproductive suppression. Therefore, the question arises as to whether there is anactual difference between reproductive suppression strategies in social animals and equivalentpre-copulatory competition strategies in non-social animals. In this perspective paper we explore abroad taxonomic range of species whose individuals do not repeatedly interact with the same indi-viduals in networks and yet, depress the fitness of rivals. Examples like alteration of male repro-ductive physiology, female mimicry, rival spermatophore destruction, and cementing the rival＇sgenital region in non-social animals, highlight that male pre-copulatory reproductive suppressionand male pre-copulatory competition overlap. Finally, we highlight that a distinction between malereproductive interference in animals with and without a social hierarchy might obscure importantsimilarities and does not help to elucidate why different proximate mechanisms evolved. We there-fore emphasize that male reproductive suppression need not be restricted to social animals.
