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THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY • Vol. 124. No. 2. June 20/2 
copulated without any preliminary display. Post 
and Greenlaw (1982:103) characterized male 
mating behavior as “scramble-competition po- 
lygytiy (Alcock 1980) without elaboration, and 
Greenlaw and Rising (1994) reported non-aggres¬ 
sive meetings of males as well as meetings of both 
sexes in which the female resisted apparent sexual 
coercion. Shriver et al. (2007) confirmed that 
male Saltmarsh Sparrows in Maine actively 
search lor and chase females, copulate, and then 
continue searching. They did not mention male- 
male or male-female aggression, but noted that 
mate-guarding does not occur in the species. Hill 
et al. ( 2010 ) greatly improved our understanding 
of intersexual relations in Saltmarsh Sparrows 
from a paicmity study. Other work has focused on 
habitat selection, breeding biology, space use. and 
conservation of Saltmarsh Sparrows (e.g {jj_ 
Quinzio et al. 2001 , 2002; Gjerdrum et al. 2005. 
2008a, b: Bayard and Elphick 2010; Shriver et al 
2007.2010), 
Our 9-year investigation of the social and 
reproductive biology of Saltmarsh Sparrows 
began tn the mid-1970s in New York (Post and 
Greenlaw 1982. Greenlaw and Rising 1994). We 
focused on the social behavior of Saltmarsh 
Sparrows (Post and Greenlaw 1982, 2006) with 
special attention to male-female and male-male 
relationships. One objective in this paper is to 
prov.de details from our work on these relation¬ 
ships, and in particular to examine the social 
dynamics of male-female mating behavior in the 
species. We also provide information on cloaca! 
P otuberance size as it pertains to mating behavior 
and sperm competition. Another objective is to 
critically evaluate the previously reported and 
controversia 1 interpretation of apparent coerced or 
orced matings (Greenlaw and Rising 1994 10 
Hd let al 2010:305) and female control of these’ 
Wow TW ^ I"" RiSing l994) in Saltmarsh 
behavior ofTh ' CValuallon Considers the sexual 
coercion m ? Spa ' T ° WS in the “"texts of male 
Sr 99^ Kin,1 , Cy f l aL l983 ’ McKinnt -*y and 
bvart s 1997 k ma , c ^minanot access to mates 
998)Hf' t T ,9?7 ’ B,adbur y 1981 • Wagner 
1998) female choice (Alcock 1984), and Cenn e 
control (Stutchbury and Neudorf 1998) 
females are indefensible "fn 'male^ 
access to mates; consequently, females visi'tTale 
aggregations during the breeding season and 
mostly select dominant males as sexual partners 
(Bradbury 1981). Females that choose mates use 
plumage or behavioral cues as signals of male 
quality (genetic quality or genetic compatibility 
to assess potential mates (Mays and Hill 20W 
Generally females initiate matings in such case' 
olten in situations where males aggregate (Emlen 
and Oring 1977). In contrast, females that exhibit 
control of a sexual situation arc able to influence 
male mating success after the male initiates an 
unsolicited sexual encounter. 
METHODS 
Study Areas .—We studied the behavior of Salt¬ 
marsh Sparrows in an unaltered marsh at Oak Beach 
(40 38.68' N. 73 19.03' W) and a ditched marsh at 
West Gilgo Reach (40 37.010' N. 73 24.630' Wl 
New York, USA. The main vegetative cover at Oak 
Beach was smooth cordgrass (Spartina altemjlora ) 
with a narrow border of salt meadow grasses S. 
patens and Distich!is spicata at higher elevations near 
stands of Phragniites australis. The West Gilgo 
marsh was transected hy drainage ditches and. in 
areas used by sparrows, was dominated bv salt 
meadow grasses growing between the ditches, and by 
marsh elder {Iva frutescens) shrubs on spoil banks 
along the ditches and on the drier, inner marsh edge. 
Bach study area was surveyed to produce a marked 
grid with comer stakes 25 nt apart. A wire prong was 
al fixed to the top of each stake to prevent large, 
potentially predatory birds from using the stakes as 
perches. 
hi eld and Analytical Methods. —The study was 
conducted front May to August. 1977 - 1985 . when 
wc captured and individually marked (with color 
bands (// = 604J and dyes 178 ] or wing streamers 
11 11) 80-90% of observed birds each summer. We 
measured or described wing chord length, size ol 
cloacal protuberance or degree of brood patch 
development, fat condition, molt condition, and 
mass for each captured bird. 
lypes of field information obtained were 
behavioral frequencies during focal area sampling 
al selected points at Oak Beach, and descriptions 
of well-observed social interactions in the focal 
areas and elsewhere in both Oak Beach and West 
Gilgo marshes by ad libitum sampling (Altman* 
1974). We collected frequency information on 
•social interactions and other behaviors at Oak 
Beach from quadrants (encompassing two 25 X 
— -m grid squares/quadrant) in cardinal direction 
around open-topped blinds placed on four (1977) 
