Multiple paternity in a lek mating system: Females mate multiply when they choose inexperienced sires.

Multiple mating by females is common and often driven by social constraints on female mate choice. However, females mate with multiple males even in systems without these social constraints and rates of multiple mating tend to be highly variable within and between populations. In lek mating systems, females are able to assess multiple males and their choice is unrestricted by pair bonds or the need for biparental care, yet some females mate with multiple males.

Adult meerkats modify close call rate in the presence of pups.

In animals, signaling behavior is often context-dependent, with variation in the probability of emitting certain signals dependent on fitness advantages. Senders may adjust signaling rate depending on receiver identity, presence of audiences, or noise masking the signal, all of which can affect the benefits and costs of signal production. In the cooperative breeding meerkat , group members emit soft contact calls, termed as "close calls", while foraging in order to maintain group cohesion.