In "How to Find the Top Male," Pomiankowski (1990) discusses recent evidence that females copy the mating choice of other females in lek species. For example, "in both fallow deer and sage grouse, the rate at which females enter male territories correlates with the number of females already present" (p. 66). In an experiment, when a stuffed female grouse was put on the territory of an unattractive male, the number of females entering the territory increased.

Gibson, Bradbury, and Vehrencamp (1991) establish the prevalence of copying among sage grouse after controlling for several other factors that could affect male reproductive success. Following Wade and Pruett-Jones (1990), they point out that copying explains why mate choice is highly unanimous even when mate choice correlates poorly with observable characteristics of males or their sites. This is consistent with the arbitrariness of group behavior implied by cascades.