Lester and Gorzalka developed a model to determine whether or not the Coolidge effect also occurs in females. Their experiment, which used hamsters instead of rats, concluded that it does occur to a lesser degree in females, where the evolutionary advantage of mating with multiple partners is less straightforward. It is possible that the presence of the Coolidge effect in females could serve to optimize the female's reproductive success, and prevent mating with a sterile male. Mating with multiple males may reduce the probability that the female's gametes will not be successfully fertilized.