scholarly journals Multiple and Extra-Pair Mating in a Pair-Living Hermaphrodite, the Intertidal Limpet Siphonaria gigas

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L B Schaefer ◽  
John H Christy ◽  
Peter B Marko

Synopsis Pair-living is a common social system found across animal taxa, and the relationship between pair-living and reproduction varies greatly among species. Siphonaria gigas, hermaphroditic pulmonate gastropods, often live in pairs in the rocky intertidal zone of the tropical Eastern Pacific. Combining genetic parentage analysis using four polymorphic microsatellite loci with behavioral observations from a 10-week field study, we provide the first description of the mating system of a Siphonaria species incorporating genetic data. S. gigas mated both within-pair and extra-pair and three out of four paired S. gigas individuals produced egg masses with extra-pair paternity. Multiple paternity was detected, but at a relatively low frequency (19% of egg masses) compared to other marine gastropods. Behavioral data indicate one potential advantage of pair-living: paired S. gigas produced almost twice as many egg masses as their solitary counterparts over four reproductive cycles. These observations, together with constraints on the movement of S. gigas, suggest that pairing may ensure mate access and increase reproductive success.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana V. Leitão ◽  
Michelle L. Hall ◽  
Raoul A. Mulder

ABSTRACTSexual selection has been proposed to drive the evolution of elaborate phenotypic traits in males, which often confer success in competition or mating. However, in many species both males and females display such traits, although studies reporting selection acting in both sexes are scarce. In this study, we investigated whether plumage ornamentation is sexually selected in female and male lovely fairy-wrens Malurus amabilis, a cooperatively breeding songbird. We found that female and male plumage colour was correlated with parental quality but did not incur survival costs. We also found evidence of positive assortative mating based on plumage colour. Microsatellite analyses of paternity indicated that the lovely fairywren has high levels of extra-pair paternity, with 53% of offspring resulting from extra-pair mating. Female and male plumage colour did not predict reproductive success and female proportion of extra-pair offspring in its own nest, but less colourful males obtained higher extra-pair paternity. We argue that plumage colour may be under sex-specific selection, highlighting the importance of looking at both sexes in studies of sexual selection and ornament evolution. The current findings together with previous study, suggest that plumage colour in female and male lovely fairy-wrens appears to be an honest signal relevant in both intra and inter-sexual competition contexts.


PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9571
Author(s):  
Vladimir G. Grinkov ◽  
Andreas Bauer ◽  
Helmut Sternberg ◽  
Michael Wink

Males and females take part in extra-pair copulations in most socially monogamous bird species. The mechanisms leading to the frequent occurrence of extra-pair offspring in socially monogamous couples are strongly debated and unresolved, and they are often difficult to distinguish from one another. Most hypotheses explaining the evolution of extra-pair reproduction suggest selective and adaptive scenarios for their origination and persistence. Is extra-pair paternity a heritable trait? We evaluated the heritability of extra-pair paternity in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) nesting in Western Siberia. Estimated heritability was low: depending on the model used, the point estimate of the heritability (mode) varied from 0.005 to 0.11, and the bounds of the 95% confidence interval are [0–0.16] in the widest range. Thus, it seems that extra-pair mating behaviour in the pied flycatchers is a plastic phenotypic mating tactic with a small or no genetic component. Our data can help to understand the evolution of extra-pair mating behaviour in socially monogamous species.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Wang ◽  
Yanhui Wei ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Yiting Jiang ◽  
Keke Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Extra-pair copulation behavior has been widely studied among socially monogamous birds. Many species revealed high rates of extra-pair paternity. But few of the studies have been carried out in the Asian population. Methods From 2012 to 2019, we explored the extra-pair paternity of Marsh Tits (Poecile palustris) in Xianrendong National Nature Reserve, Liaoning Province, China. During the study, adult Marsh Tits were captured with mist nets and parental birds, with nest-box traps. Blood samples were taken from the brachial vein. Parentage analyses were carried out using nine highly variable microsatellite loci through Cervus 3.0 software and maximum likelihood approach. Results Forty-nine offspring (15.08%) from 20 nests (45.45%) were the results of extra-pair fertilization out of a total of 325 offspring in 44 nests. The average extra-pair offspring ratio was 33.54%, with a set varying from 11.11 to 71.43%. Nine extra-pair fathers had been successfully identified, four of whom were the close neighbors of the focus nest while the nests of the remaining five were relatively far. No significant difference was found in the genetic similarity between the social and extra-pair mates of the female, nor in the heterozygosis among the maternal half-siblings. Conclusions In general, our study proved that the extra-pair paternity in Marsh Tits and its extra-pair mating is independent of the genetic compatibility hypothesis. This complements the understudied bird’s extra-pair paternity in Asian area and contributes to the comprehensive insight of birds’ extra-pair paternity behaviors.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antje Girndt ◽  
Charlotte Wen Ting Chng ◽  
Terry Burke ◽  
Julia Schroeder

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-61
Author(s):  
Lisha L. Berzins ◽  
Russell D. Dawson

Recent empirical evidence suggests that ornamental traits displayed by female birds may reflect aspects of their quality, and function during competitive interactions and (or) social mate attraction; however, less is known about how such traits influence extra-pair paternity. In Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808)), plumage brightness of females signals their quality and may be related to extra-pair paternity if it enables them to invade the territories of other females to seek extra-pair copulations and (or) if potential extra-pair mates perceive their plumage brightness as attractive. Therefore, to examine whether the plumage brightness displayed by females influence rates of extra-pair paternity and the number of sires per brood, we experimentally enhanced and reduced the plumage brightness of females relative to controls. Our results showed that plumage brightness treatment of the female did not influence the number of extra-pair offspring in nests or the likelihood of a brood containing extra-pair offspring. Additionally, the number of extra-pair males siring offspring within the broods of females did not differ by plumage brightness treatment. Although extra-pair paternity has been shown to be beneficial for female Tree Swallows, our results suggest that plumage brightness of females does not influence their ability to engage in extra-pair mating.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyank Sharad Nimje ◽  
Helga Veronica Tinnesand ◽  
Christina Buesching ◽  
Mona Sæbø ◽  
Helen Senn ◽  
...  

Mating systems largely affect individual reproductive strategies which further drives evolution. Monogamy, where males and females form exclusive pairs for more than one breeding season, is particularly intriguing in this context, as there are real and potential costs of genetic monogamy to both sexes. However, molecular studies in a variety of species have revealed that social monogamy does not necessarily imply genetic monogamy due to occurrence of extra-pair copulations resulting in extra-pair offspring. Although common in birds, <10% of mammals are monogamous. Here we use single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) to investigate the genetic mating system of the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber), a species traditionally considered to be not only socially but also genetically monogamous. We found evidence for low frequency of extra-pair paternity (EPP) and multiple paternity within litter. Only 5.4% young were produced by EPP and only 7% of litter contain at least one extra-pair young. Moreover, we found indications that only pairings of old individuals engaged in EPP. None of these pairs produced more than one litter as a result of EPP and none of the EPP events resulted in mate change. Our findings suggest that EPP in beavers might be the consequence of a lapse in mate guarding ability of old males.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyank Sharad Nimje ◽  
Helga Veronica Tinnesand ◽  
Christina Buesching ◽  
Mona Sæbø ◽  
Helen Senn ◽  
...  

Mating systems largely affect individual reproductive strategies which further drives evolution. Monogamy, where males and females form exclusive pairs for more than one breeding season, is particularly intriguing in this context, as there are real and potential costs of genetic monogamy to both sexes. However, molecular studies in a variety of species have revealed that social monogamy does not necessarily imply genetic monogamy due to occurrence of extra-pair copulations resulting in extra-pair offspring. Although common in birds, <10% of mammals are monogamous. Here we use single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) to investigate the genetic mating system of the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber), a species traditionally considered to be not only socially but also genetically monogamous. We found evidence for low frequency of extra-pair paternity (EPP) and multiple paternity within litter. Only 5.4% young were produced by EPP and only 7% of litter contain at least one extra-pair young. Moreover, we found indications that only pairings of old individuals engaged in EPP. None of these pairs produced more than one litter as a result of EPP and none of the EPP events resulted in mate change. Our findings suggest that EPP in beavers might be the consequence of a lapse in mate guarding ability of old males.


1998 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget J. M. Stutchbury ◽  
Eugene S. Morton ◽  
Walter H. Piper

1998 ◽  
Vol 139 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Bukacińska ◽  
Dariusz Bukaciński ◽  
Jörg Thomas Epplen ◽  
Klaus Peter Sauer ◽  
Thomas Lubjuhn

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