Multiple paternity in an aggregate breeding amphibian: the effect of reproductive skew on estimates of male reproductive success

2004 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1951-1963 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. M. MYERS ◽  
K. R. ZAMUDIO
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Reproductive Skew ◽  
Male Reproductive Success

Variation in reproductive success of male and female Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus)

2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 736-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip H. Jones ◽  
Jeffrey L. Van Zant ◽  
F. Stephen Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating System ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Offspring Production ◽  
Bateman Gradient ◽  
Coefficients Of Variation ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Columbian Ground Squirrels

The imbalanced reproductive success of polygynous mammals results in sexual selection on male traits like body size. Males and females might have more balanced reproductive success under polygynandry, where both sexes mate multiply. Using 4 years of microsatellite DNA analyses of paternity and known maternity, we investigated variation in reproductive success of Columbian ground squirrels, Urocitellus columbianus (Ord, 1815); a species with multiple mating by both sexes and multiple paternity of litters. We asked whether male reproductive success was more variable than that of females under this mating system. The overall percentage of confirmed paternity was 61.4% of 339 offspring. The mean rate of multiple paternity in litters with known fathers was 72.4% (n = 29 litters). Estimated mean reproductive success of males (10.27 offspring) was about thrice that of females (3.11 offspring). Even after this difference was taken into account statistically, males were about three times as variable in reproductive success as females (coefficients of variation = 77.84% and 26.74%, respectively). The Bateman gradient (regression slope of offspring production on number of successful mates) was significantly greater for males (βM = 1.44) than females (βF = 0.28). Thus, under a polygynandrous mating system, males exhibited greater variation in reproductive success than females.

scholarly journals Atypically High Reproductive Skew in a Small Wild Chimpanzee Community in a Human-Dominated Landscape

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 688-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen S. McCarthy ◽  
Jack D. Lester ◽  
Marie Cibot ◽  
Linda Vigilant ◽  
Matthew R. McLennan
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Pan Paniscus ◽  
Reproductive Skew ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Wild Chimpanzee ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Small Community ◽  
Alpha Male ◽  
Community Size

Social rank is positively correlated with reproductive success in numerous species, albeit demographic factors often influence those patterns. In multimale primate species, reproductive skew tends to decrease with increasing numbers of males and sexually receptive females. Alpha male chimpanzees (<i>Pan troglodytes</i>) often sire a disproportionate, though somewhat variable, percentage of offspring compared to other males. In a small community of eastern chimpanzees inhabiting a human-dominated landscape in Bulindi, Uganda, we found extraordinarily high levels of alpha male reproductive success over a 5-year period (7/8 offspring = 88%), despite the presence of multiple subordinate males. The skew exceeds that reported in other studies of chimpanzees as well as closely related bonobos (<i>Pan paniscus</i>). Our findings underscore the role of demographic and social factors in male reproductive success and also suggest that conclusions about species differences may be premature. The interaction of small community size, dispersal limitations, and male reproductive strategies like those found here may decrease genetic diversity and increase the risk of concomitant inbreeding in chimpanzee communities under strong anthropogenic pressure.

Detection of multiple paternity and sperm storage in a captive colony of the central Asian tortoise, Testudo horsfieldii

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 520-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily E. Johnston ◽  
Matthew S. Rand ◽  
Stephan G. Zweifel
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Microsatellite Markers ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Genomic Library ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Sperm Storage ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Critical Measure ◽  
Central Asian

Reproductive success is a critical measure of an organism’s fitness. Determining reproductive success in vertebrates is confounded by the concealed mechanism and timing of fertilization (e.g., sperm competition and storage). To assess the relationship between observed mating behavior and reproductive success in the central Asian tortoise, Testudo horsfieldii Gray, 1844, we determined individual genotypes from a captive colony of adults and their offspring. We constructed a size-selected genomic library from T. horsfieldii and screened for polymorphic microsatellite markers. The screen resulted in identification of two novel microsatellite regions. Cross-species amplification of microsatellite markers using primers developed for the bog turtle, Glyptemys muhlenbergii (Schoepff, 1801), resulted in isolation of three additional polymorphic microsatellites for T. horsfieldii. The five loci, which have between 5 and 17 alleles and observed heterozygosities between 0.44 and 0.90, were used to determine the frequency of multiple paternity in the captive colony. We found evidence for multiple paternity in 27% of the clutches examined, as well as evidence for overwinter sperm storage and variance in adult male reproductive success. These data indicate that ample opportunity exists for sperm competition and female mate choice in T. horsfieldii.

Microsatellite analysis of multiple paternity and male reproductive success in the promiscuous snowshoe hare

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (11) ◽  
pp. 1948-1956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cole Burton
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Paternal Allele ◽  
Snowshoe Hare ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
System A ◽  
Snowshoe Hares ◽  
Dna Primers

Few genetic studies have addressed patterns of paternity in promiscuous mammals. I used microsatellite DNA primers developed in the European rabbit to analyze paternity in the promiscuous snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus). Sixty-five offspring, their 12 mothers, and their 24 putative fathers were genotyped at seven polymorphic loci (3–22 alleles/locus). Paternal allele counts and likelihood-based paternity assignments confirmed that multiple paternity occurs in snowshoe hare litters. However, the estimated frequency of multiple paternity was lower than expected in an unstructured promiscuous mating system. A relatively low variance in male reproductive success indicated that no males dominated paternity. A few males did achieve significantly more paternities than average, largely by fathering one or two complete litters rather than a few offspring in many litters. The results suggest that successful multiple mating is limited among both male and female snowshoe hares. An important role for pre- and (or) post-copulatory competition is implied.

scholarly journals Influences on male reproductive success in long-lived Blanding’s Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii)

2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 487-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. McGuire ◽  
J.D. Congdon ◽  
O.M. Kinney ◽  
M. Osentoski ◽  
K.T. Scribner
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Female Age ◽  
Emydoidea Blandingii ◽  
Old Adult ◽  
The University ◽  
Life History Study

Knowing how the number and qualities of mates influence male reproductive success (RS) can help interpret mating-system dynamics that are important for conservation efforts. We combined parentage data (1999–2006) with data from a long-term life-history study (1953–2007) of Blanding’s Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii (Holbrook, 1838)) on the University of Michigan’s E.S. George Reserve to document the relative influence of mate number and quality on male RS. Blood samples were taken from >92% of resident adults and tissue samples were taken from 723 hatchlings from 92 nests of 54 females over eight nesting seasons. The incidence of multiple paternity averaged 41.6% (N = 77), was variable among years (minimum–maximum = 15.4%–55.6%), and was positively associated with female age, body size, and clutch size. Repeat paternity was observed in 69.9% of sequential clutches of the same female separated by 1–7 years. Male RS was variable (1–40 offspring) and was positively associated with the number of mates and clutches sired. The youngest male to sire offspring was 22 years old. Adult movements that result in encountering different mates and (or) the ability to use attributes (e.g., size or age) to identify high-quality mates have the potential to substantially increase RS.

scholarly journals Reproductive competition between females in the matrilineal Mosuo of southwestern China

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1631) ◽  
pp. 20130081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Ji ◽  
Jia-Jia Wu ◽  
Qiao-Qiao He ◽  
Jing-Jing Xu ◽  
Ruth Mace ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Reproductive Skew ◽  
Southwestern China ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Reproductive Competition ◽  
Reproductive Conflict ◽  
Shared Resource ◽  
Three Generations ◽  
Resident Female ◽  
Brothers And Sisters

The matrilineal Mosuo of southwestern China live in communal households where brothers and sisters of three generations live together (duolocal residence), and men visit their wives, who reside elsewhere, only at night in ‘visiting’ marriages. Here we show that these communally breeding sisters are in reproductive conflict, in the sense that they share the resources needed to reproduce. We analyse determinants of reproductive success in females and males, and show that co-resident female kin are in competition; the more female kin reside in the household, the more reproductive success is reduced. Male reproductive success, however, is not determined by the kin in his natal household; duolocal males are not in reproductive conflict with their siblings. Competition with female cousins can be worse than that between sisters. We also find that female work on the farm (which is the main communal resource) is not equal. We use a ‘tug-of-war’ model of reproductive skew generated by incomplete control, to model the patterns of effort put into competition between sisters and cousins. The model predicts that more dominant (older) sisters will put less effort into reproductive conflict than will less dominant (younger) sisters; but younger sisters will also have lower reproductive success because they are less efficient at gaining access to the shared resource. Both predictions are consistent with our data. Younger sisters work less in the fields than do older sisters, which may represent a form of conflict or may be because their average relatedness to the household is lower than that of their more fertile older sisters.

Variation in female reproductive quality and reproductive success of male Midland Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta marginata)

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (11) ◽  
pp. 1136-1145 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. McGuire ◽  
J.D. Congdon ◽  
K.T. Scribner ◽  
J.D. Capps
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Chrysemys Picta ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Phenotypic Characteristics ◽  
Painted Turtles ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Reproductive Females ◽  
Second Clutch

Although mate number is perceived to be the primary factor affecting male reproductive success in polygynous systems, differences in female reproductive qualities may also influence variation in male reproductive success. We combined 32 years of data on variation in reproductive qualities (clutch size and clutch frequency) of female Midland Painted Turtles ( Chrysemys picta marginata Agassiz, 1857) with genetic data on patterns of repeated paternity (i.e., stored sperm use) and multiple paternity to examine the potential influence on male reproductive success. Over 24 years (1983–2006), the number of reproductive females each year averaged 84 (minimum–maximum = 62–106) and, on average, 23% (minimum–maximum = 6%–40%) produced two clutches (intraseasonally). Among females with reproductive histories spanning 5–24 years (N = 167), 26% of individuals produced only one clutch annually, whereas 74% produced two clutches within a season. Among just intraseasonally iteroparous females, second-clutch production varied from 7% to 50%. Repeated paternity was observed in 97.5% of 40 paired clutches and 44% of 9 among-year comparisons of clutches from consecutive years. The frequent use of stored sperm to fertilize sequential clutches within and potentially among years can substantially increase a male’s reproductive success, particularly if males can base mating decisions on phenotypic characteristics correlated with female quality.

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