Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrate
Abstract
Multiple paternity is relatively common across diverse taxa; however, the drivers and implications related to paternal and maternal fitness are not well understood. Several hypotheses have been offered to explain the occurrence and frequency of multiple paternity. One set of hypotheses seeks to explain multiple paternity through direct and indirect benefits including increased genetic diversity or enhanced offspring fitness, whereas another set of hypotheses explains multiple paternity as a by-product of sexual conflict and population- parameters such as density. Here, we investigate mating system dynamics in a historically studied population of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in coastal South Carolina. We examine parentage in 151 nests across 6 years and find that 43% of nests were sired by multiple males and that male reproductive success is strongly influenced by male size. Whereas clutch size and hatchling size did not differ between singly sired and multiply sired nests, fertility rates were observed to be lower in multiply sired clutches. Our findings suggest that multiple paternity may exert cost in regard to female fitness, and raise the possibility that sexual conflict might influence the frequency of multiple paternity in wild alligator populations.
- Authors:
-
[1];
- Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens GA USA, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Aiken SC USA
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Aiken SC USA
- Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center &, Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science Clemson University Georgetown SC USA
- Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Georgetown SC USA
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1560350
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1560351; OSTI ID: 1614634
- Grant/Contract Number:
- EM0004391
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Ecology and Evolution
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Ecology and Evolution Journal Volume: 9 Journal Issue: 18; Journal ID: ISSN 2045-7758
- Publisher:
- Wiley
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; environmental sciences & ecology; evolutionary biology; American alligator; mate selection; multiple paternity; reproductive success
Citation Formats
Zajdel, Joshua, Lance, Stacey L., Rainwater, Thomas R., Wilkinson, Phillip M., Hale, Matthew D., and Parrott, Benjamin B. Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrate. United Kingdom: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1002/ece3.5438.
Zajdel, Joshua, Lance, Stacey L., Rainwater, Thomas R., Wilkinson, Phillip M., Hale, Matthew D., & Parrott, Benjamin B. Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrate. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5438
Zajdel, Joshua, Lance, Stacey L., Rainwater, Thomas R., Wilkinson, Phillip M., Hale, Matthew D., and Parrott, Benjamin B. Wed .
"Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrate". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5438.
@article{osti_1560350,
title = {Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrate},
author = {Zajdel, Joshua and Lance, Stacey L. and Rainwater, Thomas R. and Wilkinson, Phillip M. and Hale, Matthew D. and Parrott, Benjamin B.},
abstractNote = {Multiple paternity is relatively common across diverse taxa; however, the drivers and implications related to paternal and maternal fitness are not well understood. Several hypotheses have been offered to explain the occurrence and frequency of multiple paternity. One set of hypotheses seeks to explain multiple paternity through direct and indirect benefits including increased genetic diversity or enhanced offspring fitness, whereas another set of hypotheses explains multiple paternity as a by-product of sexual conflict and population- parameters such as density. Here, we investigate mating system dynamics in a historically studied population of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in coastal South Carolina. We examine parentage in 151 nests across 6 years and find that 43% of nests were sired by multiple males and that male reproductive success is strongly influenced by male size. Whereas clutch size and hatchling size did not differ between singly sired and multiply sired nests, fertility rates were observed to be lower in multiply sired clutches. Our findings suggest that multiple paternity may exert cost in regard to female fitness, and raise the possibility that sexual conflict might influence the frequency of multiple paternity in wild alligator populations.},
doi = {10.1002/ece3.5438},
journal = {Ecology and Evolution},
number = 18,
volume = 9,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Wed Aug 14 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Wed Aug 14 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}
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