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 seek...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5438 |
| _version_ | 1818415476917665792 |
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| author | Joshua Zajdel Stacey L. Lance Thomas R. Rainwater Phillip M. Wilkinson Matthew D. Hale Benjamin B. Parrott |
| author_facet | Joshua Zajdel Stacey L. Lance Thomas R. Rainwater Phillip M. Wilkinson Matthew D. Hale Benjamin B. Parrott |
| author_sort | Joshua Zajdel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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‐specific 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T11:35:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-56c7fd63f8714b899f3063e0457d4f51 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T11:35:36Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-56c7fd63f8714b899f3063e0457d4f512022-12-21T23:03:04ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582019-09-01918101091012110.1002/ece3.5438Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrateJoshua Zajdel0Stacey L. Lance1Thomas R. Rainwater2Phillip M. Wilkinson3Matthew D. Hale4Benjamin B. Parrott5Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens GA USASavannah River Ecology Laboratory Aiken SC USATom Yawkey Wildlife Center & Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science Clemson University Georgetown SC USATom Yawkey Wildlife Center Georgetown SC USAOdum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens GA USAOdum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens GA USAAbstract 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‐specific 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.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5438American alligatormate selectionmultiple paternityreproductive success |
| spellingShingle | Joshua Zajdel Stacey L. Lance Thomas R. Rainwater Phillip M. Wilkinson Matthew D. Hale Benjamin B. Parrott Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrate Ecology and Evolution American alligator mate selection multiple paternity reproductive success |
| title | Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrate |
| title_full | Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrate |
| title_fullStr | Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrate |
| title_short | Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long‐lived vertebrate |
| title_sort | mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long lived vertebrate |
| topic | American alligator mate selection multiple paternity reproductive success |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5438 |
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