Genetic analysis of the mating system of the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) in New Zealand farmland
| Autor: | B. L. Fricke, A. C. Taylor, Phil E. Cowan, D. W. Cooper |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2000 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Population Zoology Animals Wild Paternity Sexual Behavior Animal Genetics Seasonal breeder Animals Mating Birth Rate education Alleles Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Marsupial education.field_of_study biology Reproductive success Ecology Opossums biology.organism_classification Mating system Fertility Multivariate Analysis Brushtail possum Population study Female Age Determination by Teeth Territoriality Microsatellite Repeats New Zealand |
| Zdroj: | Molecular Ecology. 9:869-879 |
| ISSN: | 1365-294X 0962-1083 |
| DOI: | 10.1046/j.1365-294x.2000.00941.x |
| Popis: | We examined male reproductive success in a common brushtail possum population in New Zealand farmland. Paternity was assigned to 66 of 91 pouch young (maternity known), using a likelihood approach applied to genotypes at six microsatellite loci having an overall average exclusion probability of around 99%. The distribution of number of offspring per male was L-shaped with a standardized variance of 1.52. At least 46% of the 76 sampled reproductively mature males, bred, siring between one and four offspring each. Although breeding males were on average older and larger than nonbreeding males, the small differences did not result in a significant overall difference between the two groups in a multivariate permutation test analagous to a t-test. Paternity analysis of 22 sibling pairs (resulting from experimental removal of pouch young early in the breeding season, inducing a second oestrous) suggested that sequential mating of females with the same male was uncommon ( approximately 16-27%). Whilst there was a tendency for female possums to mate with nearby males, consistent with previous observations of territorial mating behaviour in Australian populations, some interhabitat matings were also inferred. The study population displayed only a low degree of polygyny, which may in part reflect population and habitat characteristics of the study site. A comprehensive understanding of the mating system of Trichosurus vulpecula awaits genetic paternity analysis in additional populations from both Australia and New Zealand, using quantitative approaches undertaken in this study. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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