Realized Reproductive Success of Polygynous Red-Winged Blackbirds Revealed by DNA Markers
- 7 December 1990
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 250 (4986), 1394-1397
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.250.4986.1394
Abstract
Hypervariable genetic markers, including a novel locus-specific marker detected by a mouse major histocompatibility complex probe, reveal that multiple paternity is common in families of polygynous red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus). Almost half of all nests contained at least one chick resulting from an extra-pair fertilization, usually by a neighboring male. Genetically based measures of reproductive success show that individual males realize more than 20% of their overall success from extra-pair fertilizations, on average, and that this form of mating behavior confounds traditional measures of male success. The importance of alternative reproductive tactics in a polygynous bird is quantified, and the results challenge previous explanations for the evolution of avian polygny.This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
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