Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 5, 2026
07:59
Using a Comparative Species Approach to Investigate the Neurobiology of Paternal Responses
Published on: September 19, 2011
13.0K
Mating dynamics and multiple paternity in a long-lived vertebrate
Joshua Zajdel1,2, Stacey L Lance2, Thomas R Rainwater3
1Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens GA USA.
Ecology and Evolution
|October 22, 2019
Summary
Multiple paternity in American alligators is common, with 43% of nests having multiple fathers. While male size influences success, multiply sired nests showed lower fertility, suggesting costs to female fitness.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Reproductive strategies
- Behavioral ecology
Background:
- Multiple paternity is widespread in nature, but its evolutionary drivers and fitness consequences remain unclear.
- Hypotheses suggest benefits like increased genetic diversity or costs related to sexual conflict.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the frequency and implications of multiple paternity in American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis).
- To examine the relationship between male size, reproductive success, and offspring fitness in relation to paternity.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of parentage in 151 American alligator nests over six years.
- Assessment of clutch size, hatchling size, and fertility rates in singly and multiply sired nests.
Main Results:
- 43% of nests exhibited multiple paternity.
- Male size significantly influenced male reproductive success.
- No difference in clutch or hatchling size was found between singly and multiply sired nests.
- Fertility rates were lower in multiply sired clutches.
Conclusions:
- Multiple paternity may impose fitness costs on females, indicated by reduced fertility.
- Sexual conflict could be a factor influencing the prevalence of multiple paternity in alligator populations.
Related Concept Videos
00:55Parental Care
12.5K
Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.
12.5K
01:20Mate Choice
11.5K
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
11.5K
01:07Speciation Rates
22.5K
Overview
22.5K
01:06Fixed Action Patterns
17.3K
A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is “fixed” because it is essentially unchangeable—proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.
17.3K
01:29Life Histories
22.4K
Overview
22.4K
01:06Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
434
The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...
434