TY - JOUR
T1 - High frequency of extrapair fertilization in a plural breeding bird, the Mexican jay, revealed by DNA microsatellites
AU - Li, Shou Hsien
AU - Brown, Jerram L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (IBN 9420297). For comments on the manuscript we thank K. Able, C. B. Stewart and N. Bhagabati. For help in the field and data processing we thank E. R. Brown. The research presented here was described in Animal Research Protocol No. 3327, approved on 15 January 1997 by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University at Albany.
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - We used tetra-nucleotide microsatellite DNA typing to estimate the frequency of extrapair fertilization (EPF) in a plural breeding species, the Mexican jay, Aphelocoma ultramarina, in Arizona. We found EPF in 32 of 51 complete broods (63%) and 55 of 139 nestlings (40%) for which the putative father had been identified (one of the highest rates of EPF known for birds). At least 96.1% of EPF fathers came from within the group. This is by far the highest known within-group EPF rate among socially monogamous, communally rearing species. Most (70%) males of breeding age (3+ years) had no genetic paternity in a given year. Social fathers (i.e. those with nests and mated females) rarely obtained EPFs; of 25 social fathers, 23 had young in only one nest and only two had young in two nests by virtue of EPF. Of the 27 males known to be EPF fathers without a nest of their own, none had young in more than one nest. Only 7% of EPF fathers had their own broods reaching banding age (day 14), compared with 29.7% of social fathers. The proportion of EPF young was significantly larger in smaller broods. Breeding females in all age classes were equally likely to have EPF young.
AB - We used tetra-nucleotide microsatellite DNA typing to estimate the frequency of extrapair fertilization (EPF) in a plural breeding species, the Mexican jay, Aphelocoma ultramarina, in Arizona. We found EPF in 32 of 51 complete broods (63%) and 55 of 139 nestlings (40%) for which the putative father had been identified (one of the highest rates of EPF known for birds). At least 96.1% of EPF fathers came from within the group. This is by far the highest known within-group EPF rate among socially monogamous, communally rearing species. Most (70%) males of breeding age (3+ years) had no genetic paternity in a given year. Social fathers (i.e. those with nests and mated females) rarely obtained EPFs; of 25 social fathers, 23 had young in only one nest and only two had young in two nests by virtue of EPF. Of the 27 males known to be EPF fathers without a nest of their own, none had young in more than one nest. Only 7% of EPF fathers had their own broods reaching banding age (day 14), compared with 29.7% of social fathers. The proportion of EPF young was significantly larger in smaller broods. Breeding females in all age classes were equally likely to have EPF young.
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U2 - 10.1006/anbe.2000.1554
DO - 10.1006/anbe.2000.1554
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0034494778
SN - 0003-3472
VL - 60
SP - 867
EP - 877
JO - Animal Behaviour
JF - Animal Behaviour
IS - 6
ER -