Sex-role reversal and the absence of extra-pair fertilization in Wilson's phalaropes

Animal Behaviour
D J DelehantyL W Oring

Abstract

Extra-pair fertilizations are common in birds, which has led to great interest in how this phenomenon is regulated at a proximate level and how extra-pair fertilizations, and extra-pair fertilization avoidance, shape avian social systems. In Wilson's phalaropes, Phalaropus tricolor, incubation and brood-rearing is performed exclusively by males. Males are able to rear only a single brood of four during a breeding season. This suggests that males have a high level of paternity in clutches and broods under their care and, thus, that extra-pair fertilizations are infrequent. In contrast, female social dominance, lack of territoriality and frequent interactions among breeding adults suggest that both males and females have the opportunity to engage in extra-pair copulations. Using DNA fingerprint band-sharing between putative parents and offspring, we found no evidence of extra-pair fertilizations among 51 offspring from 17 families of phalaropes. Copulation disruption by non-copulatory adults, ability of females to reject copulation attempts and potential fitness benefits to females by avoiding extra-pair fertilizations were sufficient to explain the absence of extra-pair fertilizations in Wilson's phalaropes. We propose that sex-...Continue Reading

Citations

Oct 10, 2014·Evolutionary Psychology : an International Journal of Evolutionary Approaches to Psychology and Behavior·Benjamin M WinegardRobert O Deaner
Dec 26, 2001·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·A G JonesJ C Avise
Jul 15, 2018·BMC Evolutionary Biology·Ignas Safari, Wolfgang Goymann

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