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Multiple paternity in Rana dalmatina, a monogamous territorial breeding anuran

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Abstract

Polyandry and sperm competition in anurans have rarely been documented. We investigated the genetic paternity inferred from allozyme variations in 650 tadpoles from four natural ponds in a territorial breeding anuran, Rana dalmatina. Multiple paternity was demonstrated, although R. dalmatina is regarded as a monogamous species. Polyandrous mating was not a common event, occurring only in 17.9% of clutches, with no significant differences among clutches. The proportions of tadpoles fathered by a second male did not significantly differ among ponds, showing that multipaternity was not restricted to a single site. Such a polyandry may result from synchronous multiple amplexus and should reduce the heterozygote deficit related to the breeding-pond fidelity usually exhibited by most anurans.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Hélène Birard, Hélène Blanchard, Romain Criou, Dominique Le Jacques, Stéphanie Mareau, Marc Pondaven, Julie-Anne Rio, Yann Rigault and Sébastien Sellos for their field assistance and Kathryn D. Kavanagh for helpful comments.

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  1. Laboratoire d’Ecologie Animale, Université d’Angers, 2 bd Lavoisier, 49045, Angers cédex, France

    Thierry Lodé & David Lesbarrères

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  1. Thierry Lodé
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  2. David Lesbarrères
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Correspondence to Thierry Lodé.

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Lodé, T., Lesbarrères, D. Multiple paternity in Rana dalmatina, a monogamous territorial breeding anuran. Naturwissenschaften 91, 44–47 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-003-0491-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-003-0491-7

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