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Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 53(2)

Multiple paternity and communal maternal care in the feathertail glider (Acrobates pygmaeus)

Marissa L. Parrott A C , Simon J. Ward A and David A. Taggart B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia.

B Royal Zoological Society of South Australia, c/o School of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: m.parrott@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 53(2) 79-85 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO04025
Submitted: 6 April 2004  Accepted: 19 January 2005   Published: 6 April 2005

Abstract

It has been predicted, on the basis of morphological and behavioural evidence, that female feathertail gliders (Acrobates pygmaeus) will mate with multiple males within a single oestrus and that multiple paternity may occur in their litters. To determine whether feathertail glider litters are sired by multiple males, DNA collected from 10 litters and their mothers was tested for hereditary polymorphisms. The techniques used to evaluate paternity included AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphisms), RAPD (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA) and RAMP (randomly amplified microsatellite polymorphisms) analyses and microsatellite markers. Although most genetic techniques produced only monomorphic bands, analyses with AFLPs indicated that multiple paternity did occur in six of eight litters, confirming that multiple mating within a single oestrous period occurs in this species. Results further indicated that mothers care for young other than their own. On the basis of their high testes-to-bodyweight ratio, male-biased sexual size dimorphism and multiple paternity in litters, sperm competition is considered highly likely to occur in this species.


Acknowledgments

We thank George Sofronidis and Shiro Akiyama for assistance with molecular techniques. This research was supported by a University of Melbourne Research Development Grant to Simon J. Ward. This research was carried out with ethics approval from the Animals Ethics Sub-Committee at the University of Melbourne, registered no. 97071, and under Department of Natural Resources and Environment Wildlife permit no. 10000413.


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