How attractive is the girl next door? An assessment of spatial mate acquisition and paternity in the solitary Cape Dune mole-rat, Bathyergus suillus
dc.contributor.author | Bray, Timothy C. | |
dc.contributor.author | Bloomer, Paulette | |
dc.contributor.author | O'Riain, M. Justin | |
dc.contributor.author | Bennett, Nigel Charles | |
dc.contributor.editor | Laudet, Vincent | |
dc.contributor.email | tim_c_bray@zoology.up.ac.za | en |
dc.date.accessioned | 2012-08-28T06:11:11Z | |
dc.date.available | 2012-08-28T06:11:11Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2012-06-29 | |
dc.description.abstract | Behavioural observations of reproduction and mate choice in wild fossorial rodents are extremely limited and consequently indirect methods are typically used to infer mating strategies. We use a combination of morphological, reproductive, spatial, and genetic data to investigate the reproductive strategy of a solitary endemic species, the Cape dune mole-rat Bathyergus suillus. These data provide the first account on the population dynamics of this species. Marked sexual dimorphism was apparent with males being both significantly larger and heavier than females. Of all females sampled 36% had previously reproduced and 12% were pregnant at the time of capture. Post-partum sex ratio was found to be significantly skewed in favour of females. The paternity of fifteen litters (n = 37) was calculated, with sires assigned to progeny using both categorical and full probability methods, and including a distance function. The maximum distance between progeny and a putative sire was determined as 2149 m with males moving between sub-populations. We suggest that above-ground movement should not be ignored in the consideration of mate acquisition behaviour of subterranean mammals. Estimated levels of multiple paternity were shown to be potentially as high as 26%, as determined using sibship and sire assignment methods. Such high levels of multiple paternity have not been found in other solitary mole-rat species. The data therefore suggest polyandry with no evidence as yet for polygyny. | en |
dc.description.librarian | ab2012 | en |
dc.description.sponsorship | The Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation for funding from the South African Research Chairs Initiative Chair for Mammal Behavioural Ecology and Physiology awarded to NB. Funding was also provided by the University of Pretoria in provision of TB’s postdoctoral fellowship. | en |
dc.description.uri | http://www.plosone.org | en |
dc.identifier.citation | Bray TC, Bloomer P, O’Riain MJ, Bennett NC (2012) How Attractive Is the Girl Next Door? An Assessment of Spatial Mate Acquisition and Paternity in the Solitary Cape Dune Mole-Rat, Bathyergus suillus. PLoS ONE 7(6): e39866. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039866 | en |
dc.identifier.issn | 1932-6203 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/19648 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en |
dc.publisher | Public Library of Science | en |
dc.rights | © 2012 Bray et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License | en |
dc.subject | Mate choice | en |
dc.subject | Cape dune mole-rat | en |
dc.subject | Bathyergus suillus | en |
dc.subject.lcsh | Bathyergidae -- Reproduction | en |
dc.subject.lcsh | Courtship in animals | en |
dc.subject.lcsh | Sexual behavior in animals | en |
dc.subject.other | SDG-15: Life on land | |
dc.title | How attractive is the girl next door? An assessment of spatial mate acquisition and paternity in the solitary Cape Dune mole-rat, Bathyergus suillus | en |
dc.type | Article | en |