Multiple paternity in wild populations of the garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis

Schwartz, James M.; McCracken, Gary F.; Burghardt, Gordon M.

doi:10.1007/bf00300053

Cited by 74 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Multiple paternity of broods has been confirmed with molecular markers in several genera of snakes, including Thamnophis (Schwartz et al 1989;Barry et al 1992;Luiselli 1995). Such multiple paternity does not affect estimates based on offspring-mother regressions.…”

Section: Parameter Estimationmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…This assumption does not appear to introduce any serious errors. In the one study of multiple paternity in garter snakes, the coefficient of relationship within litters was estimated to be 0.42-0.44, depending on whether the estimate is based on the confirmed or estimated incidence of multiple paternity (Schwartz et al 1989). Thus, despite multiple paternity of 50-72% of litters, littermates were on the average nearly full-sibs.…”

Section: Parameter Estimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

HIERARCHICAL COMPARISON OF GENETIC VARIANCE‐COVARIANCE MATRICES. II COASTAL‐INLAND DIVERGENCE IN THE GARTER SNAKE, THAMNOPHIS ELEGANS

Arnold

Phillips

1999

Evolution

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Abstract.-The time-scale for the evolution of additive genetic variance-covariance matrices (G-matrices) is a crucial issue in evolutionary biology. If the evolution of G-matrices is slow enough, we can use standard multivariate equations to model drift and selection response on evolutionary time scales. We compared the G-matrices for meristic traits in two populations of garter snakes (Thamnophis elegans) with an apparent separation time of 2 million years. Despite considerable divergence in the meristic traits, foraging habits, and diet, these populations show conservation of structure in their G-matrices. Using Flury's hierarchial approach to matrix comparisons, we found that the populations have retained the principal components (eigenvectors) of their G-matrices, but their eigenvalues have diverged. In contrast, we were unable to reject the hypothesis of equal environmental matrices (E-matrices) for these populations. We propose that a conserved pattern of multivariate stabilizing selection may have contributed to conservation of G-and E-matrix structure during the divergence of these populations.

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Section: Parameter Estimationmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Parameter Estimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

HIERARCHICAL COMPARISON OF GENETIC VARIANCE‐COVARIANCE MATRICES. II COASTAL‐INLAND DIVERGENCE IN THE GARTER SNAKE, THAMNOPHIS ELEGANS

Arnold

Phillips

1999

Evolution

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“…The opportunity for sperm competition is high in snakes; females of many species mate with multiple partners and show multiple paternity of the resulting clutches (Schwartz et al 1989;Hoggren 1995;Garner et al 2002;see Olsson & Madsen (1998) for a review). Mate guarding, mating plugs and prolongation of copulation may be evolutionary responses to this phenomenon (Andersson 1994;Olsson & Madsen 1998;Shine et al 2000d).…”

Section: (E) Sperm Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive strategies in snakes

Shine

2003

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

261

199

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Snakes of both sexes display remarkable flexibility and diversity in their reproductive tactics. Many features of reproduction in female snakes (such as reproductive mode and frequency, seasonality and multiple mating) allow flexible maternal control. For example, females can manipulate not only the genotypes of their offspring (through mate choice or enhanced sperm competition) but also the phenotypes of their offspring (through allocation 'decisions', behavioural and physiological thermoregulation, and nest-site selection). Reliance on stored energy ('capital') to fuel breeding results in low frequencies of female reproduction and, in extreme cases, semelparity. A sophisticated vomeronasal system not only allows male snakes to locate reproductive females by following scent trails, but also facilitates pheromonally mediated mate choice by males. Male-male rivalry takes diverse forms, including female mimicry and mate guarding; combat bouts impose strong selection for large body size in males of some species. Intraspecific (geographical) variation and phenotypic plasticity in a wide array of reproductive traits (offspring size and number; reproductive frequency; incidence of multiple mating; male tactics such as mate guarding and combat; mate choice criteria) provide exceptional opportunities for future studies.

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“…As molecular evidence increasingly demonstrates that polyandry is a widespread feature of natural populations (Schwartz et al 1989 ;Amos et al 1993 ;Birkhead & Møller 1995), it is becoming clear that females can often increase their reproductive success by mating with more than one male (Watson 1991 ;Madsen et al 1992 ;Olsson et al 1994 ;Zeh 1996). Previous studies, particularly those carried out on birds, suggest that polyandry is a force which acts to reinforce the effects of pre-copulatory sexual selection for a single, optimal male phenotype (Kempanaers et al 1992 ;Hasselquist et al 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polyandrous, sperm-storing females: carriers of male genotypes through episodes of adverse selection

Zeh

Bermingham

1997

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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SUMMARYIn the pseudoscorpion, ord lochernes scorpioides, males experience sexual selection in two disparate and well-defined habitats. Populations inhabit decaying trees for several generations before dispersing under the elytra of the harlequin beetle, Acrocinus longimanus. Males compete to monopolize beetle abdomens as strategic sites for inseminating dispersing females. Using single-locus minisatellite DNA profiling to assign paternity for the offspring of dispersing females, we found a strong, positive correlation between male size and reproductive success in the beetle environment. However, this intense selection is undermined by polyandry and the ability of females to store sperm and produce mixed-paternity broods. Although beetleriding males achieved fertilizations with 70 % of the females, paternity could not be assigned for 57 % of the offspring. It is likely that many of these offspring were the products of within-tree inseminations since, in a sample of females intercepted in the act of boarding beetles, most (86 %) carried sperm from predispersal matings within trees. Polyandry and sperm storage may therefore enable smaller males, unable to monopolize beetle mating territories, to circumvent the bottleneck of dispersal-generated sexual selection and thereby transmit their genes to future tree populations. Sperm stored within females can thus provide the kind of resistant life-history stage shown by recent modelling to be critical for the maintenance of genetic variation by temporally fluctuating selection.

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Multiple paternity in wild populations of the garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis

Cited by 74 publications

References 34 publications

HIERARCHICAL COMPARISON OF GENETIC VARIANCE‐COVARIANCE MATRICES. II COASTAL‐INLAND DIVERGENCE IN THE GARTER SNAKE, THAMNOPHIS ELEGANS

HIERARCHICAL COMPARISON OF GENETIC VARIANCE‐COVARIANCE MATRICES. II COASTAL‐INLAND DIVERGENCE IN THE GARTER SNAKE, THAMNOPHIS ELEGANS

Reproductive strategies in snakes

Polyandrous, sperm-storing females: carriers of male genotypes through episodes of adverse selection

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