Publication details
Varying levels of female promiscuity in four Apodemus mice species
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2008 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Zoology |
| Keywords | mating systems- multiple paternity-wood mice-testis size-Apodemus |
| Description | In this study, the 127 pregnant females from four ecologically diverse species of field mice were studied to assess the role of ecological factors that may have shaped the evolution of particular mating systems. MMM was found in all analyzed species: in Apodemus uralensis and A. flavicollis, up to two males could be identified as the fathers of a particular litter, while three males sired 9.1% of analyzed litters of A. sylvaticus and 20.6% of A. agrarius. Furthermore, there were obvious differences between species in relative testes size and the proportion of multiple sired litters. The species with the smallest testes and the least promiscuous was A. uralensis (only 43.5% of multiple sired litters), while the species with the biggest testes and the most promiscuous was A. agrarius (69.2%). MMM was significantly associated with higher litter size in A. flavicollis, and the probability of MMM strongly increased with season in A. agrarius and with abundance in A. uralensis |
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