Multiple mating between black bears revealed by DNA fingerprinting

Schenk, Anita; Kovacs, Kit M.

doi:10.1016/0003-3472(95)80005-0

Cited by 97 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Our paternity analyses indicated that one of five litters (20%) that were completely censused in Big Bend NP (BIBE20-21) contained half-sibs sired by resident males. Multiple paternity in mammals is not unusual and has been noted in brown (Ursus arctos L., 1758) and black bears (Craighead et al 1995;Schenk and Kovacs 1995), whitetailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann, 1780) (DeYoung et al 2002), and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana Ord, 1815) (Carling et al 2003). On the other hand, quantification of the prevalence of this behavior in the family Ursidae has rarely been reported.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paternity and relatedness of American black bears recolonizing a desert montane island

Onorato¹,

Hellgren²,

Bussche³

et al. 2004

Can. J. Zool.

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American black bears (Ursus americanus (Pallas, 1780)) are characterized by female philopatry and malebiased dispersal, with predictable consequences for genetic structure of populations. We studied a recolonizing population of black bears on a desert montane island to test genetic-based predictions of bear social behavior. We assessed genetic paternity and relatedness among bears within Big Bend National Park, Texas, from 1998 to 2001 via maternally and biparentally inherited markers and field observations. Data from seven microsatellite loci permitted us to assign paternity for 7 of 12 cubs, and multiple paternity was revealed in one litter. Levels of relatedness in the Park were comparable to those found in a nearby large population in Coahuila, Mexico. Adult female bears in the Park were more closely related to each other than males were to each other. Microsatellite data were consistent with previous analyses of mtDNA sequences that indicated bears in the Mexico-Texas metapopulation exhibit male-biased dispersal. Demographic and genetic data provided a pedigree for 23 of 31 sampled bears and depicted the matriarchal structure of this recently recolonized population. Although females in this insular population are closely related to each other, as predicted by characteristics of ursine social ecology, incoming dispersal by unrelated males results in periodic supplementation of genetic variation.Résumé : Les ours noirs américains, Ursus americanus (Pallas, 1780), se caractérisent par une philopatrie des femelles et une dispersion faite surtout par les mâles, ce qui a des conséquences prévisibles sur la structure génétique des populations. Nous avons étudié une population d'ours noirs qui est en train de se rétablir sur une montagne isolée en région désertique afin de vérifier des prédictions sur leur comportement social basées sur la génétique. Nous avons évalué la paternité génétique et le degré de parenté des ours du parc national de Big Bend, Texas, de 1998 à 2001, au moyen de marqueurs hérités de la mère ou des deux parents et par des observations de terrain. Les données sur sept locus microsatellites nous ont permis d'attribuer la paternité de 7 de 12 oursons et d'identifier une paternité multiple dans une portée. Le degré de parenté dans le parc est semblable à celui que l'on trouve dans la grande population voisine de Coahuila, Mexique. Les ourses adultes sont plus proches parentes les unes des autres que ne le sont les mâles. Les données sur les locus microsatellites sont en accord avec des analyses antérieures des séquences d'ADNmt qui indiquent que les ours de la métapopulation Mexique-Texas ont une dispersion qui est surtout l'apanage des mâles. Des données démographiques et génétiques ont permis de dresser le pedigree de 23 des 31 ours échantillonnés et la description de la structure matriarcale de cette population colonisatrice récente. Bien que les femelles de cette population isolée soient fortement apparentées les unes aux autres, tel que le prédisent les caractéristiques de l'écolog...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paternity and relatedness of American black bears recolonizing a desert montane island

Onorato¹,

Hellgren²,

Bussche³

et al. 2004

Can. J. Zool.

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“…To our knowledge, only a few studies have examined this question in brown bears (Ursus arctos; Craighead et al 1995aCraighead et al , 1998 and American black bears (Ursus americanus; Schenk & Kovacs 1995;Kovach & Powell 2003), all with a limited number of genetic samples and field observations. Female bears are induced ovulators, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dilemma of female mate selection in the brown bear, a species with sexually selected infanticide

et al. 2005

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Because of differential investment in gametes between sexes, females tend to be the more selective sex. Based on this concept, we investigate mate selection in a large carnivore: the brown bear (Ursus arctos). We hypothesize that, in this species with sexually selected infanticide (SSI), females may be faced with a dilemma: either select a high-quality partner based on phenotypic criteria, as suggested by theories of mate choice, or rather mate with future potentially infanticidal males as a counter-strategy to SSI. We evaluated which male characteristics were important in paternity assignment. Among males available in the vicinity of the females, the largest, most heterozygous and less inbred and also the geographically closest males were more often the fathers of the female's next litter. We suggest that female brown bears may select the closest males as a counter-strategy to infanticide and exercise a post-copulatory cryptic choice, based on physical attributes, such as a large body size, reflecting male genetic quality. However, male-male competition either in the form of fighting before copulation or during the post-copulatory phase, in the form of sperm competition, cannot entirely be ruled out.

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“…Multiply sired litters have been reported in a number of mammalian groups, including rodents (Berteaux et al 1999;Ratkiewicz & Borkowska 2000;Wolff & Dunlap 2002), insectivores (Stockley et al 1993), ursids (Schenk & Kovacs 1995) and felids (Ishida et al 2001). Females may be polyandrous either as a result of male coercion or actively by choice.…”

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confidence: 99%

Female American mink, Mustela vison, mate multiply in a free-choice environment

et al. 2004

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Like most solitary carnivores, the home ranges of male American mink overlap with those of several females, but each female typically shares its range with only a single male. Nevertheless, female mink produce multiply sired litters. Unusually among mammals, the physiological characteristics of female American mink make them highly suited to multiple paternity, suggesting that polyandry in the species may result from female behaviour rather than from coercion by males. In a free-choice experiment on captive-bred animals, all female mink mated multiply, with seven of the eight mating with all three available partners. Since females sometimes resisted copulations, multiple mating in this species may result from their behaviour rather than male coercion. Females visited males nonrandomly, but visiting patterns did not predict mating patterns, suggesting disparate social and mating preferences. There was no evidence for precopulatory female choice, since the allocation of copulations among available males did not deviate significantly from the expected distribution. Females mated multiply only around the predicted times of ovulation, contrary to the expectation that they should be more selective at times of peak fertility. Larger males copulated for longer in total: copulation duration is probably under male control, suggesting that larger males could influence mating duration, perhaps increasing their share of paternity by greater sperm transfer. Our observations suggest that in wild populations, mating patterns could be influenced by female preference for multiple partners.

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Multiple mating between black bears revealed by DNA fingerprinting

Cited by 97 publications

References 18 publications

Paternity and relatedness of American black bears recolonizing a desert montane island

Paternity and relatedness of American black bears recolonizing a desert montane island

The dilemma of female mate selection in the brown bear, a species with sexually selected infanticide

Female American mink, Mustela vison, mate multiply in a free-choice environment

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