DNA fingerprinting of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina concolor ): male mating behaviour may not be a reliable indicator of reproductive success

We describe a parternity test in a captive group of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina concolor), using two of the commonly available fingerprint probes, Jeffreys' probes 33.6 and 33.15. We show that informative DNA fingerprints can be produced from harbour seals and that band patterns are inherited...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Zoology
Main Authors: Harris, Andrew S., Young, John S. F., Wright, Jonathan M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1991
Subjects:
Animal Science and Zoology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Phoca vitulina
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z91-258
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z91-258
Description
Summary:We describe a parternity test in a captive group of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina concolor), using two of the commonly available fingerprint probes, Jeffreys' probes 33.6 and 33.15. We show that informative DNA fingerprints can be produced from harbour seals and that band patterns are inherited in a Mendelian fashion. We also show that behavioural observations during courtship and mating may not be an effective discriminator of paternity in captive seals.

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