Paternity exclusion by DNA fingerprinting, and mate guarding in the hooded seal Cystophora cristata
Abstract Hooded seal Cystophora cristata trios consist of an adult female, her pup, and an attending adult male. Using DNA fingerprinting, we excluded the possibility that the attending males within hooded seal trios were the fathers of the pups, proving that these hooded seals did not remain paired...
| Published in: | Molecular Ecology |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1994
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.1994.tb00110.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-294X.1994.tb00110.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-294X.1994.tb00110.x |
| Summary: | Abstract Hooded seal Cystophora cristata trios consist of an adult female, her pup, and an attending adult male. Using DNA fingerprinting, we excluded the possibility that the attending males within hooded seal trios were the fathers of the pups, proving that these hooded seals did not remain paired from one breeding season to the next. Behavioural observations of the trios after capture and release revealed that male hooded seals displace one another in attending nursing females. Mate guarding appears to be the preferred mating strategy available to male hooded seals given intense competition for females, a very brief nursing period, and oestrus occuring soon after weaning, but its effectiveness remains unclear. |
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