title: Multiple paternity in Rana dalmatina, a monogamous territorial breeding anuran.
abstract: Polyandry and sperm competition in anurans have rarely been documented. We investigated the genetic paternity inferred from allozyme variations in 650 tadpoles from four natural ponds in a territorial breeding anuran, Rana dalmatina. Multiple paternity was demonstrated, although R. dalmatina is regarded as a monogamous species. Polyandrous mating was not a common event, occurring only in 17.9% of clutches, with no significant differences among clutches. The proportions of tadpoles fathered by a second male did not significantly differ among ponds, showing that multipaternity was not restricted to a single site. Such a polyandry may result from synchronous multiple amplexus and should reduce the heterozygote deficit related to the breeding-pond fidelity usually exhibited by most anurans.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Animale, Université d'Angers, 2 bd Lavoisier, 49045 Angers cédex, France. thierry.lode@univ-angers.fr
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lodé
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lesbarrères
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005787:Gene Frequency; D008297:Male; D010334:Paternity; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011898:Ranidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D013731:Territoriality