Probability of paternity in paternity testing using the DNA fingerprint procedure

For the purpose of applying DNA fingerprinting to paternity testing, we established a general formula to calculate the probability of paternity and evaluated the ability of DNA fingerprinting to determine paternity.     

Lice of farm animals in Libya

Abstract. This first report on the lice of farm animals in Libya lists a total of fifteen species, as follows: Haematopinus quadripertusus and Linognathus vituli from cattle, Bovicola ovis, Linognathus pedalis, L.afrlcanus and L.ovillus from sheep, L.stenopsis, L.africanus and Bovicola caprae from goats. Poultry harboured Lipeurus caponis, L.heterographus, Menacanthus stramineus, Menopon gallinae, Goniocotes gallinae, Goniodes gigas and G.dissimilis.     

Extrapair paternity in hooded warblers

We examined the role of extrapair fertilizations (EPFs) in themating system of the hooded warbler (Wilsonia citrina), a monogamoussongbird. DNA fingerprinting revealed that 8 of 17 (47%) femaleshad extrapair young in their first or second brood, and 23 of78 (29%) nestlings were the result of EPFs. Extrapair youngwere signifkandy more likely to occur in first broods than insecond broods. The proportion of EPFs within a brood was stronglybirnodal among broods: nests had 50% or more extrapair youngor none. In seven of eight broods where EPFs occurred, an adjacentmale neighbor was identified as the actual father. Male-likecoloration in females did not reduce the likelihood of havingextrapair young. Females with extrapair young did not receiveless parental care from their mates. All males who obtainedEPFs were mated to fertile females or were feeding offspringat the time they most likely mated with the extrapair female.Our results are consistent with the female control hypothesis,which predicts that females benefit from extrapair copulations(EPCs) and have some control over which males, if any, obtainEPCs. However, we could not reject the alternative hypothesisthat some male neighbors are particularly dominant and aggressiveduring EPC attempts, so females accept these EPCs to minimizecosts.     

Badge size, paternity assurance behaviours and paternity losses in male house sparrows

Male quality may influence both the outcome of sperm competition and female faithfulness. In male house sparrows Passer domesticus , the size of the black throat patch (badge) signals dominance and perhaps attractiveness. So far, however, no study has reported any significant relationships between badge size, paternity and paternity assurance behaviours in this species. We found that the time mates spent together at the nest was positively correlated with badge size. Furthermore, although paternity losses were influenced by both the time spent at the nest and within-pair copulation frequency, we found no relationship between copulation rate and badge size. It seems therefore that copulation frequency served as a paternity assurance behaviour, whereas the time mates stayed together at the nest may have reflected male attractiveness. Alternatively, females may have decided to stay with large-badged males because they were better able to protect them from harassment by strange males. We also found that paternity losses were related to male badge size; average-badged males cuckolded were more often than males with smaller or larger badges. We suggest that average-badged males suffered higher paternity losses because they had different time allocation strategies than other males.     

Disclosing misattributed paternity

In 1994, the Committee on Assessing Genetic Risks of the Institute of Medicine published their recommendations regarding the ethical issues raised by advances in genetics. One of the Committee's recommendation was to inform women when test results revealed misattributed paternity, but not to disclose this information to the women's partners. The Committee's reason for withholding such information was that "'genetic testing should not be used in ways that disrupt families". In this paper, I argue that the Committee's conclusion in favour of nondisclosure to the male partner is unethical. I argue that both parties ought to be informed.     

Extrapair paternity and hybridization in birds

Hybridization in birds is a widely acknowledged phenomenon. It often occurs when one species is absent or rare which leads to mixed pairings between different species (Hubb's principle). However, Hubb's principle cannot explain hybridization in one of the most common Passeriform hybrids, barn swallow Hirundo rustica ×house martin Delichon urbica , since these hybrids usually occurred in areas where both species were common. Such hybrids were often found as singletons between true barn swallows siblings suggesting that extrapair copulations, and not mixed breeding pairs, might be the reason for the existence of these hybrids. Extrapair copulations are common in both these species. Here, I tested the idea, that EPP and hybridization may be linked on a macro-evolutionary scale across species. I used data on EPP from review studies and assigned each species a dichotomous variable whether it has produced hybrids or not. Hybridizing species did not show a higher percentage of extrapair copulations compared to non-hybridizing species. However, while these data did not show any influence on the macro-ecological scale, these factors could, nevertheless, facilitate hybridization in some species pairs as in the example of the swallows.     

Determinants of paternity in a butterfly

Success in sperm competition is of fundamental importance to males, yet little is known about what factors determine paternity. Theory predicts that males producing high sperm numbers have an advantage in sperm competition. Large spermatophore size (the sperm containing package) also correlates with paternity in some species, but the relative importance of spermatophore size and sperm numbers has remained unexplored. Males of the small white butterfly, Pieris rapae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), produce large nutritious spermatophores on their first mating. On their second mating, spermatophores are only about half the size of the first, but with almost twice the sperm number. We manipulated male mating history to examine the effect of spermatophore size and sperm numbers on male fertilization success. Overall, paternity shows either first male or, more frequently, second male sperm precedence. Previously mated males have significantly higher fertilization success in competition with males mating for the first time, strongly suggesting that high sperm number is advantageous in sperm competition. Male size also affects paternity with relatively larger males having higher fertilization success. This may indicate that spermatophore size influences paternity, because in virgin males spermatophore size correlates with male size. The paternity of an individual male is also inversely correlated with the mass of his spermatophore remains dissected out of the female. This suggests that females may influence paternity by affecting the rate of spermatophore drainage. Although the possibility of female postcopulatory choice remains to be explored, these results clearly show that males maximize their fertilization success by increasing the number of sperm in their second mating.     

Extrapair paternity and hybridization in birds

Hybridization in birds is a widely acknowledged phenomenon. It often occurs when one species is absent or rare which leads to mixed pairings between different species (Hubb's principle). However, Hubb's principle cannot explain hybridization in one of the most common Passeriform hybrids, barn swallow Hirundo rustica×house martin Delichon urbica, since these hybrids usually occurred in areas where both species were common. Such hybrids were often found as singletons between true barn swallows siblings suggesting that extrapair copulations, and not mixed breeding pairs, might be the reason for the existence of these hybrids. Extrapair copulations are common in both these species. Here, I tested the idea, that EPP and hybridization may be linked on a macro‐evolutionary scale across species. I used data on EPP from review studies and assigned each species a dichotomous variable whether it has produced hybrids or not. Hybridizing species did not show a higher percentage of extrapair copulations compared to non‐hybridizing species. However, while these data did not show any influence on the macro‐ecological scale, these factors could, nevertheless, facilitate hybridization in some species pairs as in the example of the swallows.     

Multiple paternity in wild-caught Drosophila mojavensis

Female remating frequency and sperm allocation patterns can strongly influence levels of sperm competition and reproductive success in natural populations. In the laboratory, Drosophila mojavensis males transfer very few sperm per copulation and females remate often, suggesting multiple paternity should be common in nature. Here, we examine female sperm loads, incidence of multiple paternity, and sperm utilization by genotyping progeny from 20 wild-caught females at four highly polymorphic microsatellite loci. Based on indirect paternity analyses of 814 flies, we found evidence for high levels of multiple paternity coupled with relatively low reproductive output, consistent with the high levels of female remating predicted in this sperm-limited species. Overall, we found little evidence for last -- male sperm precedence though some temporal variation in sperm utilization was observed, consistent with laboratory findings.     

Multiple paternity in the European hedgehog

Previous observations have suggested that European hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus are promiscuous, although there have been no direct studies of the mating system to confirm this. In this study, the genetic mating system of the European hedgehog was assessed by analysing mother–offspring groups using six polymorphic microsatellite loci. Evidence of multiple paternity was found in two of five litters analysed and therefore demonstrates the occurrence of polyandry in wild populations of hedgehogs.     

Female control of paternity

Of the two components of sexual selection, female choice is much less obvious than male-male competition, and hence has always been considered to be of secondary importance. However, recent field observations and new theory have brought about a radical change of emphasis. It now appears that although a female's choice of who fathers her offspring often occurs in a subtle manner, it may be widespread and take place through a variety of behavioural and physiological mechanisms, including the manipulation of male behaviour and the selection of sperm within the female reproductive tract.     

Ovulation mode modifies paternity monopolization in mammals

There are two forms of ovulation: spontaneous and induced. As copulation triggers ovulation for induced ovulators, males can predict the timing of ovulation and may have greater paternity monopolization than spontaneous ovulators. However, this prediction has never, to my knowledge, been tested. Using a cross-species comparison I examined the percentage of offspring sired within a litter (single paternity) and in social species the percentage of offspring sired by the dominant male (alpha paternity). My results indicate that ovulation mode alters the ability of males to monopolize paternity, with males of induced ovulators having higher single paternity and greater alpha paternity where male–female association is intermittent.