Title: Multiple paternity in socially monogamous prairie voles (<i>Microtus ochrogaster</i>)
Abstract: Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster (Wagner, 1842)) exhibit behavioral, morphological, and neuroendocrinological traits associated with monogamy and are considered a model system to examine the biological foundations of monogamy in mammals. We examined allelic polymorphism at microsatellite loci to assess mating exclusivity in wild prairie voles sampled in east-central Illinois and found evidence of multiple paternity in five of nine litters (56%) analyzed. Thus, a female in this socially monogamous mammal with extensive mechanisms for pair bonding does not always mate solely with its partner and raises the paradox of why some pair-bonded females mate multiply.
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-10-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 91
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