Extra-Pair Paternity in Birds: Review of the Genetic Benefits

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Departmental Papers (Biology)
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Biology
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Genetics
Poultry or Avian Science
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Roughgarden, Joan
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Question: How well are genetic benefits hypotheses for extra-pair paternity supported by empirical evidence? Data incorporated: Almost all published studies testing for genetic benefits from 1980 onwards (121 papers, 55 species). Analysis methods: Collected key features and findings of each study in a database. Determined overall level of support for both good genes and compatible genes hypotheses. Conducted a formal meta-analysis on a subset of studies asking the following questions: (1) Do extra-pair mates of females have different phenotypes than their within-pair mates? (2) Do extra-pair offspring differ in viability from within-pair offspring? (3) Is there a correlation between the genetic similarity of a social pair and the incidence of extra-pair paternity? Results: Both the good genes and compatible genes hypotheses failed to be supported in more than half of the species studied. The meta-analysis shows that extra-pair males are on average larger and older than within-pair males, but not different in terms of secondary sexual traits, condition or relatedness to the female. No difference was found between extra-pair and within-pair young in survival to the next breeding season. We found no significant correlation between pair genetic similarity and extra-pair paternity. Conclusions: Genetic benefits are not strongly supported by available empirical data. New hypotheses are needed.

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2007-01-01
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Evolutionary Ecology Research
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At the time of publication, author Erol Akçay was affiliated with Stanford University. Currently, he is a faculty member at the Department of Biology at the University of Pennsylvania.
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