Mating sequence, dominance and paternity success in captive male tammar wallabies

Abstract

The tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) is a small, promiscuous, macropodid marsupial. Females usually produce a single young each year and there is a clear dominance hierarchy between adult males. The dominant male usually mates first and then guards the female to prevent access to her by other males. In this study, agonistic encounters and mating behaviour were observed to determine male dominance hierarchies in six groups of captive tammars consisting of a total of 23 males and 50 females. Mating behaviour was observed immediately post-partum when females were in oestrus and was correlated with plasma testosterone concentrations. Male mating sequences were recorded, and the paternity of off..