Journal article
The genetic mating system of the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) with notes on male strategies for securing paternity
Greta J Frankham, Robert L Reed, Mark DB Eldridge, Kathrine A Handasyde
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY | CSIRO PUBLISHING | Published : 2012
DOI: 10.1071/ZO12064
Abstract
The potoroids are a small group of cryptic macropodoid marsupials that are difficult to directly monitor in the wild. Consequently, information regarding their social and mating systems is limited. A population of long-nosed potoroos (Potorous tridactylus) on French Island, Victoria, was monitored from June 2005 to August 2010. Tissue samples were collected from 32 (19 ♂, 13 ♀) independent potoroos and 17 pouch young. We aimed to determine the genetic mating system and identify patterns of paternity through genotyping individuals at 10 microsatellite loci. Additionally, we investigated the importance of body mass and site residency as strategies in securing paternity. Twelve of the 17 pouch ..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This research was supported by funding from the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, The Margaret Middleton Fund for endangered Australian native vertebrate animals (The Australian Academy of Sciences), The Geddes Postgraduate Award(The Australian Museum), The M.A. Ingram Trust, The Ecological Society of Australia, The Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia and the University of Melbourne. We thank the following people for their assistance in the field: F. Bowie, A. Gloury, N. Briscoe as well as the French Island Parks Victoria staff, past and present, particularly M. Douglas, T. Easy, D. Stephenson, R. Tilley, S. Coutts, A. Leddon, G. Briggs, B. Fox and D. Jackson. We also thank R. Johnston, A. King, G. Cooke and the Australian Museum DNA laboratory for their technical assistance, A. Divljan for statistical advice and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on previous drafts of this manuscript. All field work was conducted under Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment Wildlife Research Permits (10003301 and 10004552) and all procedures were approved by the University of Melbourne Animal Ethics Committee (05023/0808507).