Some clutches fathered by two or three
male crocodiles
Date: March 16, 2016
Source: PLOS
Genetic analysis revealed that critically
endangered Orinoco crocodile hatchlings from the same clutch may have multiple
fathers, according to a study published March 16, 2016 in the open-access
journal PLOS ONE by Natalia Rossi Lafferriere from Columbia University and
colleagues.
Understanding reproductive behavior helps
to inform reintroduction programs for critically endangered species. The
Orinoco crocodile is one of the most threatened crocodile species in the world
and has been reduced to only a few wild populations in Venezuela and Colombia Venezuela Orinoco
crocodiles, researchers collected twenty egg clutches for incubation in the lab
for one year and then released the juveniles. They also conducted genetic
analysis on the over 330 hatchlings to infer paternity.
They inferred from genetic analysis that
there were 14 mothers and 16 fathers of the 20 clutches and that half of the
clutches were fathered by two or three males. They also found that fathers
contributed unequally to offspring, with six of the 14 inferred males fathering
90% of the total offspring, and three of those six males fathering more than
70% of the total offspring.
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