Paternity exclusion and dominance in captive Red-necked Wallabies, Macropus rufogriseus (Marsupialia: Macropodidae).

Abstract

The relationship between dominance rank and paternity was examined in a captive group of Red-necked Wallabies, Macropus rufogriseus. Blood samples were collected from 15 wallabies surviving to the young-at-foot stage as well as from their mothers and all their potential fathers. The alleles present for two polymorphic plasma proteins, albumin and phosphoglucose isomerase, were determined electrophoretically for all wallabies. Dominance relationships were determined by the outcome of agonistic encounters. Alpha-status alternated between two of the three large males(#I and #3). Because of the small number of proteins examined, it was not possible to identify a single, sexually mature male as the probable father for each of the 15 wallabies surviving to the at-foot stage. The probable father of four of these was identified as#3. For a further two (#24 and n1), the probable father was reduced to one of two (#3 or #7) and one of four (#3, #8, #9 and #10) males. When #1 was the alpha-male he did not father at least 30 % (n = 10) of young surviving to the at-foot stage. While the difference was not significant, #3 fathered a greater proportion of the wallabies surviving to the at-foot stage when he was the alpha-male compared to when he was not ( 40 % vs 20 %, or 60 % vs 30 % if he was assumed to have fathered #24 and n1).