PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Gibbs, H. Lisle
AU  - Weatherhead, Patrick J.
AU  - Boag, Peter T.
AU  - White, Bradley N.
AU  - Tabak, Lisa M.
AU  - Hoysak, Drew J.
TI  - Realized Reproductive Success of Polygynous Red-Winged Blackbirds Revealed by DNA Markers
AID  - 10.1126/science.250.4986.1394
DP  - 1990 Dec 07
TA  - Science
PG  - 1394--1397
VI  - 250
IP  - 4986
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/250/4986/1394.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/250/4986/1394.full
SO  - Science1990 Dec 07; 250
AB  - Hypervariable genetic markers, including a novel locus-specific marker detected by a mouse major histocompatibility complex probe, reveal that multiple paternity is common in families of polygynous red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus). Almost half of all nests contained at least one chick resulting from an extra-pair fertilization, usually by a neighboring male. Genetically based measures of reproductive success show that individual males realize more than 20% of their overall success from extra-pair fertilizations, on average, and that this form of mating behavior confounds traditional measures of male success. The importance of alternative reproductive tactics in a polygynous bird is quantified, and the results challenge previous explanations for the evolution of avian polygny.