New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts

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^*Author for correspondence.
Z00025
Received and accepted 27 July 2000

Genetic monogamy mirrors social monogamy in the Fiordland crested penguin

IAN G. MCLEAN^*

Department of Zoology
University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch, New Zealand
email: ianm@kpbg.wa.gov.au

STEPHANIE D. KAYES

Centre for Conservation Biology
School of Biological Sciences
University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Auckland, New Zealand

JAN O. MURIE

Department of Zoology
University of Alberta
Edmonton
Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9

LLOYD S. DAVIS

Department of Zoology
University of Otago
P.O. Box 56
Dunedin, New Zealand

DAVID M. LAMBERT

Institute of Moleular Biosciences
Massey University
Private Bag 11 222
Palmerston North, New Zealand

^*Present address: Department of Zoology, University  of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6907,  Australia.

Abstract  Fiordland crested penguins (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus, henceforth tawaki) are restricted to the southwest coast of South Island, New Zealand where they nest in small isolated colonies of <25 pairs. Tawaki are socially monogamous and adults are philopatric: pair-bonds last some years, both resident adults participate in brooding and feeding of young, and birds regularly return to the same nest site or colony between years. To test whether tawaki are genetically as well as socially monogamous we assessed parentage in 24 families using multilocus minisatellite DNA fingerprinting. The DNA profiles of chicks were directly attributable to the resident male and female. There was no evidence supporting intraspecific brood parasitism or extra-pair fertilisations, although maternal attribution of one chick was ambiguous. Social monogamy appears to indicate genetic monogamy in this species.

Keywords  Fiordland crested penguins; paternity; monogamy; DNA fingerprinting

New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 2000, Vol. 27: 317-325

0301-4223/00/2704-0317 $7.00/0   (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 2000

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (465K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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