GENETIC MATERNITY AND PATERNITY IN A LOCAL-POPULATION OF ARMADILLOS ASSESSED BY MICROSATELLITE DNA MARKERS AND FIELD DATA

Genetic data from polymorphic microsatellite loci were employed to est imate paternity and maternity in a local population of nine-banded arm adillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in northern Florida. The parentage asse ssments took advantage of maximum likelihood procedures developed expr essly for situations when individuals of neither gender can be exclude d a priori as candidate parents. The molecular data for 290 individual s, interpreted alone and in conjunction with detailed biological and s patial information for the population, demonstrate high exclusion prob abilities and reasonably strong likelihoods of genetic parentage assig nment in many cases; low mean probabilities of successful reproductive contribution to the local population by individual armadillo adults i n a given year; and statistically significant microspatial association s of parents and their offspring. Results suggest that molecular assay s of highly polymorphic genetic systems can add considerable power to assessments of biological parentage in natural populations even when n either parent is otherwise known.