R. Nielsen et al., Statistical approaches to paternity analysis in natural populations and applications to the North Atlantic humpback whale, GENETICS, 157(4), 2001, pp. 1673-1682
We present a new method for paternity analysis in natural populations that
is based on genotypic data that can take the sampling fi action of putative
parents into account. The method allows paternity assignment to be perform
ed in a decision theoretic framework. Simulations at e performed to evaluat
e the utility and robustness of the method and to assess how many loci are
necessary for reliable paternity: inference. In addition we present a metho
d for testing hypotheses regarding relative reproductive success of differe
nt ecologically or behaviorally defined groups as well as a new method for
estimating the current population size of males From genotypic data. This m
ethod is an extension of the Fractional paternity method to the case where
only a proportion of all putative fathers hav e been sampled. It can also b
e applied to provide abundance estimates of the number of breeding males fr
om genetic data. Throughout, the methods were applied to genotypic data col
lected from North Atlantic humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) to test
if the males that appear dominant during the mating season have a higher r
eproductive success than the subdominant males.