Paternity in humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae: Assessing polygyny and skew in male reproductive success

Mating system theory predicts that differences between the sexes in potential reproductive rate and an operational sex ratio skewed strongly towards males should result in intense male competition, polygynous mating and high variance in male reproductive success. Accordingly, humpback whales are thought to be polygynous with differences in reproduction among males related to alternative mating tactics. However, there is currently a lack of data on male reproductive success. We tested predictions regarding male reproductive success in humpback whales using molecular assessment of paternity in a population in the Mexican Pacific. Parentage analysis was conducted for 125 mother-calf pairs and a sample of 297 males using 13 microsatellite loci. Two separate analyses were conducted, based upon conservative and relaxed criteria for the assignment of paternity. In the conservative analysis, 40 paternities (32.5% of tested calves) were assigned among 33 males, whereas in the relaxed analysis, 62 paternities (49.6% of calves) were assigned among 51 males. Regardless of analysis, the distribution of male reproductive success deviated from a random mating model, with significantly larger than expected variance (conservative, P = 0.011; relaxed, P = 0.022), and significantly more than expected males siring three calves (conservative, P = 0.021; relaxed, P = 0.011). However, most successful males sired only one calf and no male was assigned more than three calves, so reproductive skew was not severe. Therefore we conclude that this population has a polygynous mating system, but without the large variation in male reproductive success expected by apparent skew in the operational sex ratio and degree of male competition for mates.