Female sexual agency and frequent extra-pair copulations, but no extra-pair paternity, in Nazca boobies (Sula granti).

ABSTRACT: Extra-pair copulations (EPCs) are the poorly known antecedents of extra-pair fertilizations (EPFs) in birds. EPFs occur in most bird species that have been examined, but sexual conflict will generally reward females hiding their EPCs from males attempting to protect their paternity. EPCs will be difficult for researchers to document, and necessarily underestimated, in that case. We measured EPC behaviors and EPF frequency in a colonial seabird, the Nazca booby Sula granti, in which all copulations occur in a visually open setting with numerous possible copulatory partners readily available. Females are larger and more physically powerful than males, and are the numerically limiting sex, perhaps limiting options for males to control females. We found that all copulations were voluntary, and

SUBMITTER: Anderson DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12574908 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature