Male body size predicts reproductive success but not within-clutch paternity patterns in gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus)

In many vertebrates, body size is an important driver of variation in male reproductive success. Larger, more fit individuals are more likely to dominate mating opportunities, skewing siring success and resulting in lower effective population sizes and genetic diversity. The mating system of the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) has been characterized as both female-defense and scramble-competition polygyny. Mating systems are typically not fixed and can be influenced by factors such as population density, demographic structure, and environmental conditions; however, most populations will have a predominant strategy that results from local conditions. We assessed how male body size influences patterns of paternity and reproductive success in a natural population of gopher tortoises in Florida, USA. Using microsatellites, we assigned parentage of 220 hatchlings from 31 nests collected during two reproductive seasons. Larger males were significantly more likely to sire offspring and s...