Multiple paternity and differential male breeding success in wild ship rats (Rattus rattus)
Multiple paternity increases the genetic diversity of litters, hence could have two important implications for the control of invasive pests in which multiple paternity is common. (1) Migrating pregnant females could establish a new population with substantial genetic variation from the first generation; (2) Existing populations could recover from a control operation with minimal bottleneck effect. We therefore sought information on the extent of this character in ship rats (Rattus rattus), and on the probability of pregnant females avoiding capture or moving to new areas.