Complex patterns of sex-biased demography in canines

Abstract

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION RESULTS DISCUSSION METHODS Data availability REFERENCES Studies of genetic variation have shown that the demographic history of dogs has been extremely complex, involving multiple bottleneck and admixture events. However, existing studies have not explored the variance in the number of reproducing males and females, and whether it has changed across evolutionary time. While male-biased mating practices, such as male-biased migration and multiple paternity, have been observed in wolves, recent breeding practices could have led to female-biased mating patterns in breed dogs. In addition, breed dogs are thought to have experienced the popular sire effect, where a small number of males father many offspring with a large number of females. Here we use genetic variation data to test how widespr ...