EDMONTON, Alberta, July 18 (UPI) -- A Canadian study of the DNA of canids in the far north has revealed foxes, once thought to be monogamous are, in fact quite frisky.
Researchers from the University of Alberta and the University of Quebec have found DNA evidence of polyandry, multiple paternities and plural breeding among adult foxes and their offspring.
Until recently, wildlife biologists considered many species of canines -- including foxes, wolves and coyotes -- to be monogamous. But molecular genetic techniques are starting to reveal complexities in mammalian mating systems that were not apparent from observational studies of animal social behavior.
Using a technique called microsatellite DNA fingerprinting, the Canadian researchers collected DNA samples from 49 arctic foxes trapped in dens across the far north.
In three-quarters of the dens, DNA fingerprints showed the fox cubs were the offspring of a single male and female. But in a quarter of the cases, the arctic foxes proved to be less exclusive, with one litter providing the first genetic evidence of polyandry with multiple paternities.
The study is reported in a recent issue of the Canadian Journal of Zoology.
