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In this month's Filthy Animals, Rachel tests the strength of monogamous bonds in the animal kingdom by seeing what the data says about their infidelity. As it turns out, even in species where pair bonds are key to the social survival of the animals, reckless passion can play a big role in their breeding systems. Our host graciously brings us examples ranging from the expected (cuckoos, the species that gives us the word "cuckold") to the obscure (carrion beetles, whose relationship drama plays out in carcasses the world over).

Rachel's Sources:

•  Wysocki, D., et al (2023). Low level of extra-pair paternity in an urban population of blackbirds. The European Zoological Journal, 90(1), 307–312. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750263.2023.2193433

• Gao, L.-F., Zhang, H.-Y., Zhang, W., Sun, Y.-H., Liang, M.-J. and Du, B. (2020), Effects of extra-pair paternity and maternity on the provisioning strategies of the Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cyanus. Ibis, 162: 627-636. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12800

• Li M-H, Välimäki K, Piha M, Pakkala T, Merilä J (2009) Extrapair Paternity and Maternity in the Three-Toed Woodpecker, Picoides tridactylus: Insights from Microsatellite-Based Parentage Analysis. PLoS ONE 4(11): e7895. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007895

• Niida, T., Yao, I., Nisimura, T. & Suzuki, S. (2024) Detection of extra-pair maternity in a carrion beetle under natural conditions. Ecological Entomology, 49(5), 734–738. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/een.13334

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