16
September 2004
Clutch control
A novel reproductive strategy has been identified in the common frog Rana temporaria. The species is widespread in Europe and widely studied in several fields of biology, but this elaborate behaviour, 'clutch piracy', seems not to have been noted before. In essence for pirate males the main 'object of desire' is not a female but clutches of eggs, which they clasp as they would a female. Fertilization success of eggs increases in clutches in which a pirate gained access to the interior eggs, providing an advantage to the female as well as spreading the male's genes.
Post-mating clutch piracy in an amphibian
DAVID R. VIEITES , SANDRA NIETO-ROM�N, MARTA BARLUENGA,
ANTONIO PALANCA, MIGUEL VENCES & AXEL MEYER
Nature 431, 305–308 (2004); doi:10.1038/nature02879
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