Abstract

Semelparity has been demonstrated in males of several species of Australian dasyurid marsupials. Although semelparity also has been reported in some species of neotropical didelphid marsupials, no study has conclusively demonstrated its occurrence based on survival rate estimates from field studies of marked individuals. In this study, we demonstrate that the survival rates of males of a Neotropical didelphid marsupial, the Brazilian gracile mouse opossum (Gracilinanus microtarsus), decrease sharply after the beginning of the breeding season in a cerrado remnant. However, mortality of the males after mating is not complete and a small percentage of them may survive to breed again in a 2nd breeding season. Examination of the demographic data presented here conclusively demonstrates that G. microtarsus is best described as partially semelparous.

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