Abstract

The study of reproduction and mating beahavior constitutes a main issue in biology, ecology and evolution, given its relation with fitness traits. Here, we developed a simple microsatellite multiple assay to evaluate the mating strategy and male reproductive success of the marine gastropod Concholepas concholepas (Bruguiere, 1789), an important fishery resource and a key predator species of Chilean rocky shore communities. Concholepas concholepas is a dioecious species with internal fertilization, encapsulation, and long larval phase. In laboratory, adult males and females were cultivated in tanks, and 37 larvae from 5 different clutches were genotyped to run paternity analyses using seven microsatellite loci. Results showed that promiscuity is a common mating behavior in C. concholepas displaying an exceptionally high level of multipaternity and males participating as fathers in clutches from more than one female. This microsatellite multiple assay helped to improve our understanding of the reproductive beahavior of this ecological key species with high economic importance.