Research overview: microsatellite-based paternity analysis in felids

Microsatellite genetic markers have made it possible to assign parentage in wild and captive cats, resolving questions about mating systems that behavior alone cannot answer. This overview surveys the use of microsatellites for paternity analysis in felids, including how variable markers are genotyped and matched between offspring and candidate parents. It reviews applications from confirming paternity in lion coalitions to detecting multiple paternity in litters and verifying studbook records in captive populations. The review connects molecular paternity to broader questions of reproductive skew, dispersal, and population structure. Understanding microsatellite paternity analysis clarifies how genetic tools transformed the study of felid reproduction, allowing direct measurement of who reproduces with whom in complex social systems.