Journal article 102 views 4 downloads
Life-history and genetic relationships in cooperatively breeding dwarf mongoose groups
,
Amy Morris-Drake ,
Julie M. Kern ,
Gabrielle M. K. Howell ,
Jeanette Wentzel ,
Andrew N. Radford ,
Hazel Nichols
Royal Society Open Science, Volume: 11, Issue: 10, Start page: 241125
Swansea University Author:
Hazel Nichols
-
PDF | Version of Record
© 2024 The Author(s). Distrubuted under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
Download (1.07MB)
DOI (Published version): 10.1098/rsos.241125
Abstract
Cooperatively breeding societies show distinct interspecific variations in social and genetic organization. Long-term studies provide invaluable data to further our understanding of the evolution and maintenance of cooperative breeding but have also demonstrated how variation exists within species....
| Published in: | Royal Society Open Science |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2054-5703 |
| Published: |
The Royal Society
2024
|
| Online Access: |
Check full text
|
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67714 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Abstract: |
Cooperatively breeding societies show distinct interspecific variations in social and genetic organization. Long-term studies provide invaluable data to further our understanding of the evolution and maintenance of cooperative breeding but have also demonstrated how variation exists within species. Here we integrate life-history, behavioural and genetic data from a long-term study of dwarf mongooses Helogale parvula in South Africa to document mating, breeding, dispersal and relatedness patterns in this population and compare them to those found in a Tanzanian population at the other extreme of the species’ range. Our genetic data reveal high levels of reproductive skew, above that expected through observational data. Dispersal was male-biased and was seen more frequently towards the onset of the breeding season, but females also regularly switched between groups. These patterns of breeding and dispersal resulted in a genetically structured population: individuals were more related to groupmates than outsiders, apart from the unrelated dominant pair, ultimately resulting in reduced inbreeding risk. Our results also demonstrate that dwarf mongooses are largely consistent in their social structure across their sub-Saharan distribution. This work demonstrates the direct and indirect pathways to reproductive success for dwarf mongooses and helps to explain the maintenance of cooperative breeding in the species. |
|---|---|
| Keywords: |
cooperative breeding, social evolution, dispersal, genetic relatedness, helping behaviour, reproductive skew |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
The Dwarf Mongoose Research Project was supported by grants from the European Research Council (682253) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NE/W00545X/1) awarded to ANR. |
| Issue: |
10 |
| Start Page: |
241125 |