Kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance in wild birds: the first evidence for individual kin-related odour recognition

2012 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Bonadonna ◽  
Ana Sanz-Aguilar
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance ◽  
Wild Birds

scholarly journals Inbreeding Avoidance through Kin Recognition: Choosy Females Boost Male Dispersal

2003 ◽  
Vol 162 (5) ◽  
pp. 638-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Lehmann ◽  
Nicolas Perrin
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance ◽  
Male Dispersal

Does low fecundity reflect kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance in the mandarin vole (Microtus mandarinus)?

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (12) ◽  
pp. 2150-2155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tai Fadao ◽  
Sun Ruyong ◽  
Wang Tingzheng
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance ◽  
The Other ◽  
Phenotype Matching ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Rearing Conditions ◽  
Vaginal Cytology ◽  
Cross Fostering ◽  
Mandarin Vole

The effects of kin recognition on estrus and breeding in mandarin voles (Microtus mandarinus) were investigated in the laboratory using a cross-fostering method. Nonsiblings reared apart produced significantly more litters than siblings or nonsiblings reared together. These results may support the hypothesis that familiarity through association before weaning plays an important role in kin recognition. On the other hand, nonsiblings reared apart produced significantly more litters than siblings reared apart. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in number of litters between siblings reared apart and siblings reared together. These observations show that phenotype-matching mechanisms of kin recognition may operate in conjunction with familiarity in kin recognition in this species. Through observing the vaginal cytology of female mandarin voles paired with different males in different rearing conditions, it was found that females paired with familiar males (through association before weaning) produced significantly fewer estrous smears than females paired with unfamiliar males (reared by different parents before weaning), regardless of genetic relatedness. Thus, using vaginal cytology as an indicator of estrus, it was found that familiarity through association before weaning may retard the first estrus of female mandarin voles.

scholarly journals It’s all relative: population estimates enhance kin recognition in the guppy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchel J. Daniel
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Estimation Theory ◽  
Population Estimation ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance ◽  
Population Estimate ◽  
Population Estimates ◽  
Recent Theory ◽  
Relative Population ◽  
Phenotype Matching ◽  
Phenotypic Similarity

AbstractKin recognition plays a fundamental role in social evolution, enabling active inbreeding avoidance, nepotism, and promoting cooperative social organization. Many organisms recognize kin based on phenotypic similarity – a process called phenotype matching – by comparing information associated with their own phenotype against the phenotypes of conspecifics. However, recent theory demonstrates that to accurately judge phenotypic similarity (and hence, relatedness), individuals require estimates of the population’s distribution of phenotypes as a “frame of reference.” Here, I use the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) to provide the first empirical test of this population estimation theory. I varied the phenotypic distributions of the groups in which focal individuals developed and found that, as adults, their patterns of inbreeding avoidance and nepotistic intrasexual competition differed as predicted by population estimation theory. Individuals reared with conspecifics more similar to themselves treated novel conspecifics as less closely related, suggesting a shifted population estimate. Individuals reared with more phenotypically variable conspecifics exhibited less extreme kin discrimination, suggesting a broader population estimate. These results provide experimental evidence that population estimates inform phenotype matching, and are acquired plastically through social experience. By calibrating phenotype matching to the population distribution of phenotypes, population estimation enhances kin recognition, increasing opportunities for the evolution of inbreeding avoidance and nepotism.

scholarly journals Cooperatively breeding banded mongooses do not avoid inbreeding through familiarity-based kin recognition

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monil Khera ◽  
Kevin Arbuckle ◽  
Joseph I. Hoffman ◽  
Jennifer L. Sanderson ◽  
Michael A. Cant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance ◽  
Breeding Systems ◽  
Direct Care ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Communal Breeding ◽  
Phenotype Matching ◽  
Cooperatively Breeding ◽  
The Right

Abstract In species that live in family groups, such as cooperative breeders, inbreeding is usually avoided through the recognition of familiar kin. For example, individuals may avoid mating with conspecifics encountered regularly in infancy, as these likely include parents, siblings, and closely related alloparents. Other mechanisms have also been reported, albeit rarely; for example, individuals may compare their own phenotype to that of others, with close matches representing likely relatives (“phenotype matching”). However, determinants of the primary inbreeding avoidance mechanisms used by a given species remain poorly understood. We use 24 years of life history and genetic data to investigate inbreeding avoidance in wild cooperatively breeding banded mongooses (Mungos mungo). We find that inbreeding avoidance occurs within social groups but is far from maximised (mean pedigree relatedness between 351 breeding pairs = 0.144). Unusually for a group-living vertebrate, we find no evidence that females avoid breeding with males with which they are familiar in early life. This is probably explained by communal breeding; females give birth in tight synchrony and pups are cared for communally, thus reducing the reliability of familiarity-based proxies of relatedness. We also found little evidence that inbreeding is avoided by preferentially breeding with males of specific age classes. Instead, females may exploit as-yet unknown proxies of relatedness, for example, through phenotype matching, or may employ postcopulatory inbreeding avoidance mechanisms. Investigation of species with unusual breeding systems helps to identify constraints against inbreeding avoidance and contributes to our understanding of the distribution of inbreeding across species. Significance statement Choosing the right mate is never easy, but it may be particularly difficult for banded mongooses. In most social animals, individuals avoid mating with those that were familiar to them as infants, as these are likely to be relatives. However, we show that this rule does not work in banded mongooses. Here, the offspring of several mothers are raised in large communal litters by their social group, and parents seem unable to identify or direct care towards their own pups. This may make it difficult to recognise relatives based on their level of familiarity and is likely to explain why banded mongooses frequently inbreed. Nevertheless, inbreeding is lower than expected if mates are chosen at random, suggesting that alternative pre- or post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance mechanisms are used.

scholarly journals Decoding an olfactory mechanism of kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance in a primate

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marylène Boulet ◽  
Marie JE Charpentier ◽  
Christine M Drea
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance

scholarly journals Chemical kin label in seabirds

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 807-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélie Célérier ◽  
Cécile Bon ◽  
Aurore Malapert ◽  
Pauline Palmas ◽  
Francesco Bonadonna
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Chemical Signals ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Ecological Information ◽  
As Species ◽  
Olfactory Anatomy ◽  
Behavioural Experiments ◽  
First Time ◽  
Olfactory Abilities

Chemical signals yield critical socio-ecological information in many animals, such as species, identity, social status or sex, but have been poorly investigated in birds. Recent results showed that chemical signals are used to recognize their nest and partner by some petrel seabirds whose olfactory anatomy is well developed and which possess a life-history propitious to olfactory-mediated behaviours. Here, we investigate whether blue petrels ( Halobaena caerulea ) produce some chemical labels potentially involved in kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance. To overcome methodological constraints of chemical analysis and field behavioural experiments, we used an indirect behavioural approach, based on mice olfactory abilities in discriminating odours. We showed that mice (i) can detect odour differences between individual petrels, (ii) perceive a high odour similarity between a chick and its parents, and (iii) perceive this similarity only before fledging but not during the nestling developmental stage. Our results confirm the existence of an individual olfactory signature in blue petrels and show for the first time, to our knowledge, that birds may exhibit an olfactory kin label, which may have strong implications for inbreeding avoidance.

scholarly journals Olfactory kin recognition in a songbird

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Tobias Krause ◽  
Oliver Krüger ◽  
Philip Kohlmeier ◽  
Barbara A. Caspers
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance ◽  
Olfactory Cues ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Close Relatives

The ability to recognize close relatives in order to cooperate or to avoid inbreeding is widespread across all taxa. One accepted mechanism for kin recognition in birds is associative learning of visual or acoustic cues. However, how could individuals ever learn to recognize unfamiliar kin? Here, we provide the first evidence for a novel mechanism of kin recognition in birds. Zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ) fledglings are able to distinguish between kin and non-kin based on olfactory cues alone. Since olfactory cues are likely to be genetically based, this finding establishes a neglected mechanism of kin recognition in birds, particularly in songbirds, with potentially far-reaching consequences for both kin selection and inbreeding avoidance.

Inbreeding avoidance and mate choice in the mandarin vole (Microtus mandarinus)

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (12) ◽  
pp. 2119-2125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tai Fadao ◽  
Wang Tingzheng ◽  
Zhao Yajun
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance ◽  
Main Mechanism ◽  
Matched Pair ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Significant Preference ◽  
Mandarin Vole

Five experiments were conducted to test the performance of adult mandarin voles (Microtus mandarinus) in discriminating and preferring siblings versus nonsiblings raised in different conditions. The results indicate that adult males and estrous females displayed a significant preference for individuals raised by other parents over those raised by the same parent, regardless of genetic relatedness. The effect appears to depend on the presence of siblings during development. This shows that familiarity through association before weaning plays an important role in kin recognition. The preference of reproductively active mandarin voles for unfamiliar voles is interpreted as inbreeding avoidance. Although Wilcoxon's matched-pair tests showed no significant preferences of adult mandarin voles for siblings over nonsiblings raised by the same parents or by other parents, mean durations of visiting, mounting, and lying near nonsiblings were higher than those for siblings. This implies that genetic relatedness may have some effect on kin recognition, although familiarity is the main mechanism.

Possible olfaction-based mechanisms in human kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance

2003 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn E Weisfeld ◽  
Tiffany Czilli ◽  
Krista A Phillips ◽  
James A Gall ◽  
Cary M Lichtman
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document