scholarly journals Kin selection and polygyny: can relatedness lower the polygyny threshold?

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 140409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaute Grønstøl ◽  
Donald Blomqvist ◽  
Angela Pauliny ◽  
Richard H. Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Dna Fingerprinting ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Nest Defence ◽  
Natal Philopatry ◽  
Vanellus Vanellus ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Breeding Resources

Resource polygyny incurs costs of having to share breeding resources for female breeders. When breeding with a relative, however, such costs may be lessened by indirect fitness benefits through kin selection, while benefits from mutualistic behaviour, such as communal defence, may increase. If so, females should be less resistant to sharing a territory with a related female than with a non-related one. We investigated whether kin selection may lower the threshold of breeding polygynously, predicting a closer relatedness between polygynous females breeding on the same territory than between females breeding on different territories. Northern lapwings, Vanellus vanellus , are suitable for testing this hypothesis as they are commonly polygynous, both sexes take part in nest defence, and the efficiency of nest defence increases with the number of defenders. Using an index of relatedness derived from DNA fingerprinting, we found that female lapwings that shared polygynous dyads were on average twice as closely related as were random females. Furthermore, relatedness did not correlate with distance between breeders, indicating that our findings cannot be explained by natal philopatry alone. Our results suggest that the polygyny threshold in lapwings may be lowered by inclusive fitness advantages of kin selection.

Male relatedness, lekking behavior patterns, and the potential for kin selection in a Neotropical hummingbird

The Auk ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clementina González ◽  
Juan Francisco Ornelas
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Isolation By Distance ◽  
Behavior Patterns ◽  
Song Type ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Gain Access

AbstractSeveral models have been proposed to explain the evolution of leks, both in terms of direct or indirect fitness benefits, and in survival. According to kin selection theory, male skewed reproductive success leads unsuccessful males to join successful relatives to increase their inclusive fitness, because their genes would be transmitted indirectly to the next generation. Wedge-tailed Sabrewing (Campylopterus curvipennis) is a hummingbird species whose males congregate at leks, in which spatially clustered males sing a particular song with marked differences among neighboring males (song neighborhoods). The maintenance of song neighborhoods presumably depends on juvenile newcomers copying the song type of their neighbors when they establish within a lek, and their acceptance could be more likely if a relative has already settled down in a territory, which in turn could offer fitness benefits explained by kin selection theory. To investigate the potential for kin selection in this species, we genotyped 126 hummingbirds at 10 microsatellite loci and estimated pairwise relatedness among males at 6 leks and in 4 song neighborhoods within 1 focal lek. Within leks, most males were unrelated and only a few were relatives. Moreover, even though relatedness within leks was higher than between leks, it was not higher than 0, which is likely due to isolation by distance. Our results do not support the idea of kin selection as an important force acting on the formation of leks in this species. Additionally, we found no evidence for kin clustering within song neighborhoods, suggesting that juveniles attempting to settle in a lek have to learn the song of the neighborhood (regardless of their kinship) to gain access to territories.

Kin selection in Columbian ground squirrels: direct and indirect fitness benefits

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 524-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. STEPHEN DOBSON ◽  
VINCENT A. VIBLANC ◽  
COLINE M. ARNAUD ◽  
JAN O. MURIE
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Columbian Ground Squirrels

No support for relatedness and kin selection to explain high rates of conspecific brood parasitism in colonial Red-breasted Mergansers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Noel ◽  
Rodger Titman ◽  
Shawn R. Craik
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Conspecific Brood Parasitism ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Small Decline ◽  
Diurnal Period

Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) has been observed in approximately half of all species of waterfowl, a philopatric group in which breeding females are frequently locally related. It has been suggested that kin selection can facilitate the evolution of CBP in waterfowl via fitness benefits for the host and parasite. One model demonstrates that discrimination of related and unrelated parasites by the host must be sufficient for kinship to promote CBP, provided that costs of brood parasitism to host fitness are sufficiently low. We parameterized the model using demographic data and behavioural observations from a population of colonial Red-breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator (Linnaeus, 1758)) in which 47% of nests were parasitized by conspecifics. The costs of 1-3 foreign eggs to host hatching success were generally small (decline of 1.8% per additional egg). Nevertheless, model outputs revealed that brood parasites maximize their inclusive fitness by avoiding nests of relatives, primarily because of constraints on a host’s ability to detect parasites at the nest. Indeed, hosts spent <8% of the diurnal period at the nest during egg laying, a period when parasite activity is greatest. It is thus highly unlikely that relatedness and kin selection promote brood parasitism in this population.

scholarly journals Kinship affects investment by helpers in a cooperatively breeding bird

2010 ◽  
Vol 277 (1698) ◽  
pp. 3299-3306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ki-Baek Nam ◽  
Michelle Simeoni ◽  
Stuart P. Sharp ◽  
Ben J. Hatchwell
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Breeding Systems ◽  
Pedigree Information ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Cooperatively Breeding ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Fitness Benefits

Helping behaviour in cooperative breeding systems has been attributed to kin selection, but the relative roles of direct and indirect fitness benefits in the evolution of such systems remain a matter of debate. In theory, helpers could maximize the indirect fitness benefits of cooperation by investing more in broods with whom they are more closely related, but there is little evidence for such fine-scale adjustment in helper effort among cooperative vertebrates. In this study, we used the unusual cooperative breeding system of the long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus to test the hypothesis that the provisioning effort of helpers was positively correlated with their kinship to broods. We first use pedigrees and microsatellite genotypes to characterize the relatedness between helpers and breeders from a 14 year field study. We used both pedigree and genetic approaches because long-tailed tits have access to pedigree information acquired through social relationships, but any fitness consequences will be determined by genetic relatedness. We then show using both pedigrees and genetic relatedness estimates that alloparental investment by helpers increases as their relatedness to the recipients of their care increases. We conclude that kin selection has played a critical role in moulding the investment decisions of helpers in this cooperatively breeding species.

scholarly journals Kin selection in den sharing develops under limited availability of tree hollows for a forest marsupial

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1719) ◽  
pp. 2768-2776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam C. Banks ◽  
David B. Lindenmayer ◽  
Lachlan McBurney ◽  
David Blair ◽  
Emma J. Knight ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Tree Hollows ◽  
Hollow Trees ◽  
Resource Decline ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Hollow Tree

Animal social behaviour is not static with regard to environmental change. Flexibility in cooperative resource use may be an important response to resource decline, mediating the impacts of resource availability on fitness and demography. In forest ecosystems, hollow trees are key den resources for many species, but are declining worldwide owing to forestry. Altered patterns of den sharing may mediate the effects of the decline of this resource. We studied den-sharing interactions among hollow-dependent Australian mountain brushtail possums to investigate how spatial variation in hollow tree availability affects resource sharing and kin selection. Under reduced den availability, individuals used fewer dens and shared them less often. This suggests increased territoriality in the presence of resource competition. Further, there was a switch from kin avoidance to kin preference with decreasing hollow tree availability. This was driven primarily by a change in den sharing among siblings. The inclusive fitness benefits of den sharing with kin are likely to increase under resource-limiting conditions, but are potentially outweighed by the benefits of associating with non-relatives (avoidance of inbreeding or pathogen transmission) where dens are abundant. We discuss how predictions from social evolutionary theory can contribute to understanding animal responses to landscape change.

scholarly journals Food sharing in vampire bats: reciprocal help predicts donations more than relatedness or harassment

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1753) ◽  
pp. 20122573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald G. Carter ◽  
Gerald S. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
Food Sharing ◽  
Past Work ◽  
Vampire Bats ◽  
Helping Behaviour ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Recognition Errors

Common vampire bats often regurgitate food to roost-mates that fail to feed. The original explanation for this costly helping behaviour invoked both direct and indirect fitness benefits. Several authors have since suggested that food sharing is maintained solely by indirect fitness because non-kin food sharing could have resulted from kin recognition errors, indiscriminate altruism within groups, or harassment. To test these alternatives, we examined predictors of food-sharing decisions under controlled conditions of mixed relatedness and equal familiarity. Over a 2 year period, we individually fasted 20 vampire bats ( Desmodus rotundus ) and induced food sharing on 48 days. Surprisingly, donors initiated food sharing more often than recipients, which is inconsistent with harassment. Food received was the best predictor of food given across dyads, and 8.5 times more important than relatedness. Sixty-four per cent of sharing dyads were unrelated, approaching the 67 per cent expected if nepotism was absent. Consistent with social bonding, the food-sharing network was consistent and correlated with mutual allogrooming. Together with past work, these findings support the hypothesis that food sharing in vampire bats provides mutual direct fitness benefits, and is not explained solely by kin selection or harassment.

scholarly journals Inclusive fitness for in-laws

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 20180515 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Dyble ◽  
A. Gardner ◽  
L. Vinicius ◽  
A. B. Migliano
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Genetic Ancestry ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Future Reproduction ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Related Individuals ◽  
Shared Genetic

Cooperation among kin is common across the natural world and can be explained in terms of inclusive fitness theory, which holds that individuals can derive indirect fitness benefits from aiding genetically related individuals. However, human kinship includes not only genetic kin but also kin by marriage: our affines (in-laws) and spouses. Can cooperation between these genetically unrelated kin be reconciled with inclusive fitness theory? Here, we argue that although affinal kin and spouses do not necessarily share genetic ancestry, they may have shared genetic interests in future reproduction and, as such, can derive indirect fitness benefits though cooperating. We use standard inclusive fitness theory to derive a coefficient of shared reproductive interest ( s ) that predicts altruistic investment both in genetic kin and in spouses and affines. Specifically, a behaviour that reduces the fitness of the actor by c and increases the fitness of the recipient by b will be favoured by natural selection when sb > c . We suggest that the coefficient of shared reproductive interest may provide a valuable tool for understanding not only the evolution of human kinship but also cooperation and conflict across the natural world more generally.

scholarly journals Beyond promiscuity: mate-choice commitments in social breeding

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1613) ◽  
pp. 20120050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacobus J. Boomsma
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Sexual Partners ◽  
Eusocial Insects ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Variance In Reproductive Success

Obligate eusociality with distinct caste phenotypes has evolved from strictly monogamous sub-social ancestors in ants, some bees, some wasps and some termites. This implies that no lineage reached the most advanced form of social breeding, unless helpers at the nest gained indirect fitness values via siblings that were identical to direct fitness via offspring. The complete lack of re-mating promiscuity equalizes sex-specific variances in reproductive success. Later, evolutionary developments towards multiple queen-mating retained lifetime commitment between sexual partners, but reduced male variance in reproductive success relative to female's, similar to the most advanced vertebrate cooperative breeders. Here, I (i) discuss some of the unique and highly peculiar mating system adaptations of eusocial insects; (ii) address ambiguities that remained after earlier reviews and extend the monogamy logic to the evolution of soldier castes; (iii) evaluate the evidence for indirect fitness benefits driving the dynamics of (in)vertebrate cooperative breeding, while emphasizing the fundamental differences between obligate eusociality and cooperative breeding; (iv) infer that lifetime commitment is a major driver towards higher levels of organization in bodies, colonies and mutualisms. I argue that evolutionary informative definitions of social systems that separate direct and indirect fitness benefits facilitate transparency when testing inclusive fitness theory.

scholarly journals Trinidadian guppies use a social heuristic that can support cooperation among non-kin

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1934) ◽  
pp. 20200487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Safi K. Darden ◽  
Richard James ◽  
James M. Cave ◽  
Josefine Bohr Brask ◽  
Darren P. Croft
Keyword(s):  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Social Partner ◽  
Proximate Mechanisms ◽  
Cognitive Limitations ◽  
Fitness Benefits

Cooperation among non-kin is well documented in humans and widespread in non-human animals, but explaining the occurrence of cooperation in the absence of inclusive fitness benefits has proven a significant challenge. Current theoretical explanations converge on a single point: cooperators can prevail when they cluster in social space. However, we know very little about the real-world mechanisms that drive such clustering, particularly in systems where cognitive limitations make it unlikely that mechanisms such as score keeping and reputation are at play. Here, we show that Trinidadian guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ) use a ‘walk away’ strategy, a simple social heuristic by which assortment by cooperativeness can come about among mobile agents. Guppies cooperate during predator inspection and we found that when experiencing defection in this context, individuals prefer to move to a new social environment, despite having no prior information about this new social group. Our results provide evidence in non-human animals that individuals use a simple social partner updating strategy in response to defection, supporting theoretical work applying heuristics to understanding the proximate mechanisms underpinning the evolution of cooperation among non-kin.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document