Kin-Recognition Mechanisms in Cooperative Breeding Systems: Ecological Causes and Behavioral Consequences of Variation

2008 ◽  
pp. 175-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Komdeur ◽  
David S. Richardson ◽  
Ben Hatchwell
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Breeding Systems ◽  
Behavioral Consequences ◽  
Kin Recognition Mechanisms

scholarly journals Climate and the distribution of cooperative breeding in mammals

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 160897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Lukas ◽  
Tim Clutton-Brock
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Breeding Systems ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Alloparental Care ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Social Monogamy ◽  
Dominant Group ◽  
Group Members

Cooperative breeding systems, in which non-breeding individuals provide care for the offspring of dominant group members, occur in less than 1% of mammals and are associated with social monogamy and the production of multiple offspring per birth (polytocy). Here, we show that the distribution of alloparental care by non-breeding subordinates is associated with habitats where annual rainfall is low. A possible reason for this association is that the females of species found in arid environments are usually polytocous and this may have facilitated the evolution of alloparental care.

Multiple paternity and kin recognition mechanisms in a guppy population

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (18) ◽  
pp. 3938-3946 ◽  
Author(s):  
TIMOTHY J. A. HAIN ◽  
BRYAN D. NEFF
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Kin Recognition Mechanisms

scholarly journals Same father, same face: Deep learning reveals selection for signaling kinship in a wild primate

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (22) ◽  
pp. eaba3274 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. E. Charpentier ◽  
M. Harté ◽  
C. Poirotte ◽  
J. Meric de Bellefon ◽  
B. Laubi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Phenotypic Evolution ◽  
Mandrillus Sphinx ◽  
Facial Resemblance ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Kin Recognition Mechanisms

Many animals rely on facial traits to recognize their kin; however, whether these traits have been selected specifically for this function remains unknown. Using deep learning for face recognition, we present the first evidence that interindividual facial resemblance has been selected to signal paternal kinship. Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) live in matrilineal societies, in which females spend their entire lives not only with maternal half-sisters (MHS) but also with paternal half-sisters (PHS). We show that PHS have more differentiated social relationships compared to nonkin, suggesting the existence of kin recognition mechanisms. We further demonstrate that facial resemblance increases with genetic relatedness. However, PHS resemble each other visually more than MHS do, despite both kin categories sharing similar degrees of genetic relatedness. This paternally derived facial resemblance among PHS indicates selection to facilitate kin recognition. This study also highlights the potential of artificial intelligence to study phenotypic evolution.

scholarly journals Diverse cooperative breeding systems in birds.

2005 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhiro Eguchi
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Breeding Systems

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 Life histories and the evolution of cooperative breeding in mammals

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1744) ◽  
pp. 4065-4070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Lukas ◽  
Tim Clutton-Brock
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Breeding Systems ◽  
Life History Parameters ◽  
Socially Monogamous ◽  
Group Members

While the evolution of cooperative breeding systems (where non-breeding helpers participate in rearing young produced by dominant females) has been restricted to lineages with socially monogamous mating systems where coefficients of relatedness between group members are usually high, not all monogamous lineages have produced species with cooperative breeding systems, suggesting that other factors constrain the evolution of cooperative breeding. Previous studies have suggested that life-history parameters, including longevity, may constrain the evolution of cooperative breeding. Here, we show that transitions to cooperative breeding across the mammalian phylogeny have been restricted to lineages where females produce multiple offspring per birth. We find no support for effects of longevity or of other life-history parameters. We suggest that the evolution of cooperative breeding has been restricted to monogamous lineages where helpers have the potential to increase the reproductive output of breeders.

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.

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