scholarly journals Inclusive Fitness of Male and Facultatively Social Female Nesting Behavior in the Socially Polymorphic Bee, Ceratina australensis (Hymenoptera: Xylocopinae)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L Oppenheimer ◽  
Sandra M Rehan
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Relative Fitness ◽  
Natal Nest ◽  
Carpenter Bee ◽  
Nesting Sites ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Reproductive Females ◽  
Mating Biology

Abstract Male hymenopterans do not typically provide help with nest construction or maintenance. This is thought to be due to the decreased relatedness of males to their siblings compared to sisters, and selection for outbreeding resulting in male dispersal from natal nesting sites. However, some instances of male ‘helping’ behaviors have been observed and can usually be explained by increased access to mating with resident females. Here we report on the first observations of cohabiting males within the nests of reproductive females of the facultatively social small carpenter bee, Ceratina australensis. Social nesting in C. australensis occurs at a consistently low rate across populations. We used microsatellites markers to determine relatedness, combined with 3 yr of nest demographic data collected across three populations, to assess the relative fitness of reproductive, nonreproductive, and male individuals cohabiting in reproductive nests. We found that males were brothers of reproductive females, both remaining in their natal nest. However, there was no evidence that they were mating with their sisters across all nests observed. Males in reproductive nests did not gain any direct or indirect fitness benefits as they did not sire any brood and their presence did not increase brood productivity or survivorship. It is possible that males were waiting to mate with nieces who had not yet emerged. Why males were tolerated remains unknown. Mating biology is an important consideration in social theory which requires additional empirical studies. Future long-term studies are needed to capture unusual social behaviors including male nesting behaviors.

A review on crocodilian nesting habitats and their characterisation via remote sensing

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Banon ◽  
Eduardo Arraut ◽  
Francisco Villamarín ◽  
Boris Marioni ◽  
Gabriel Moulatlet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Site Distribution ◽  
Nesting Site ◽  
Nesting Sites ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
Reproductive Females ◽  
Remote Sensing Methods

Abstract Crocodilians usually remain inside or near their nests during most vulnerable life stages (as eggs, neonates and reproductive females). Thus, protection of nesting sites is one of the most appropriate conservation actions for these species. Nesting sites are often found across areas with difficult access, making remote sensing a valuable tool used to derive environmental variables for characterisation of nesting habitats. In this study, we (i) review crocodilian nesting habitats worldwide to identify key variables for nesting site distribution: proximity to open-water, open-water stability, vegetation, light, precipitation, salinity, soil properties, temperature, topography, and flooding status, (ii) present a summary of the relative importance of these variables for each crocodilian species, (iii) identify knowledge gaps in the use of remote sensing methods currently used to map potential crocodilian nesting sites, and (iv) provide insight into how these remotely sensed variables can be derived to promote research on crocodilian ecology and conservation. We show that few studies have used remote sensing and that the range of images and methods used comprises a tiny fraction of what is available at little to no cost. Finally, we discuss how the combined use of remote sensing methods – optical, radar, and laser – may help overcome difficulties routinely faced in nest mapping (e.g., cloud cover, flooding beneath the forest canopy, or complicated relief) in a relevant way to crocodilians and to other semiaquatic vertebrates in different environments.

scholarly journals Males harm females less when competing with familiar relatives

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1867) ◽  
pp. 20171984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel J. Lymbery ◽  
Leigh W. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Callosobruchus Maculatus ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Offspring Production ◽  
Social Familiarity ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Female Lifespan

Sexual conflict occurs when reproductive partners have different fitness optima, and can lead to the evolution of traits in one sex that inflict fitness costs on the opposite sex. Recently, it has been proposed that antagonism by males towards females should be reduced when they compete with relatives, because reducing the future productivity of a female would result in an indirect fitness cost for a harmful male. We tested this prediction in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus , the males of which harm females with genital spines and pre-copulatory harassment. We compared lifespan, lifetime egg production and lifetime offspring production among females housed with groups of males that varied in their familiarity and relatedness. Females produced significantly more eggs and offspring when grouped with males who were both related and familiar to each other. There was no effect of male relatedness or familiarity on female lifespan. Our results suggest that males plastically adjust their harmfulness towards females in response to changes in inclusive fitness payoffs, and that in this species both genetic relatedness and social familiarity mediate this effect.

scholarly journals Male relatedness and familiarity are required to modulate male-induced harm to females in Drosophila

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1860) ◽  
pp. 20170441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Le Page ◽  
Irem Sepil ◽  
Ewan Flintham ◽  
Tommaso Pizzari ◽  
Pau Carazo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Female Reproduction ◽  
Fitness Effects ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Female Lifespan

Males compete over mating and fertilization, and often harm females in the process. Inclusive fitness theory predicts that increasing relatedness within groups of males may relax competition and discourage male harm of females as males gain indirect benefits. Recent studies in Drosophila melanogaster are consistent with these predictions, and have found that within-group male relatedness increases female fitness, though others have found no effects. Importantly, these studies did not fully disentangle male genetic relatedness from larval familiarity, so the extent to which modulation of harm to females is explained by male familiarity remains unclear. Here we performed a fully factorial design, isolating the effects of male relatedness and larval familiarity on female harm. While we found no differences in male courtship or aggression, there was a significant interaction between male genetic relatedness and familiarity on female reproduction and survival. Relatedness among males increased female lifespan, reproductive lifespan and overall reproductive success, but only when males were familiar. By showing that both male relatedness and larval familiarity are required to modulate female harm, these findings reconcile previous studies, shedding light on the potential role of indirect fitness effects on sexual conflict and the mechanisms underpinning kin recognition in fly populations.

scholarly journals Helping in cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits: a test of Hamilton's rule

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1642) ◽  
pp. 20130565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben J. Hatchwell ◽  
Philippa R. Gullett ◽  
Mark J. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Social Evolution ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Alloparental Care ◽  
Hamilton’S Rule ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Cooperatively Breeding ◽  
Helping Behaviour ◽  
Hamilton's Rule

Inclusive fitness theory provides the conceptual framework for our current understanding of social evolution, and empirical studies suggest that kin selection is a critical process in the evolution of animal sociality. A key prediction of inclusive fitness theory is that altruistic behaviour evolves when the costs incurred by an altruist ( c ) are outweighed by the benefit to the recipient ( b ), weighted by the relatedness of altruist to recipient ( r ), i.e. Hamilton's rule rb > c . Despite its central importance in social evolution theory, there have been relatively few empirical tests of Hamilton's rule, and hardly any among cooperatively breeding vertebrates, leading some authors to question its utility. Here, we use data from a long-term study of cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits Aegithalos caudatus to examine whether helping behaviour satisfies Hamilton's condition for the evolution of altruism. We show that helpers are altruistic because they incur survival costs through the provision of alloparental care for offspring. However, they also accrue substantial benefits through increased survival of related breeders and offspring, and despite the low average relatedness of helpers to recipients, these benefits of helping outweigh the costs incurred. We conclude that Hamilton's rule for the evolution of altruistic helping behaviour is satisfied in this species.

scholarly journals Testing predictions of inclusive fitness theory in inbreeding relatives with biparental care

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1916) ◽  
pp. 20191933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Gow ◽  
Peter Arcese ◽  
Danielle Dagenais ◽  
Rebecca J. Sardell ◽  
Scott Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Mating System ◽  
Feeding Rate ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
Extra Pair Paternity ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Parental Feeding ◽  
Focal Male

Inclusive fitness theory predicts that parental care will vary with relatedness between potentially caring parents and offspring, potentially shaping mating system evolution. Systems with extra-pair paternity (EPP), and hence variable parent–brood relatedness, provide valuable opportunities to test this prediction. However, existing theoretical and empirical studies assume that a focal male is either an offspring's father with no inbreeding, or is completely unrelated. We highlight that this simple dichotomy does not hold given reproductive interactions among relatives, complicating the effect of EPP on parent–brood relatedness yet providing new opportunities to test inclusive fitness theory. Accordingly, we tested hierarchical hypotheses relating parental feeding rate to parent–brood relatedness, parent kinship and inbreeding, using song sparrows ( Melospiza melodia ) experiencing natural variation in relatedness. As predicted, male and female feeding rates increased with relatedness to a dependent brood, even controlling for brood size. Male feeding rate tended to decrease as paternity loss increased, and increased with increasing kinship and hence inbreeding between socially paired mates. We thereby demonstrate that variation in a key component of parental care concurs with subtle predictions from inclusive fitness theory. We additionally highlight that such effects can depend on the underlying social mating system, potentially generating status-specific costs of extra-pair reproduction.

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 Inclusive fitness consequences of dispersal decisions in a cooperatively breeding bird, the long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus)

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (47) ◽  
pp. 12011-12016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Green ◽  
Ben J. Hatchwell
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Relative Fitness ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Natal Philopatry ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Fitness Consequences ◽  
Aegithalos Caudatus

Natal dispersal is a demographic trait with profound evolutionary, ecological, and behavioral consequences. However, our understanding of the adaptive value of dispersal patterns is severely hampered by the difficulty of measuring the relative fitness consequences of alternative dispersal strategies in natural populations. This is especially true in social species, in which natal philopatry allows kin selection to operate, so direct and indirect components of inclusive fitness have to be considered when evaluating selection on dispersal. Here, we use lifetime reproductive success data from a long-term study of a cooperative breeder, the long-tailed titAegithalos caudatus, to quantify the direct and indirect components of inclusive fitness. We show that dispersal has a negative effect on the accrual of indirect fitness, and hence inclusive fitness, by males. In contrast, the inclusive, predominantly direct, fitness of females increases with dispersal distance. We conclude that the conflicting fitness consequences of dispersal in this species result in sexually antagonistic selection on this key demographic parameter.

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.

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.

scholarly journals Competition Drives Group Formation and Reduces Within Nest Relatedness in a Facultatively Social Carpenter Bee

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jess L. Vickruck ◽  
Miriam H. Richards
Keyword(s):  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Group Formation ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Carpenter Bee ◽  
Direct Fitness ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Almost All

Animals respond to competition among kin for critical breeding resources in two ways: avoidance of direct fitness costs via dispersal of siblings to breed separately, and formation of kin-based societies in which subordinates offset direct fitness costs of breeding competition via altruism and increased indirect fitness. In the facultatively social eastern carpenter bee, nests are a critical breeding resource in perpetually short supply, leading to strong competition among females. Observations of individually marked and genotyped females in conditions of high and low resource competition demonstrate that competition leads to resource sharing and group nesting. However, in contrast to almost all known animal societies, females avoid nesting with relatives, and disperse from their natal nests to join social groups of non-relatives. This is the first example of a structured insect society with cooperation nestmates, the majority of which are unrelated; thus cooperation is more likely based on selection for direct, rather than indirect fitness. By forming social groups of non-kin, females avoid the indirect fitness costs of kin competition among sisters, yet increase their chances of successful reproduction, and thus direct fitness, when forming colonies of non-relatives.

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