A test of the importance of direct and indirect fitness benefits for helping decisions in western bluebirds

Abstract In haplodiploid species, daughter production, but not son production, is sexual, requiring paternal contributions. Females may use male signals to choose a mate with better daughter-production potential, if the choice facilitates her production of adaptive sex ratios, e.g., female-biased sex ratios in systems operating under local mate competition (LMC). In the parasitoid wasp Urolepis rufipes, females preferred pheromone markings from males that had mated once versus multiply, were young rather than old, and were uninfected rather than infected when infection was low, but not when infection was high. Mates of singly-mated males had more female-biased offspring sex ratios than those of multiply-mated males, whereas there was no difference for mates of young versus old males. Thus, female preference for singly-mated males appears to provide indirect fitness benefits. A preference for young males, was not beneficial in the laboratory, but in nature young males may have mated less.

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First- and second-order sociality determine survival and reproduction in cooperative cichlids

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2015.1971 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 282 (1819) ◽

pp. 20151971 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Arne Jungwirth ◽

Michael Taborsky

Keyword(s):

Social Organization ◽

Group Size ◽

Reproductive Output ◽

Local Population ◽

Cichlid Fish ◽

Evolution Of Cooperation ◽

Large Group ◽

Indirect Fitness ◽

Fitness Benefits ◽

Different Levels

Cooperative breeders serve as a model to study the evolution of cooperation, where costs and benefits of helping are typically scrutinized at the level of group membership. However, cooperation is often observed in multi-level social organizations involving interactions among individuals at various levels. Here, we argue that a full understanding of the adaptive value of cooperation and the evolution of complex social organization requires identifying the effect of different levels of social organization on direct and indirect fitness components. Our long-term field data show that in the cooperatively breeding, colonial cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher , both large group size and high colony density significantly raised group persistence. Neither group size nor density affected survival at the individual level, but they had interactive effects on reproductive output; large group size raised productivity when local population density was low, whereas in contrast, small groups were more productive at high densities. Fitness estimates of individually marked fish revealed indirect fitness benefits associated with staying in large groups. Inclusive fitness, however, was not significantly affected by group size, because the direct fitness component was not increased in larger groups. Together, our findings highlight that the reproductive output of groups may be affected in opposite directions by different levels of sociality, and that complex forms of sociality and costly cooperation may evolve in the absence of large indirect fitness benefits and the influence of kin selection.

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The value of oviposition timing, queen presence and kinship in a social insect

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2013.1231 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 280 (1766) ◽

pp. 20131231 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Martina Ozan ◽

Heikki Helanterä ◽

Liselotte Sundström

Keyword(s):

Social Insect ◽

Breeding Phenology ◽

Reproductive Competition ◽

Formica Fusca ◽

Indirect Fitness ◽

Fitness Benefits ◽

Reproductive Conflicts

Reproductive cooperation confers benefits, but simultaneously creates conflicts among cooperators. Queens in multi-queen colonies of ants share a nest and its resources, but reproductive competition among queens often results in unequal reproduction. Two mutually non-exclusive factors may produce such inequality in reproduction: worker intervention or queen traits. Workers may intervene by favouring some queens over others, owing to either kinship or queen signals. Queens may differ in their intrinsic fecundity at the onset of oviposition or in their timing of the onset of oviposition, leading to their unequal representation in the brood. Here, we test the role of queen kin value (relatedness) to workers, timing of the onset of oviposition and signals of presence by queens in determining the maternity of offspring. We show that queens of the ant Formica fusca gained a significantly higher proportion of sexuals in the brood when ovipositing early, and that the presence of a caged queen resulted in a significant increase in both her share of sexual brood and her overall reproductive share. Moreover, the lower the kin value of the queen, the more the workers invested in their own reproduction by producing males. Our results show that both kinship and breeding phenology influence the outcome of reproductive conflicts, and the balance of direct and indirect fitness benefits in the multi-queen colonies of F. fusca .

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Latitudinal variation in the life cycle of allodapine bees (Hymenoptera; Apidae)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z99-040 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 77 (6) ◽

pp. 857-864 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Adam L Cronin ◽

Michael P Schwarz

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Life Cycles ◽

Alloparental Care ◽

The North ◽

Brood Development ◽

Weak Evidence ◽

Indirect Fitness ◽

Fitness Benefits ◽

Latitudinal Range ◽

Eastern Seaboard

The life cycles of Exoneura robusta and Exoneura angophorae are examined in four populations along the eastern seaboard of Australia, where climate ranged from temperate in the south to subtropical in the north over a latitudinal range of approximately 10°. These species were univoltine throughout the range examined and most colonies produced a single brood. Timing and duration of brood development in E. robusta varied between sites, with brood development being more rapid in northern populations; there was only weak evidence of any effect of latitude in E. angophorae. All populations of E. angophorae exhibited a small proportion of doubly brooded colonies, but doubly brooded colonies were found only in northernmost populations of E. robusta. Two-brooded colonies can give rise to opportunities for sib rearing, which can alter the indirect fitness benefits for alloparental care. Our results indicate that there is an effect of climate on sociality in E. robusta but no, or very little, such effect in E. angophorae.

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

Molecular Ecology ◽

10.1111/j.1365-294x.2011.05218.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 524-531 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

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

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Kinship affects investment by helpers in a cooperatively breeding bird

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2010.0737 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 277 (1698) ◽

pp. 3299-3306 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

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.

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

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/ukz038 ◽

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.

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Limited indirect fitness benefits of male group membership in a lekking species

Molecular Ecology ◽

10.1111/mec.12941 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 23 (21) ◽

pp. 5356-5365 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Christophe Lebigre ◽

Rauno V. Alatalo ◽

Carl D. Soulsbury ◽

Jacob Höglund ◽

Heli Siitari

Keyword(s):

Group Membership ◽

Male Group ◽

Indirect Fitness ◽

Fitness Benefits

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

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.140409 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 (6) ◽

pp. 140409 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

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.

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