scholarly journals Bell miner provisioning calls are more similar among relatives and are used by helpers at the nest to bias their effort towards kin

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1723) ◽  
pp. 3403-3411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. McDonald ◽  
Jonathan Wright
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Linear Increase ◽  
Complex Societies ◽  
Kin Discrimination ◽  
Call Structure ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Family Based ◽  
Kin Recognition Mechanisms

Kin selection predicts that helpers in cooperative systems should preferentially aid relatives to maximize fitness. In family-based groups, this can be accomplished simply by assisting all group members. In more complex societies, where large numbers of kin and non-kin regularly interact, more sophisticated kin-recognition mechanisms are needed. Bell miners ( Manorina melanophrys ) are just such a system where individuals regularly interact with both kin and non-kin within large colonies. Despite this complexity, individual helpers of both sexes facultatively work harder when provisioning the young of closer genetic relatedness. We investigated the mechanism by which such adaptive discrimination occurs by assessing genetic kinship influences on the structure of more than 1900 provisioning vocalizations of 185 miners. These ‘mew’ calls showed a significant, positive linear increase in call similarity with increasing genetic relatedness, most especially in comparisons between male helpers and the breeding male. Furthermore, individual helping effort was more heavily influenced by call similarity to breeding males than to genetic relatedness, as predicted if call similarity is indeed the rule-of-thumb used to discriminate kin in this system. Individual mew call structure appeared to be inflexible and innate, providing an effective mechanism by which helpers can assess their relatedness to any individual. This provides, to our knowledge, the first example of a mechanism for fine-scale kin discrimination in a complex avian society.

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 Family-specific chemical profiles provide potential kin recognition cues in the sexually cannibalistic spider Argiope bruennichi

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 20210260
Author(s):  
Katharina Weiss ◽  
Jutta M. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Kin Discrimination ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Chemical Profiles ◽  
Observed Behaviour ◽  
Cuticular Profiles ◽  
Kin Recognition Mechanisms ◽  
Solitary Species

Kin recognition, the ability to detect relatives, is important for cooperation, altruism and also inbreeding avoidance. A large body of research on kin recognition mechanisms exists for vertebrates and insects, while little is known for other arthropod taxa. In spiders, nepotism has been reported in social and solitary species. However, there are very few examples of kin discrimination in a mating context, one coming from the orb-weaver Argiope bruennichi . Owing to effective mating plugs and high rates of sexual cannibalism, both sexes of A. bruennichi are limited to a maximum of two copulations. Males surviving their first copulation can either re-mate with the current female (monopolizing paternity) or leave and search for another. Mating experiments have shown that males readily mate with sisters but are more likely to leave after one short copulation as compared with unrelated females, allowing them to search for another mate. Here, we ask whether the observed behaviour is based on chemical cues. We detected family-specific cuticular profiles that qualify as kin recognition cues. Moreover, correlations in the relative amounts of some of the detected substances between sexes within families indicate that kin recognition is likely based on subsets of cuticular substances, rather than entire profiles.

scholarly journals Kin discrimination via odour in the cooperatively breeding banded mongoose

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 171798 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Mitchell ◽  
S. Kyabulima ◽  
R. Businge ◽  
M. A. Cant ◽  
H. J. Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Wild Population ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Olfactory Cues ◽  
Kin Discrimination ◽  
Phenotype Matching ◽  
Cooperatively Breeding ◽  
Banded Mongoose ◽  
Mungos Mungo

Kin discrimination is often beneficial for group-living animals as it aids in inbreeding avoidance and providing nepotistic help. In mammals, the use of olfactory cues in kin discrimination is widespread and may occur through learning the scents of individuals that are likely to be relatives, or by assessing genetic relatedness directly through assessing odour similarity (phenotype matching). We use scent presentations to investigate these possibilities in a wild population of the banded mongoose Mungos mungo , a cooperative breeder in which inbreeding risk is high and females breed communally, disrupting behavioural cues to kinship. We find that adults show heightened behavioural responses to unfamiliar (extra-group) scents than to familiar (within-group) scents. Interestingly, we found that responses to familiar odours, but not unfamiliar odours, varied with relatedness. This suggests that banded mongooses are either able to use an effective behavioural rule to identify likely relatives from within their group, or that phenotype matching is used in the context of within-group kin recognition but not extra-group kin recognition. In other cooperative breeders, familiarity is used within the group and phenotype matching may be used to identify unfamiliar kin. However, for the banded mongoose this pattern may be reversed, most likely due to their unusual breeding system which disrupts within-group behavioural cues to kinship.

A Cooperative Species

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Bowles ◽  
Herbert Gintis
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Cooperative Groups ◽  
Social Emotions ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Group Competition ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Shame And Guilt ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Common ◽  
Ethnographic Data

Why do humans, uniquely among animals, cooperate in large numbers to advance projects for the common good? Contrary to the conventional wisdom in biology and economics, this generous and civic-minded behavior is widespread and cannot be explained simply by far-sighted self-interest or a desire to help close genealogical kin. This book shows that the central issue is not why selfish people act generously, but instead how genetic and cultural evolution has produced a species in which substantial numbers make sacrifices to uphold ethical norms and to help even total strangers. The book describes how, for thousands of generations, cooperation with fellow group members has been essential to survival. Groups that created institutions to protect the civic-minded from exploitation by the selfish flourished and prevailed in conflicts with less cooperative groups. Key to this process was the evolution of social emotions such as shame and guilt, and our capacity to internalize social norms so that acting ethically became a personal goal rather than simply a prudent way to avoid punishment. Using experimental, archaeological, genetic, and ethnographic data to calibrate models of the coevolution of genes and culture as well as prehistoric warfare and other forms of group competition, the book provides a compelling and novel account of human cooperation.

scholarly journals Presence of same-sex kin promotes explorative behavior in subadult cichlid fish

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 731-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Vitt ◽  
Iris Madge Pimentel ◽  
Timo Thünken
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
West African ◽  
Kin Discrimination ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Kin Competition ◽  
Pelvicachromis Taeniatus ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Males And Females

Abstract While the importance of kin discrimination, that is, kin recognition and subsequent differential treatment of kin and nonkin, is well established for kin-directed cooperation or altruism, the role of kin discrimination in the context of kin competition and kin avoidance is largely unexplored. Theory predicts that individuals avoiding competition with kin should be favored by natural selection due to indirect fitness benefits. Using an experimental approach, we investigated whether the presence of same-sex kin affects avoidance and explorative behavior in subadult Pelvicachromis taeniatus, a West African cichlid fish with strong intrasexual competition in both sexes. Pelvicachromis taeniatus is capable of recognizing kin using phenotype matching and shows kin discrimination in diverse contexts. When exposed to a same-sex conspecific, both males and females tended to interact less with the related opponent. Moreover, individuals explored a novel environment faster after exposure to kin than to nonkin. This effect was more pronounced in females. Individuals avoiding the proximity of same-sex relatives may reduce kin competition over resources such as mating partners or food.

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 Chemical fingerprints encode mother–offspring similarity, colony membership, relatedness, and genetic quality in fur seals

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (36) ◽  
pp. E5005-E5012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin A. Stoffel ◽  
Barbara A. Caspers ◽  
Jaume Forcada ◽  
Athina Giannakara ◽  
Markus Baier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Chemical Similarity ◽  
Chemical Fingerprints ◽  
Fur Seals ◽  
Large Panel ◽  
Chemical Fingerprinting ◽  
Mechanistic Basis

Chemical communication underpins virtually all aspects of vertebrate social life, yet remains poorly understood because of its highly complex mechanistic basis. We therefore used chemical fingerprinting of skin swabs and genetic analysis to explore the chemical cues that may underlie mother–offspring recognition in colonially breeding Antarctic fur seals. By sampling mother–offspring pairs from two different colonies, using a variety of statistical approaches and genotyping a large panel of microsatellite loci, we show that colony membership, mother–offspring similarity, heterozygosity, and genetic relatedness are all chemically encoded. Moreover, chemical similarity between mothers and offspring reflects a combination of genetic and environmental influences, the former partly encoded by substances resembling known pheromones. Our findings reveal the diversity of information contained within chemical fingerprints and have implications for understanding mother–offspring communication, kin recognition, and mate choice.

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