A genetic analysis of breeding success in the cooperative meerkat (Suricata suricatta) |
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| Authors: | Griffin Ashleigh S; Pemberton Josephine M; Brotherton Peter N M; McIlrath Grant; Gaynor David; Kansky Ruth; O'Riain Justin; Clutton-Brock Timothy H |
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| Institution: | a Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
b Large Animal Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB23EJ, UK
c Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, 0002 Pretoria, Republic of South Africa |
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| Abstract: | Measurement of reproductive skew in social groups is fundamentalto understanding the evolution and maintenance of sociality,as it determines the immediate fitness benefits to helpers ofstaying and helping in a group. However, there is a lack ofstudies in natural populations that provide reliable measuresof reproductive skew and the correlates of reproductive success,particularly in vertebrates. We present results of a study thatuses a combination of field and genetic (microsatellite) dataon a cooperatively breeding mongoose, the meerkat (Suricatasuricatta). We sampled 458 individuals from 16 groups at twosites and analyzed parentage of pups in 110 litters with upto 12 microsatellites. We show that there is strong reproductiveskew in favor of dominants, but that the extent of skew differsbetween the sexes and between different sites. Our data suggestthat the reproductive skew arises from incest avoidance andreproductive suppression of the subordinates by the dominants. |
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| Keywords: | cooperative breeding incest avoidance microsatellites parentage analysis relatedness reproductive skew |
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