Opposite-sex associations are linked with annual fitness, but sociality is stable over lifetime

Dunning, Jamie; Burke, Terry; Chan, Alex Hoi Hang; Chik, Heung Ying Janet; Evans, T. Matthew; Schroeder, Julia

doi:10.1101/2022.01.04.474937

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…This is probably a case of increased mating opportunity relative to the number of females that are social associates [ 53 , 54 ]. Interestingly, this echoes recent findings that house sparrows ( Passer domesticus ) with more opposite-sex associates gain within-year fitness advantages [ 55 ]. However, this pattern appeared to exist for both sexes in sparrows, whereas only male dragons appeared to benefit from these particular social traits.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Adaptive significance of affiliative behaviour differs between sexes in a wild reptile population

et al. 2023

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In recent years, we have begun to appreciate that social behaviours might exhibit repeatable among-individual variation. Such behavioural traits may even covary and have critical evolutionary implications. Importantly, some social behaviours such as aggressiveness have been shown to provide fitness benefits, including higher reproductive success and survival. However, fitness consequences of affiliative behaviours, especially between or among sexes, can be more challenging to establish. Using a longitudinal behavioural dataset (2014–2021) collected on eastern water dragons ( Intellagama lesueurii ), we investigated whether various aspects of affiliative behaviour (i) were repeatable across years, (ii) covaried with each other at the among-individual level, and (iii) influenced individuals' fitness. In particular, we considered affiliative behaviours towards opposite-sex and same-sex conspecifics separately. We found that social traits were repeatable and covaried with each other similarly for both sexes. More notably, we found that male reproductive success was positively correlated with the number of female associates and the proportion of time spent with females, while females’ reproductive success was not correlated with any of the measured social behaviour metrics. Overall, these findings suggest that selection may be acting differently on social behaviour of male and female eastern water dragons.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Adaptive significance of affiliative behaviour differs between sexes in a wild reptile population

et al. 2023

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“…We have monitored the sedentary and closed population of house sparrow Passer domesticus (hereafter sparrow/s) breeding on Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, UK (51°10’N, 4°40’W), since 1984 (see Ockendon, Griffith, and Burke 2009; Schroeder et al 2012; Dunning et al 2022). The sparrows on Lundy breed in nest boxes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indirect genetic effects improve female extra-pair heritability estimates

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Dunning

Burke

et al. 2022

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The question of why females engage in extra-pair behaviours is long-standing in evolutionary biology. One suggestion is that these behaviors are maintained through pleiotropic effects on male extra-pair behaviors and lifetime reproductive success (genes controlling extra-pair behaviours are shared between sexes, but only beneficial to one, in this case, males). However, for this to occur extra-pair behaviour must be heritable and positively genetically correlated between sexes. Although previous studies have suggested low heritability with no evidence for between-sex genetic correlations in extra-pair behaviours, indirect genetic effects (those derived from the behaviour of others, IGEs) from the social partner, the influence of the social partners genotype on the phenotype of an individual, have not been considered, despite the potential to uncover hidden heritability. Using data from a closed house sparrow population with a genetic pedigree spanning two decades, we tested the influence of IGEs on heritability and genetic correlation estimates of extra-pair behaviour. We found that the inclusion of IGEs improved model fit for both male and female extra-pair heritability. While IGEs did not change between-sex genetic correlations, we found a reduction in uncertainty in our estimates. Future studies should consider the effect of IGEs on the mechanisms of sex specific extra-pair behaviour.

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Opposite-sex associations are linked with annual fitness, but sociality is stable over lifetime

Cited by 2 publications

References 104 publications

Adaptive significance of affiliative behaviour differs between sexes in a wild reptile population

Adaptive significance of affiliative behaviour differs between sexes in a wild reptile population

Indirect genetic effects improve female extra-pair heritability estimates

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