Scent marking within and between groups of wild banded mongooses

Jordan, Neil R.; Mwanguhya, Francis; Kyabulima, Solomon; Rüedi, Peter; Cant, Michael A.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2009.00646.x

Cited by 74 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…One or two individuals within each group were fitted with a radiocollar weighing 27 g (Sirtrack Ltd., Havelock North, New Zealand) with a 20 cm whip antenna (Biotrack Ltd., Dorset, U.K.). Individuals were trapped using box traps (67 Â 23 cm and 23 cm high; Tomahawk Live Trap Co., Tomahawk, WI, U.S.A.), and anaesthetized using either isoflurane or ketamine (details of trapping protocol are given elsewhere; isoflurane : Jordan, Mwanguhya, Kyabulima, & Cant, 2010;ketamine: Hodge, 2007). In total, 6794 individual capture events were carried out during the course of this study.…”

Section: Study Site and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The origins of consistent individual differences in cooperation in wild banded mongooses, Mungos mungo

et al. 2015

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Section: Study Site and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The origins of consistent individual differences in cooperation in wild banded mongooses, Mungos mungo

et al. 2015

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“…As we could not control for the amount of oil collected, we did not rely on the absolute abundance of chromatogram peaks in our statistical analyses (as described in earlier studies [29,45,46,64,65]). Rather, each peak was quantified as the relative proportion of the peak size to the overall total area of the chromatogram.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semiochemical compounds of preen secretion reflect genetic make-up in a seabird species

et al. 2011

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Several vertebrates choose their mate according to genetic heterozygosity and relatedness, and use odour cues to assess their conspecifics' genetic make-up. In birds, although several species (including the blacklegged kittiwake) exhibit non-random mating according to genetic traits, the cues used to assess genetic characteristics remain unknown. The importance of olfaction in birds' social behaviour is gaining attention among researchers, and it has been suggested that, as in other vertebrates, bird body scent may convey information about genetic traits. Here, we combined gas chromatography data and genetic analyses at microsatellite loci to test whether semiochemical messages in preen secretion of kittiwakes carried information about genetic heterozygosity and relatedness. Semiochemical profile was correlated with heterozygosity in males and females, while semiochemical distance was correlated with genetic distance only in male -male dyads. Our study is the first to demonstrate a link between odour and genetics in birds, which sets the stage for the existence of sophisticated odour-based mechanisms of mate choice also in birds.

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“…Groups were visited every 1-3 d to record group composition, life history, and behavioral data. Individuals were easily identifiable by unique shave markings on their back and were regularly trapped to maintain these markings (34). On first capture a 2-mm skin sample was collected from the end of the tail for genetic analyses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining negative kin discrimination in a cooperative mammal society

Thompson

Cant

Marshall

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Kin selection theory predicts that, where kin discrimination is possible, animals should typically act more favorably toward closer genetic relatives and direct aggression toward less closely related individuals. Contrary to this prediction, we present data from an 18-y study of wild banded mongooses, Mungos mungo, showing that females that are more closely related to dominant individuals are specifically targeted for forcible eviction from the group, often suffering severe injury, and sometimes death, as a result. This pattern cannot be explained by inbreeding avoidance or as a response to more intense local competition among kin. Instead, we use game theory to show that such negative kin discrimination can be explained by selection for unrelated targets to invest more effort in resisting eviction. Consistent with our model, negative kin discrimination is restricted to eviction attempts of older females capable of resistance; dominants exhibit no kin discrimination when attempting to evict younger females, nor do they discriminate between more closely or less closely related young when carrying out infanticidal attacks on vulnerable infants who cannot defend themselves. We suggest that in contexts where recipients of selfish acts are capable of resistance, the usual prediction of positive kin discrimination can be reversed. Kin selection theory, as an explanation for social behavior, can benefit from much greater exploration of sequential social interactions.K in selection theory aims to understand how selection acts on social traits, such as altruism and selfishness, that affect the fitness of social partners and local group members (1, 2). The theory predicts that where animals can discriminate between more closely and less closely related individuals within their social group, they will preferentially direct altruism toward closer genetic relatives and aggression toward less closely related targets (1-3). Instances of such positive kin discrimination are taxonomically numerous and widespread (4), whereas reported examples of negative kin discrimination are rare (5, 6).Contrary to the predictions of traditional kin selection theory, we show below that banded mongooses exercise negative kin discrimination during attempts at eviction and that this result is not readily explained by inbreeding avoidance or local kin competition. However, a simple and very general sequential game model of selfish behavior that takes into account the possibility of active resistance on the part of recipients does provide a potential explanation for negative kin discrimination. We first describe the model and then test predictions of the model using our data. Explaining Negative Kin Discrimination: A ModelConsider the interaction between two individuals, the first of whom (player 1) may perform a selfish act at the other's expense, such as stealing a food item, killing offspring, or, in the case with which we are concerned, evicting the other from the territory or group. We suppose that this act entails some fitness cost to the act...

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Scent marking within and between groups of wild banded mongooses

Cited by 74 publications

References 40 publications

The origins of consistent individual differences in cooperation in wild banded mongooses, Mungos mungo

The origins of consistent individual differences in cooperation in wild banded mongooses, Mungos mungo

Semiochemical compounds of preen secretion reflect genetic make-up in a seabird species

Explaining negative kin discrimination in a cooperative mammal society

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