Article
Biology
Katharina Weiss, Jutta M. Schneider
Summary: This study examined kin recognition behavior in the orb-weaver spider and found a chemical signal-based mechanism for kin recognition. Males showed a preference for mating with sisters over leaving, possibly due to the ability to recognize relatives through specific cuticular substances.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Monil Khera, Kevin Arbuckle, Joseph Hoffman, Jennifer L. Sanderson, Michael A. Cant, Hazel J. Nichols
Summary: Many species avoid inbreeding by recognizing familiar kin, but this rule does not apply to banded mongooses, which have communal breeding and caregiving systems that make it difficult to recognize kin based on familiarity. Despite frequent inbreeding, the use of alternative pre- or post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance mechanisms keeps inbreeding lower than expected if mates were randomly chosen.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jamie Winternitz
Summary: Immune defence is crucial for fitness, and individuals may prefer mates who ensure immunocompetent offspring. Studies have found evidence of MHC-based sexual selection in the Soay sheep population, but distinguishing postcopulatory MHC-dissimilar mate choice from genome-wide effects remains a challenge. Comprehensive sampling in the study ensures generalizability and sets a gold standard for research on immune gene-based sexual selection.
Article
Biology
Robin E. Morrison, Eric Ndayishimiye, Tara S. Stoinski, Winnie Eckardt
Summary: Mating with close kin can have negative consequences, leading to the evolution of inbreeding avoidance mechanisms. This study on mountain gorillas examined multiple mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance, including dispersal, mate choice, kin discrimination, and post-copulatory biases. The findings suggest that partial dispersal reduces kinship in groups, and there is significant kin discrimination in mate choice, particularly towards maternal kin. However, there is limited avoidance of paternal kin, and no evidence for post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance. These results demonstrate that multiple complementary mechanisms for inbreeding avoidance can evolve within a single species, and mate choice may enable more flexible dispersal systems to evolve.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tomoko G. Fujii, Kazuo Okanoya
Summary: Birdsong is an important communication signal in mate choice. Female Bengalese finches can develop a strong mating preference for the song of their fathers, but it is unclear if this preference extends to other cases where birds are exposed to multiple male songs during development. Further studies are needed to fully understand the role of experience and genetic factors in the development of female song preference in this species.
Article
Ecology
Raissa A. de Boer, Regina Vega-Trejo, Alexander Kotrschal, John L. Fitzpatrick
Summary: The meta-analysis of 139 studies on diploid animals reveals that they tend to mate without avoiding kin, with the degree of relatedness and prior experience affecting the behavior. Unbiased mating in terms of kinship appears to be common across animals. The findings challenge the widely held view of inbreeding avoidance as a given in experimental studies.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ornithology
Aneta Arct, Szymon M. Drobniak, Samantha Mellinger, Rafal Martyka, Lars Gustafsson, Mariusz Cichon
Summary: The study suggests that females may engage in extra-pair copulations to modify their initial mate choice when constrained by their social mate. Factors such as genetic similarity, adult phenotypic traits, and partner age can affect extra-pair paternity patterns, with the interaction between social partners' ages playing an important role. The results highlight the importance of considering both male and female characteristics in investigating extra-pair paternity patterns.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jun Abe, Ryosuke Iritani, Koji Tsuchida, Yoshitaka Kamimura, Stuart A. West
Summary: Melittobia australica females exhibit a sophisticated sex ratio behavior, producing consistently female-biased offspring sex ratios when they have not dispersed and adjusting their sex ratio based on the number of females laying eggs when they have dispersed. This indicates that dispersal status serves as an indirect cue for relatedness and influences their sex ratio adjustments.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Owen C. Dorsey, Gil G. Rosenthal
Summary: The negative consequences of inbreeding have led animal biologists to assume that mate choice is generally biased against relatives. However, inbreeding avoidance is highly variable and by no means the rule across animal taxa. Balancing inbreeding avoidance with conspecific mate preference may drive the evolution of multivariate sexual communication.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Diana A. Robledo-Ruiz, Alexandra Pavlova, Rohan H. Clarke, Michael J. L. Magrath, Bruce Quin, Katherine A. Harrisson, Han Ming Gan, Gabriel W. Low, Paul Sunnucks
Summary: The article presents an analytical framework for evaluating the efficacy of breeding management strategies for wild populations, showing that the proposed strategies did not significantly improve genetic quality or reduce inbreeding in the critically endangered helmeted honeyeater population. The results demonstrate the usefulness of the analytical framework for testing different in situ breeding strategies and making evidence-based management decisions.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Veronica M. Sinotte, Benjamin H. Conlon, Elena Seibel, Jan W. Schwitalla, Z. Wilhelm de Beer, Michael Poulsen, Nick Bos
Summary: The study found that dispersing reproductives of the termite Cubitermes tenuiceps did not actively avoid inbreeding through mate choice based on kin recognition. Most colonies exhibited a female-biased sex ratio, while none exhibited a male-bias. Sex allocation was generally female-biased, with the potential fitness effect of this strategy remaining unclear.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Mitchel J. Daniel, F. Helen Rodd
Summary: This study on Trinidadian guppies investigates the referencing systems of kin recognition, confirming that individuals recognize kin through self-referencing mechanisms. The research also shows that olfactory communication is essential for kin discrimination, providing robust evidence for how individuals compare phenotypes to recognize kin. These findings contribute to our understanding of the proximate mechanisms and evolution of social behavior.
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2021)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Jon Richardson, Marlene Zuk
Summary: Studies commonly use virgin females as test subjects for female mate choice, but theories predict that these virgin females will be less choosy. However, our meta-analysis found no evidence to support this prediction and suggests that excluding mated females from mate choice studies is an important gap in our understanding of female preferences in evolution.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Victoria L. Pike, Charlie K. Cornwallis, Ashleigh S. Griffin
Summary: The strength of inbreeding avoidance varies across species, with some species not avoiding related mates. Mechanisms for avoiding inbreeding are only found in species with inbreeding depression.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Tripti Yadav, Omkar, Geetanjali Mishra
Summary: The cannibalistic tendencies of ladybird at different life stages are influenced by victim relatedness. Early life stages tend to cannibalize more sibling and non-sibling eggs, while fourth instars and adults show a higher preference for eggs regardless of relatedness. Kin recognition and avoidance of cannibalism are stage-specific.
BEHAVIOURAL PROCESSES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andrew T. Ozga, Timothy H. Webster, Ian C. Gilby, Melissa A. Wilson, Rebecca S. Nockerts, Michael L. Wilson, Anne E. Pusey, Yingying Li, Beatrice H. Hahn, Anne C. Stone
Summary: The study evaluated various sources of genetic material and capture methods in generating genome-scale data from wild eastern chimpanzees, finding that urine is the most promising source of host DNA and exome sequencing is more successful than shotgun sequencing and whole-genome capture in low-quality samples.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Matthew N. Zipple, Jeanne Altmann, Fernando A. Campos, Marina Cords, Linda M. Fedigan, Richard R. Lawler, Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Susan Perry, Anne E. Pusey, Tara S. Stoinski, Karen B. Strier, Susan C. Alberts
Summary: This study reveals two pathways through which early maternal death affects offspring fitness, including the challenges faced by offspring while the mother is still alive, and the intergenerational impact of maternal death on offspring survival in the next generation in three primate species.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Jessica R. Deere, Kathryn L. Schaber, Steffen Foerster, Ian C. Gilby, Joseph T. Feldblum, Kimberly VanderWaal, Tiffany M. Wolf, Dominic A. Travis, Jane Raphael, Iddi Lipende, Deus Mjungu, Anne E. Pusey, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Thomas R. Gillespie
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between social behavior and parasite richness in a community of wild chimpanzees. The findings showed that individuals who spent more time with others in the same space had higher parasite richness, while grooming contact did not affect parasite richness. These results contribute to understanding the complex interplay between parasitism and sociality in group-living primates.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Zoology
Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Dominic A. Travis, Jane Raphael, Shadrack Kamenya, Iddi Lipende, Dismas Mwacha, D. Anthony Collins, Michael Wilson, Deus Mjungu, Carson Murray, Jared Bakuza, Tiffany M. Wolf, Michele B. Parsons, Jessica R. Deere, Emma Lantz, Michael J. Kinsel, Rachel Santymire, Lilian Pintea, Karen A. Terio, Beatrice H. Hahn, Anne E. Pusey, Jane Goodall, Thomas R. Gillespie
Summary: Monitoring program for chimpanzee health to mitigate disease risks, gather data on various primates and domestic animals in and around the National Park for outbreak response. Challenges include expanding project scope, data integration, future directions, and conducting studies in complex, multispecies environments.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Samantha L. Goldman, Jon G. Sanders, Weiwei Yan, Anthony Denice, Margaret Cornwall, Kathleen N. Ivey, Emily N. Taylor, Alex R. Gunderson, Michael J. Sheehan, Deus Mjungu, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Anne E. Pusey, Beatrice H. Hahn, Andrew H. Moeller
Summary: The study shows that culturing methods can recover a high number of bacterial genera from vertebrate gut microbiotas, including rare ones missed by culture-independent sequencing. Culturing not only improves inventories but also enables the discovery of novel species related to human pathogens.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Anthony P. Massaro, Ian C. Gilby, Nisarg Desai, Alexander Weiss, Joseph T. Feldblum, Anne E. Pusey, Michael L. Wilson
Summary: Individual participation in patrols varies based on several factors, rather than conforming to expectations from collective action theory. Sighting frequency, age, and hunting participation were the best predictors of patrol participation. Current and former alpha males did not participate at a higher rate than males that never achieved alpha status. These findings suggest that individual participation in group territorial behavior is influenced by multiple factors.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fernando A. Campos, Jeanne Altmann, Marina Cords, Linda M. Fedigan, Richard Lawler, Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Tara S. Stoinski, Karen B. Strier, Anne M. Bronikowski, Anne E. Pusey, Susan C. Alberts
Summary: Through studying seven long-term continuous primate populations, we found that age has a significant impact on female reproductive performance and offspring survival in most species. This includes longer inter-birth intervals, reduced number of completed interbirth intervals, and lower survival rates among offspring born to older mothers. Maternal age also affects the age at which daughters first reproduce, particularly in species with female-biased dispersal.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Kaitlin R. Wellens, Sean M. Lee, Jack C. Winans, Anne E. Pusey, Carson M. Murray
Summary: Analysis of behavior data on wild chimpanzees revealed a trade-off between inbreeding avoidance and protection for females, particularly during the postpartum period when they need the support of adult male kin for protection.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anne E. Pusey
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biology
Erik J. Scully, Weimin Liu, Yingying Li, Jean-Bosco N. Ndjango, Martine Peeters, Shadrack Kamenya, Anne E. Pusey, Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Crickette M. Sanz, David B. Morgan, Alex K. Piel, Fiona A. Stewart, Mary K. Gonder, Nicole Simmons, Caroline Asiimwe, Klaus Zuberbuehler, Kathelijne Koops, Colin A. Chapman, Rebecca Chancellor, Aaron Rundus, Michael A. Huffman, Nathan D. Wolfe, Manoj T. Duraisingh, Beatrice H. Hahn, Richard W. Wrangham
Summary: Chimpanzees serve as reservoirs for malaria parasites, including those closely related to the most dangerous human malaria parasite. The age of onset and prevalence of malaria infection in chimpanzees vary seasonally, and temperature and forest cover are important factors affecting infection.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Noemie Bonnin, Alex K. Piel, Richard P. Brown, Yingying Li, Andrew Jesse Connell, Alexa N. Avitto, Jean P. Boubli, Adrienne Chitayat, Jasmin Giles, Madhurima S. Gundlapally, Iddi Lipende, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Deus Mjungu, Dismas Mwacha, Lilian Pintea, Anne E. Pusey, Jane Raphael, Serge A. Wich, Michael L. Wilson, Emily E. Wroblewski, Beatrice H. Hahn, Fiona A. Stewart
Summary: Populations on the edge of a species' distribution may be fragmented and geographically isolated, leading to lack of genetic exchanges and compromising adaptive potential. A study on chimpanzees in western Tanzania revealed two isolated populations, but with evidence of high gene flow within each cluster. The presence of barriers to gene flow, such as rivers and bare habitats, was confirmed by landscape genetic analyses. Advances in sequencing technologies and landscape genetics approaches can inform conservation efforts of endangered species.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Cody T. Ross, Paul L. Hooper, Jennifer E. Smith, Adrian V. Jaeggi, Eric Alden Smith, Sergey Gavrilets, Fatema tuz Zohora, John Ziker, Dimitris Xygalatas, Emily E. Wroblewski, Brian Wood, Bruce Winterhalder, Kai P. Willfuehr, Aiyana K. Willard, Kara Walker, Christopher von Rueden, Eckart Voland, Claudia Valeggia, Bapu Vaitla, Samuel Urlacher, Mary Towner, Chun-Yi Sum, Lawrence S. Sugiyama, Karen B. Strier, Kathrine Starkweather, Daniel Major-Smith, Mary Shenk, Rebecca Sear, Edmond Seabright, Ryan Schacht, Brooke Scelza, Shane Scaggs, Jonathan Salerno, Caissa Revilla-Minaya, Daniel Redhead, Anne Pusey, Benjamin Grant Purzycki, Eleanor A. Power, Anne Pisor, Jenni Pettay, Susan Perry, Abigail E. Page, Luis Pacheco-Cobos, Kathryn Oths, Seung-Yun Oh, David Nolin, Daniel Nettle, Cristina Moya, Andrea Bamberg Migliano, Karl J. Mertens, Rita A. McNamara, Richard McElreath, Siobhan Mattison, Eric Massengill, Frank Marlowe, Felicia Madimenos, Shane Macfarlan, Virpi Lummaa, Roberto Lizarralde, Ruizhe Liu, Melissa A. Liebert, Sheina Lew-Levy, Paul Leslie, Joseph Lanning, Karen Kramer, Jeremy Koster, Hillard S. Kaplan, Bayarsaikhan Jamsranjav, A. Magdalena Hurtado, Kim Hill, Barry Hewlett, Samuli Helle, Thomas Headland, Janet Headland, Michael Gurven, Gianluca Grimalda, Russell Greaves, Christopher D. Golden, Irene Godoy, Mhairi Gibson, Claire El Mouden, Mark Dyble, Patricia Draper, Sean Downey, Angelina L. DeMarco, Helen Elizabeth Davis, Stefani Crabtree, Carmen Cortez, Heidi Colleran, Emma Cohen, Emma Cohen, Gregory Clark, Julia Clark, Mark A. Caudell, Chelsea E. Carminito, John Bunce, Adam Boyette, Samuel Bowles, Tami Blumenfield, Bret Beheim, Stephen Beckerman, Quentin Atkinson, Coren Apicella, Nurul Alam, Monique Borgerhoff Mulder
Summary: To address the debate about human exceptionalism, this study examined the reproductive inequality of humans and their position among other mammalian species. The findings show that while humans exhibit lower reproductive skew among males and smaller sex differences compared to other mammals, they still fall within the mammalian range. The study also found that polygynous human populations have higher female reproductive skew compared to nonhuman mammals. These patterns of skew can be attributed to factors such as the prevalence of monogamy, limited degree of polygyny in human societies, and the importance of unequally held rival resources for women's fitness.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexander Weiss, Joseph T. Feldblum, Drew M. Altschul, David Anthony Collins, Shadrack Kamenya, Deus Mjungu, Steffen Foerster, Ian C. Gilby, Michael L. Wilson, Anne E. Pusey
Summary: Personality traits in many taxa relate to fitness, but few studies have tested trade-off models in long-lived species. Using behavioral and genetic data from male chimpanzees, we found that Dominance and Conscientiousness traits were consistently associated with rank and reproductive success across the life course. These findings suggest that the trade-off model may not hold in long-lived species and highlight the validity of personality ratings in studying animal behavior.
Review
Biology
Maud Mouginot, Leveda Cheng, Michael L. Wilson, Joseph T. Feldblum, Veronika Staedele, Emily E. Wroblewski, Linda Vigilant, Beatrice H. Hahn, Yingying Li, Ian C. Gilby, Anne E. Pusey, Martin Surbeck
Summary: This study investigates reproductive skew in bonobos and chimpanzees, and finds that bonobos have higher male reproductive skew compared to chimpanzees.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Joseph T. Feldblum, Emily E. Boehm, Kara K. Walker, Anne E. Pusey
Summary: This study investigated the gestation length and its impact on offspring survival in chimpanzees. The results showed that, similar to humans, chimpanzees had shorter gestations after short inter-gestational intervals (IGIs), and shorter gestations were associated with lower offspring survival.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2022)
