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Kin encounter rate and inbreeding avoidance in canids
Author(s) -
GEFFEN ELI,
KAM MICHAEL,
HEFNER REUVEN,
HERSTEINSSON PALL,
ANGERBJÖRN ANDERS,
DALÈN LOVE,
FUGLEI EVA,
NORÈN KARIN,
ADAMS JENNIFER R.,
VUCETICH JOHN,
MEIER THOMAS J.,
MECH L. D.,
VonHOLDT BRIDGETT M.,
STAHLER DANIEL R.,
WAYNE ROBERT K.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2011.05358.x
Subject(s) - inbreeding avoidance , inbreeding depression , inbreeding , biology , kin recognition , mating , kin selection , breed , selection (genetic algorithm) , zoology , mating system , evolutionary biology , mate choice , genetics , ecology , population , demography , computer science , artificial intelligence , sociology
Mating with close kin can lead to inbreeding depression through the expression of recessive deleterious alleles and loss of heterozygosity. Mate selection may be affected by kin encounter rate, and inbreeding avoidance may not be uniform but associated with age and social system. Specifically, selection for kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance may be more developed in species that live in family groups or breed cooperatively. To test this hypothesis, we compared kin encounter rate and the proportion of related breeding pairs in noninbred and highly inbred canid populations. The chance of randomly encountering a full sib ranged between 1–8% and 20–22% in noninbred and inbred canid populations, respectively. We show that regardless of encounter rate, outside natal groups mates were selected independent of relatedness. Within natal groups, there was a significant avoidance of mating with a relative. Lack of discrimination against mating with close relatives outside packs suggests that the rate of inbreeding in canids is related to the proximity of close relatives, which could explain the high degree of inbreeding depression observed in some populations. The idea that kin encounter rate and social organization can explain the lack of inbreeding avoidance in some species is intriguing and may have implications for the management of populations at risk.