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Social structure of the Eurasian badger ( Meles meles ): genetic evidence
Author(s) -
EVANS P. G. H.,
MACDONALD D. W.,
CHEESEMAN C. L.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of zoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0952-8369
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1989.tb05000.x
Subject(s) - biology , meles , badger , biological dispersal , polygyny , offspring , breed , juvenile , population , zoology , ecology , demography , genetics , pregnancy , sociology
Studies of territorial, highly stable groups of wild Eurasian badger, Meles meles , revealed that more than one adult of each sex may breed within a group, and that extra‐territorial movements may occur within clusters of territories. Although there is some genetic structuring within a local population and a deficiency of heterozygotes, due probably to minimal juvenile dispersal, heterogeneity of gene frequencies is reduced by: (a) adults transferring between adjacent groups, and (b) matings between males of one group and females of another. Marked changes in gene frequencies between generations indicate that a minority of males have a strong influence on the genotypes of the offspring, being either polygynous or promiscuous. Within one generation, the young of a given group may be sired by two or more males, and these males may not necessarily be members of that group.