Content area
Full text
About the Authors:
Penny A. Becker
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliations Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America, Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Front Royal, Virginia, United States of America, Centre for Wildlife Management, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Philip S. Miller
Affiliation: Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (Species Survival Commission/International Union for Conservation of Nature), Apple Valley, Minnesota, United States of America
Micaela Szykman Gunther
Affiliations Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Front Royal, Virginia, United States of America, Department of Wildlife, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, United States of America
Michael J. Somers
Affiliations Centre for Wildlife Management, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, Centre for Invasion Biology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
David E. Wildt
Affiliation: Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Front Royal, Virginia, United States of America
Jesús E. Maldonado
Affiliations Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
Introduction
Mating with kin has been shown to lead to decreased heterozygosity, expression of deleterious alleles, and reduced fitness due to inbreeding depression in a variety of species [1], [2]. Although the short-term effects can be morphological abnormalities [3], decreased reproductive success [4], and greater susceptibility to disease [5], the long-term consequences can be reduced ability to adapt to environmental change [6] and an increased risk of extinction [7]. As a result, natural selection should favour behavioural mechanisms for animals to avoid mating with kin, particularly in species that could potentially suffer the most severe costs of inbreeding depression [8]. There are three recognized behavioural strategies associated with inbreeding avoidance. The first is that natal dispersal reduces contact among relatives, an approach commonly found in species like the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) that displays male-biased dispersal and female philopatry [9]. In the second, females seek extra-pair matings to enhance the genetic diversity of progeny, as observed in the...