1
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Dyble M. Explaining variation in the kinship composition of mammal groups. Behav Ecol 2024; 35:arae032. [PMID: 38690088 PMCID: PMC11059295 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arae032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Variation in cooperative behavior across mammals is strongly related to the kinship composition of groups. Although the factors affecting average genetic relatedness within groups have been studied, the factors that contribute to the production of different categories of kin remain underexplored. Here, I use a mathematical model to explore the factors that determine the proportion of full siblings, maternal half-siblings, paternal half-siblings, and non-siblings within mammal groups. The results suggest that the production of paternal half-siblings is increased by high male reproductive skew and a female-biased sex ratio, the production of maternal half-siblings is increased by high female reproductive skew and male-biased sex ratio, and that there are two routes to the production of full siblings: either high reproductive skew in both sexes (as seen in cooperatively breeding species) or pair-bond stability within groups of low reproductive skew (as seen in humans). These results broadly correspond to observed variation in sibling composition across mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Dyble
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3DZ Cambridge, United Kingdom
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2
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McDonald GC. The impact of small groups on pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection in polyandrous populations. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10057. [PMID: 37153025 PMCID: PMC10154804 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection is a key evolutionary force but varies widely between populations. Two key factors that influence sexual selection are the extent to which females copulate with multiple males (polyandry) and variation in the social environment. Increasing research demonstrates populations are structured by complex socio-sexual networks, and the structure of these networks can influence sexual selection by shaping the relationship between male precopulatory mating success and the intensity of postcopulatory competition. However, comparatively less attention has been dedicated to the influence of group structure on sexual selection and how differences in the size of groups may impact on the relative force of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection in polyandrous populations. The presence of groups (i.e., group structure) and the size of groups varies widely in nature and forms an implicit part of much experimental sexual selection research under laboratory conditions. Here I use simulations of mating competition within populations that vary in the size of groups they contain, to show that variation in group size, and in particular small groups, can influence sexual selection. Specifically, I show that null expectations for the operation of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection is governed by the size of groups within populations because smaller group sizes constrain the structure of sexual networks leading to reinforcing episodes of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection. Given broad variation in group structure in nature and the tendency for experimental sexual selection research to study replicate small groups, these effects have implications for our understanding of the operation of sexual selection in polyandrous populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant C. McDonald
- Department of EcologyUniversity of Veterinary Medicine BudapestBudapestHungary
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3
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Sugianto NA, Newman C, Macdonald DW, Buesching CD. Effects of weather and social factors on hormone levels in the European badger (Meles meles). ZOOLOGY 2023; 158:126093. [PMID: 37149943 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2023.126093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Animals in the wild continually experience changes in environmental and social conditions, which they respond to with behavioural, physiological and morphological adaptations related to individual phenotypic quality. During unfavourable environmental conditions, reproduction can be traded-off against self-maintenance, mediated through changes in reproductive hormone levels. Using the European badger (Meles meles) as a model species, we examine how testosterone in males and oestrogens in females respond to marked deviations in weather from the long-term mean (rainfall and temperature, where badger earthworm food supply is weather dependent), and to social factors (number of adult males and females per social group and total adults in the population), in relation to age, weight and head-body length. Across seasons, testosterone levels correlated postively with body weight and rainfall variability, whereas oestrone correlated positively with population density, but negatively with temperature variability. Restricting analyses to the mating season (spring), heavier males had higher testosterone levels and longer females had higher oestradiol levels. Spring oestrone levels were lower when temperatures were above normal. That we see these effects for this generally adaptive species with a broad bioclimatic niche serves to highlight that climatic effects (especially with the threat of anthropogenic climate change) on reproductive physiology warrant careful attention in a conservation context.
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Affiliation(s)
- N A Sugianto
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney OX13 5QL, UK.
| | - C Newman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney OX13 5QL, UK; Cook's Lake Farming Forestry and Wildlife Inc (Ecological Consultancy), Queens County, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - D W Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney OX13 5QL, UK
| | - C D Buesching
- Cook's Lake Farming Forestry and Wildlife Inc (Ecological Consultancy), Queens County, Nova Scotia, Canada; Department of Biology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
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4
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Infection with a Recently Discovered Gammaherpesvirus Variant in European Badgers, Meles meles, is Associated with Higher Relative Viral Loads in Blood. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11101154. [PMID: 36297210 PMCID: PMC9606972 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11101154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Herpesviruses are ubiquitous pathogens infecting most animals. Although host immunity continually coevolves to combat virulence, viral variants with enhanced transmissibility or virulence occasionally emerge, resulting in disease burdens in host populations. Mustelid gammaherpesvirus 1 (MusGHV-1) is the only herpesvirus species identified thus far in European badgers, Meles meles. No MusGHV-1 associated pathomorbidity has been reported, but reactivation of MusGHV-1 in genital tracts is linked to impaired female reproductive success. An analysis of a short sequence from the highly conserved DNA polymerase (DNApol) gene previously identified two variants in a single host population. Here we compared genetic variance in blood samples from 66 known individuals of this same free-ranging badger population using a partial sequence comprising 2874 nucleotides of the DNApol gene, among which we identified 15 nucleotide differences resulting in 5 amino acid differences. Prevalence was 86% (59/66) for the common and 17% (11/66) for the novel variant, with 6% (4/66) of badgers presenting with coinfection. MusGHV-1 variants were distributed unevenly across the population, with individuals infected with the novel genotype clustered in 3 of 25 contiguous social groups. Individuals infected with the novel variant had significantly higher MusGHV-1 viral loads in their blood (p = 0.002) after adjusting for age (juveniles > adults, p < 0.001) and season (summer > spring and autumn, p = 0.005; mixed-effect linear regression), likely indicating higher virulence of the novel variant. Further genome-wide analyses of MusGHV-1 host resistance genes and host phenotypic variations are required to clarify the drivers and sequelae of this new MusGHV-1 variant.
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5
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Peeva S, Raichev E, Georgiev D, Yankov Y, Tsunoda H, Kaneko Y. European badger's mating activities associated with moon phase. J ETHOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-022-00762-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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6
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Sugianto NA, Heistermann M, Newman C, Macdonald DW, Buesching CD. Alternative reproductive strategies provide a flexible mechanism for assuring mating success in the European badgers (Meles meles): An investigation from hormonal measures. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2021; 310:113823. [PMID: 34044013 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2021.113823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Selection-pressures differ with population density, but few studies investigate how this can affect reproductive physiology. European badger (Meles meles) density varies from solitary to group-living across their range, with reported mating periods throughout the entire year to specific seasonal periods. Badger reproduction is evolutionarily distinct, interrupting the direct progression from conception to gestation with delayed implantation (DI), allowing for superfecundation (SF). To establish the tactical mating flexibility afforded by DI*SF, we used cross-sectional population-level seasonal variation of circulating sex-steroids for 97 females from a high-density population. Oestradiol was highest in spring among non-parous females, then lower in summer, and remained low during following seasons, suggesting that the mating period was restricted to just spring. Oestrone was consistently higher than oestradiol; it was elevated in spring, lowest during summer, peaked in autumn, and remained elevated for pregnant females in winter. This suggests that oestrone sustains pre-implanted blastocysts throughout DI. Progesterone was low throughout, except during winter pregnancy, associated with implantation and luteal development. In contrast to multiple mating periods reported by lower-density studies, our oestradiol data suggest that, at high-density, females exhibit only one mating period (congruent with testosterone patterns in males studied previously in this same population). While additional mating periods during DI enhance fertility assurance at low-density, at high-density, we propose that when coitus is frequent, fertilisation is assured, precluding the need for further cycles and associated mating risks. This endocrinologically flexible DI*SF mating strategy likely represents a form of balancing selection, allowing badgers to succeed at a range of regional densities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Adrianna Sugianto
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
| | - Michael Heistermann
- Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Chris Newman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Cook's Lake Farming Forestry and Wildlife Inc (Ecological Consultancy), Queens County, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - David W Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Christina D Buesching
- Cook's Lake Farming Forestry and Wildlife Inc (Ecological Consultancy), Queens County, Nova Scotia, Canada; Department of Biology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
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7
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Marjamäki PH, Dugdale HL, Delahay R, McDonald RA, Wilson AJ. Genetic, social and maternal contributions to Mycobacterium bovis infection status in European badgers (Meles meles). J Evol Biol 2021; 34:695-709. [PMID: 33617698 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 02/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Within host populations, individuals can vary in their susceptibility to infections and in the severity and progression of disease once infected. Though mediated through differences in behaviour, resistance or tolerance, variation in disease outcomes ultimately stems from genetic and environmental (including social) factors. Despite obvious implications for the evolutionary, ecological and epidemiological dynamics of disease traits, the relative importance of these factors has rarely been quantified in naturally infected wild animal hosts. Here, we use a long-term capture-mark-recapture study of group-living European badgers (Meles meles) to characterize genetic and environmental sources of variation in host infection status by Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). We find that genetic factors contribute to M. bovis infection status, whether measured over a lifetime or across repeated captures. In the latter case, the heritability (h2 ) of infection status is close to zero in cubs and yearlings but increases in adulthood. Overall, environmental influences arising from a combination of social group membership (defined in time and space) and maternal effects appear to be more important than genetic factors. Thus, while genes do contribute to among-individual variation, they play a comparatively minor role, meaning that rapid evolution of host defences under parasite-mediated selection is unlikely (especially if selection is on young animals where h2 is lowest). Conversely, our results lend further support to the view that social and early-life environments are important drivers of the dynamics of bTB infection in badger populations specifically, and of disease traits in wild hosts more generally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula H Marjamäki
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh, The Netherlands
| | - Richard Delahay
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Gloucestershire, UK
| | - Robbie A McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Alastair J Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
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8
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Tsai MS, Fogarty U, Byrne AW, O’Keeffe J, Newman C, Macdonald DW, Buesching CD. Effects of Mustelid gammaherpesvirus 1 (MusGHV-1) Reactivation in European Badger ( Meles meles) Genital Tracts on Reproductive Fitness. Pathogens 2020; 9:E769. [PMID: 32962280 PMCID: PMC7559395 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9090769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Reactivation of latent Gammaherpesvirus in the genital tract can lead to reproductive failure in domestic animals. Nevertheless, this pathophysiology has not received formal study in wild mammals. High prevalence of Mustelid gammaherpesvirus 1 (MusGHV-1) DNA detected in the genital tracts of European badgers (Meles meles) implies that this common pathogen may be a sexual transmitted infection. Here we used PCR to test MusGHV-1 DNA prevalence in genital swabs collected from 144 wild badgers in Ireland (71 males, 73 females) to investigate impacts on male fertility indicators (sperm abundance and testes weight) and female fecundity (current reproductive output). MusGHV-1 reactivation had a negative effect on female reproduction, but not on male fertility; however males had a higher risk of MusGHV-1 reactivation than females, especially during the late-winter mating season, and genital MusGHV-1 reactivation differed between age classes, where 3-5 year old adults had significantly lower reactivation rates than younger or older ones. Negative results in foetal tissues from MusGHV-1 positive mothers indicated that cross-placental transmission was unlikely. This study has broader implications for how wide-spread gammaherpesvirus infections could affect reproductive performance in wild Carnivora species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-shan Tsai
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Abingdon Road, Tubney House, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK; (C.N.); (D.W.M.); (C.D.B.)
| | - Ursula Fogarty
- Irish Equine Centre, Johnstown, Naas, Co. Kildare W91 RH93, Ireland;
| | - Andrew W. Byrne
- One-Health Scientific Support Unit, Department of Agriculture, Agriculture House, Dublin 2 DO2 WK12, Ireland;
| | - James O’Keeffe
- Department of Agriculture, Agriculture House, Dublin 2 DO2 WK1, Ireland;
- Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4 D04 W6F6, Ireland
| | - Chris Newman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Abingdon Road, Tubney House, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK; (C.N.); (D.W.M.); (C.D.B.)
- Cook’s Lake Farming Forestry and Wildlife Inc (Ecological Consultancy), Queens County, NS B0J 2H0, Canada
| | - David W. Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Abingdon Road, Tubney House, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK; (C.N.); (D.W.M.); (C.D.B.)
| | - Christina D. Buesching
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Abingdon Road, Tubney House, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK; (C.N.); (D.W.M.); (C.D.B.)
- Cook’s Lake Farming Forestry and Wildlife Inc (Ecological Consultancy), Queens County, NS B0J 2H0, Canada
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9
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Smith F, Robertson A, Smith GC, Gill P, McDonald RA, Wilson G, Delahay RJ. Estimating wildlife vaccination coverage using genetic methods. Prev Vet Med 2020; 183:105096. [PMID: 32907707 DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.105096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Vaccination is a useful approach for the control of disease in wildlife populations. However, its effectiveness is dependent in part on delivery to a sufficient proportion of the target population. Measuring the proportions of wild animal populations that have been vaccinated is challenging and so there is a need to develop robust approaches that can contribute to our understanding of the likely efficacy of wildlife vaccination campaigns. We used a modified capture mark recapture technique to estimate vaccine coverage in a wild population of European badgers (Meles meles) vaccinated by live-trapping and injecting with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin as part of a bovine tuberculosis control initiative in Wales, United Kingdom. Our approach used genetic matching of vaccinated animals to a sample of the wider population to estimate the percentage of badgers that had been vaccinated. Individual-specific genetic profiles were obtained using microsatellite genotyping of hair samples, which were collected directly from trapped and vaccinated badgers and non-invasively from the wider population using hair traps deployed at badger burrows (setts). With two nights of trapping at each sett in an annual campaign, an estimated 50 % (95 % confidence interval 40-60 %) of the badger population received at least one dose of vaccine in a single year. Using a simple population model this suggested that the proportion of the population that would have received at least one dose of vaccine over the course of the four year vaccination campaign was between 67 % and 83 %. This is the first attempt, outside of field trials, to quantify the level of vaccine coverage achieved by trapping and injecting badgers, which is currently the only option for delivering BCG vaccine to this species. The results therefore have specific application to bTB control policy and the novel approach may have wider value in wildlife management and research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Freya Smith
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire, GL10 3UJ, UK.
| | - Andrew Robertson
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire, GL10 3UJ, UK; Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9EZ, UK
| | - Graham C Smith
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire, GL10 3UJ, UK
| | - Peter Gill
- Forensic Genetics Research Group, Oslo University Hospital and Also Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Robbie A McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9EZ, UK
| | - Gavin Wilson
- RSK Biocensus Limited, Suites 1-3 Bank House, Bond's Mill, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, GL10 3RF, UK
| | - Richard J Delahay
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire, GL10 3UJ, UK
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10
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Jacquier M, Vandel JM, Léger F, Duhayer J, Pardonnet S, Queney G, Kaerle C, Say L, Ruette S, Devillard S. Population genetic structures at multiple spatial scales: importance of social groups in European badgers. J Mammal 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyaa090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractPopulation viability and metapopulation dynamics are strongly affected by gene flow. Identifying ecological correlates of genetic structure and gene flow in wild populations is therefore a major issue both in evolutionary ecology and species management. Studying the genetic structure of populations also enables identification of the spatial scale at which most gene flow occurs, hence the scale of the functional connectivity, which is of paramount importance for species ecology. In this study, we examined the genetic structure of a social, continuously distributed mammal, the European badger (Meles meles), both at large spatial scales (among populations) and fine (within populations) spatial scales. The study was carried out in 11 sites across France utilizing a noninvasive hair trapping protocol at 206 monitored setts. We identified 264 badgers genotyped at 24 microsatellite DNA loci. At the large scale, we observed high and significant genetic differentiation among populations (global Fst = 0.139; range of pairwise Fst [0.046–0.231]) that was not related to the geographic distance among sites, suggesting few large-scale dispersal events. Within populations, we detected a threshold value below which badgers were genetically close (< 400 m), highlighting that sociality is the major structuring process within badger populations at the fine scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mickaël Jacquier
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5558 LBBE, Villeurbanne, France
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Unité-PAD, Montfort, Birieux, France
| | - Jean-Michel Vandel
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Unité-PAD, Montfort, Birieux, France
| | - François Léger
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Unité-PAD, Gerstheim, France
| | - Jeanne Duhayer
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5558 LBBE, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Sylvia Pardonnet
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5558 LBBE, Villeurbanne, France
| | | | | | - Ludovic Say
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5558 LBBE, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Sandrine Ruette
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Unité-PAD, Montfort, Birieux, France
| | - Sébastien Devillard
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5558 LBBE, Villeurbanne, France
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11
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Extra Territorial Excursions by European badgers are not limited by age, sex or season. Sci Rep 2020; 10:9665. [PMID: 32541685 PMCID: PMC7296015 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-66809-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
European badgers (Meles meles) in medium and high density populations show strong territorial behaviour. Territories in these populations are contiguous, well-marked and often unchanging over many years. However, badgers do not always stay within their territorial boundaries. In our medium-density population, most individual badgers made extra-territorial excursions (ETEs) throughout the year. ETEs were most frequent between April and September and least frequent in December and January (the period of winter lethargy). Male badgers made longer and more frequent ETEs than females (especially between January and March, and in autumn). Breeding females made longer and more frequent ETEs than non-breeding females in November. While these peaks correspond with the main mating seasons, mating activity does not explain ETEs throughout the year. The shorter, but more frequent, ETEs in summer months may serve a monitoring purpose, rather than simply providing additional mating opportunities with badgers from outside the 'home' social group. We found that young badgers did not make regular ETEs until the summer of their second year. If badgers could be vaccinated as cubs, this would reduce any potential risk of TB spread during ETEs.
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12
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Rosen LE, Fogarty U, O’Keeffe JJ, Olea-Popelka FJ. Monitoring European badger (Meles meles) reproduction under evolving bovine tuberculosis management in Ireland. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-019-1340-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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13
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Dondina O, Orioli V, Chiatante G, Meriggi A, Bani L. Species specialization limits movement ability and shapes ecological networks: the case study of 2 forest mammals. Curr Zool 2019; 65:237-249. [PMID: 31391812 PMCID: PMC6681181 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
To counteract the negative effects of forest fragmentation on wildlife, it is crucial to maintain functional ecological networks. We identified the ecological networks for 2 mammals with very different degrees of forest specialization, the European badger Meles meles and the Roe deer Capreolus capreolus, by differentiating 4 agroforestry elements as either nodes or connectivity elements, and by defining the distance that provides the functional connectivity between fragments. Species occurrence data were collected in a wide agroecosystem in northern Italy. To test the role of hedgerows, traditional poplar cultivations, short rotation coppices, and reforestations as ecological network elements for the 2 species we applied the method of simulated species perceptions of the landscape (SSPL), comparing the ability of different SSPLs to explain the observed species distribution. All analyses were repeated considering different scenarios of species movement ability through the matrix. Model outputs seem to show that the specialist and highly mobile Roe deer has the same movement ability throughout the matrix (2 km) as the European badger, a smaller, but generalist species. The ecological network identified for the European badger was widespread throughout the area and was composed of woodlands, poplar cultivations and hedgerows as nodes and short rotation coppices as connectivity elements. Conversely, the ecological network of the Roe deer was mostly limited to the main forest areas and was composed of woodlands, poplar cultivations and reforestations as nodes and short rotation coppices and hedgerows as connectivity elements. The degree of forest specialization strongly affects both species perception of habitat and movement ability throughout the matrix, regardless of species size. This has important implications for species conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Dondina
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, Milano, Italy
| | - Valerio Orioli
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, Milano, Italy
| | - Gianpasquale Chiatante
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, Pavia, Italy
| | - Alberto Meriggi
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, Pavia, Italy
| | - Luciano Bani
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, Milano, Italy
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14
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Marjamäki PH, Dugdale HL, Dawson DA, McDonald RA, Delahay R, Burke T, Wilson AJ. Individual variation and the source-sink group dynamics of extra-group paternity in a social mammal. Behav Ecol 2019; 30:301-312. [PMID: 30971858 PMCID: PMC6450204 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Revised: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 11/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Movement of individuals, or their genes, can influence eco-evolutionary processes in structured populations. We have limited understanding of the extent to which spatial behavior varies among groups and individuals within populations. Here, we use genetic pedigree reconstruction in a long-term study of European badgers (Meles meles) to characterize the extent of extra-group paternity, occurring as a consequence of breeding excursions, and to test hypothesized drivers of variation at multiple levels. We jointly estimate parentage and paternity distance (PD; distance between a cub's natal and its father's social group), and test whether population density and sex ratio influence mean annual PD. We also model cub-level PD and extra-group paternity (EGP) to test for variation among social groups and parental individuals. Mean PD varied among years but was not explained by population density or sex ratio. However, cub-level analysis shows strong effects of social group, and parental identities, with some parental individuals being consistently more likely to produce cubs with extra-group partners. Group effects were partially explained by local sex ratio. There was also a strong negative correlation between maternal and paternal social group effects on cub paternity distance, indicating source-sink dynamics. Our analyses of paternity distance and EGP indicate variation in extra-group mating at multiple levels-among years, social groups and individuals. The latter in particular is a phenomenon seldom documented and suggests that gene flow among groups may be disproportionately mediated by a nonrandom subset of adults, emphasizing the importance of the individual in driving eco-evolutionary dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula H Marjamäki
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Deborah A Dawson
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Robbie A McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Richard Delahay
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Gloucestershire, UK
| | - Terry Burke
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Alastair J Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
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15
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Escoda L, Fernández‐González Á, Castresana J. Quantitative analysis of connectivity in populations of a semi‐aquatic mammal using kinship categories and network assortativity. Mol Ecol Resour 2019; 19:310-326. [DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.12967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Revised: 05/10/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lídia Escoda
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology CSIC‐Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona Spain
| | | | - Jose Castresana
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology CSIC‐Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona Spain
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16
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Hare RM, Simmons LW. Sexual selection and its evolutionary consequences in female animals. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2018; 94:929-956. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Revised: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robin M. Hare
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, 6009 Australia
| | - Leigh W. Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, 6009 Australia
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17
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Linking plasma sex steroid hormone levels to the condition of external genitalia in European badgers (Meles meles): A critical evaluation of traditional field methodology. Mamm Biol 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2018.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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18
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Benton CH, Delahay RJ, Smith FAP, Robertson A, McDonald RA, Young AJ, Burke TA, Hodgson D. Inbreeding intensifies sex- and age-dependent disease in a wild mammal. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1500-1511. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Clare H. Benton
- National Wildlife Management Centre; Animal and Plant Health Agency; Stonehouse UK
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation; University of Exeter; Penryn UK
| | - Richard J. Delahay
- National Wildlife Management Centre; Animal and Plant Health Agency; Stonehouse UK
| | - Freya A. P. Smith
- National Wildlife Management Centre; Animal and Plant Health Agency; Stonehouse UK
| | - Andrew Robertson
- National Wildlife Management Centre; Animal and Plant Health Agency; Stonehouse UK
- Environment and Sustainability Institute; University of Exeter; Penryn UK
| | - Robbie A. McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability Institute; University of Exeter; Penryn UK
| | - Andrew J. Young
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation; University of Exeter; Penryn UK
| | - Terry A. Burke
- Molecular Ecology Laboratory; University of Sheffield; Sheffield UK
| | - Dave Hodgson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation; University of Exeter; Penryn UK
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19
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Podgórski T, Śmietanka K. Do wild boar movements drive the spread of African Swine Fever? Transbound Emerg Dis 2018; 65:1588-1596. [PMID: 29799177 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.12910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2017] [Revised: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The spatial behaviour of hosts can seriously affect the transmission of pathogens and spatial spread of diseases. Understanding the relationship between host movements and disease dynamics is of prime importance for optimizing disease control efforts. African swine fever (ASF), a devastating disease of wild and domestic suids, has been spreading continuously through eastern Europe since 2007. The wild boar (Sus scrofa) has been implicated in the epidemiology of this disease, but the role of wild boar movements in ASF dynamics and spread has not been studied and remains largely speculative. Here, we examined whether monthly parameters of wild boar movements (dispersal distance of yearlings, home range size of adult males and females) can explain variation in the spatio-temporal dynamics of the ASF outbreak in the wild boar population in north-eastern Poland, 2014-2015. We expected to observe a positive relationship between host mobility and disease spread. Contrary to our expectations, we found that movements of wild boar, despite their seasonal variation, were poor predictors of ASF dynamics in space and time. During the 2 years of the study, ASF spread gradually at a steady pace of 1.5 km/month without significant changes across seasons. None of the analysed movement parameters explained variation in the measures of ASF occurrence and spread (i.e., number of cases, prevalence, size and expansion rate of the outbreak area). We believe that the factor limiting the influence of host movements on ASF dynamics is the severity of the disease, which quickly hampers extensive movements and restricts disease transmission to only the most immediate individuals. Three natural factors constrain direct disease transmission: wild boar social structure, the short duration of low-level virus shedding and high virus-induced lethality, followed by indirect transmission through infected carcasses. These most likely shape the gradual spread of ASF in space and its persistence in already infected areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Podgórski
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Białowieża, Poland
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20
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Silk MJ, Weber NL, Steward LC, Hodgson DJ, Boots M, Croft DP, Delahay RJ, McDonald RA. Contact networks structured by sex underpin sex-specific epidemiology of infection. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:309-318. [PMID: 29266710 PMCID: PMC6849844 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Revised: 08/23/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Contact networks are fundamental to the transmission of infection and host sex often affects the acquisition and progression of infection. However, the epidemiological impacts of sex-related variation in animal contact networks have rarely been investigated. We test the hypothesis that sex-biases in infection are related to variation in multilayer contact networks structured by sex in a population of European badgers Meles meles naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis. Our key results are that male-male and between-sex networks are structured at broader spatial scales than female-female networks and that in male-male and between-sex contact networks, but not female-female networks, there is a significant relationship between infection and contacts with individuals in other groups. These sex differences in social behaviour may underpin male-biased acquisition of infection and may result in males being responsible for more between-group transmission. This highlights the importance of sex-related variation in host behaviour when managing animal diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J. Silk
- Environment and Sustainability InstituteUniversity of ExeterPenrynTR10 9FEUK
| | - Nicola L. Weber
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenrynTR10 9FEUK
| | - Lucy C. Steward
- Environment and Sustainability InstituteUniversity of ExeterPenrynTR10 9FEUK
| | - David J. Hodgson
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenrynTR10 9FEUK
| | - Mike Boots
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenrynTR10 9FEUK
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of California, Berkeley3040 Valley Life Sciences BuildingBerkeleyCA94720USA
| | - Darren P. Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal BehaviourUniversity of ExeterExeterEX4 4QGUK
| | - Richard J. Delahay
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health AgencyWoodchester ParkNympsfield, StonehouseGL10 3UJUK
| | - Robbie A. McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability InstituteUniversity of ExeterPenrynTR10 9FEUK
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21
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Ellis S, Franks DW, Nattrass S, Cant MA, Bradley DL, Giles D, Balcomb KC, Croft DP. Postreproductive lifespans are rare in mammals. Ecol Evol 2018. [PMID: 29531669 PMCID: PMC5838047 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A species has a post‐reproductive stage if, like humans, a female entering the adult population can expect to live a substantial proportion of their life after their last reproductive event. However, it is conceptually and statistically challenging to distinguish these true post‐reproductive stages from the usual processes of senescence, which can result in females occasionally surviving past their last reproductive event. Hence, despite considerable interest, the taxonomic prevalence of post‐reproductive stages remains unclear and debated. In this study we use life tables constructed from published data on wild populations of mammals, and statistical measures of post‐reproductive lifespans, to distinguish true post‐reproductive stages from artefacts of senescence and demography in 52 species. We find post‐reproductive stages are rare in mammals and are limited to humans and a few species of toothed whales. By resolving this long‐standing debate, we hope to provide clarity for researchers in the field of evolutionary biology and a solid foundation for further studies investigating the evolution and adaptive significance of this unusual life history trait.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Ellis
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour University of Exeter Exeter UK
| | | | | | - Michael A Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation University of Exeter Penryn Campus Penryn, Cornwall UK
| | - Destiny L Bradley
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour University of Exeter Exeter UK
| | | | | | - Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour University of Exeter Exeter UK
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22
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McDonald JL, Robertson A, Silk MJ. Wildlife disease ecology from the individual to the population: Insights from a long‐term study of a naturally infected European badger population. J Anim Ecol 2017; 87:101-112. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Accepted: 08/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrew Robertson
- Environment and Sustainability InstituteUniversity of Exeter Penryn UK
- National Wildlife Management CentreAnimal and Plant Health Agency Gloucestershire UK
| | - Matthew J. Silk
- Environment and Sustainability InstituteUniversity of Exeter Penryn UK
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23
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Territoriality ensures paternity in a solitary carnivore mammal. Sci Rep 2017; 7:4494. [PMID: 28674454 PMCID: PMC5495821 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04820-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2017] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
In solitary carnivorous mammals, territoriality is assumed to benefit male fitness by ensuring the exclusivity of matings within territories via mate guarding and female defence. However, this hypothesis remains empirically untested. Here, we examined this hypothesis for solitary territorial carnivores using the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) as a case study. We expected that territorial males sire all litters born within their territories, translating into the absence of multi-paternity cases within the same litter. We analysed parentage in 43 kittens, belonging to 20 different litters. For 42 kittens, a father could be assigned using microsatellites and always coincided with the individual holding the territory. For 16 kittens from 10 litters for which we also had information on SNPs, paternity assignments coincided with microsatellites, except for a litter (two kittens) from the same litter for which a different male was assigned, but the territorial male could not be excluded. Our results indicated that multi-paternity in the Iberian lynx must be a rare event, and that territorial males sire all litters born from the females with which they share territories. We propose that both the low number of mature individuals in the lynx population and the fact that female oestrus is induced by male presence may explain results.
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24
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Lemaître JF, Gaillard JM. Reproductive senescence: new perspectives in the wild. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2017; 92:2182-2199. [PMID: 28374548 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2016] [Revised: 02/23/2017] [Accepted: 03/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
According to recent empirical studies, reproductive senescence, the decline in reproductive success with increasing age, seems to be nearly ubiquitous in the wild. However, a clear understanding of the evolutionary causes and consequences of reproductive senescence is still lacking and requires new and integrative approaches. After identifying the sequential and complex nature of female reproductive senescence, we show that the relative contributions of physiological decline and alterations in the efficiency of parental care to reproductive senescence remain unknown and need to be assessed in the light of current evolutionary theories of ageing. We demonstrate that, although reproductive senescence is generally studied only from the female viewpoint, age-specific female reproductive success strongly depends on male-female interactions. Thus, a reduction in male fertilization efficiency with increasing age has detrimental consequences for female fitness. Lastly, we call for investigations of the role of environmental conditions on reproductive senescence, which could provide salient insights into the underlying sex-specific mechanisms of reproductive success. We suggest that embracing such directions should allow building new bridges between reproductive senescence and the study of sperm competition, parental care, mate choice and environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-François Lemaître
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1; CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Évolutive UMR5558, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Jean-Michel Gaillard
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1; CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Évolutive UMR5558, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France
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25
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Benton CH, Delahay RJ, Robertson A, McDonald RA, Wilson AJ, Burke TA, Hodgson D. Blood thicker than water: kinship, disease prevalence and group size drive divergent patterns of infection risk in a social mammal. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20160798. [PMID: 27440666 PMCID: PMC4971205 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2016] [Accepted: 06/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The importance of social- and kin-structuring of populations for the transmission of wildlife disease is widely assumed but poorly described. Social structure can help dilute risks of transmission for group members, and is relatively easy to measure, but kin-association represents a further level of population sub-structure that is harder to measure, particularly when association behaviours happen underground. Here, using epidemiological and molecular genetic data from a wild, high-density population of the European badger (Meles meles), we quantify the risks of infection with Mycobacterium bovis (the causative agent of tuberculosis) in cubs. The risk declines with increasing size of its social group, but this net dilution effect conceals divergent patterns of infection risk. Cubs only enjoy reduced risk when social groups have a higher proportion of test-negative individuals. Cubs suffer higher infection risk in social groups containing resident infectious adults, and these risks are exaggerated when cubs and infectious adults are closely related. We further identify key differences in infection risk associated with resident infectious males and females. We link our results to parent-offspring interactions and other kin-biased association, but also consider the possibility that susceptibility to infection is heritable. These patterns of infection risk help to explain the observation of a herd immunity effect in badgers following low-intensity vaccination campaigns. They also reveal kinship and kin-association to be important, and often hidden, drivers of disease transmission in social mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare H Benton
- Animal and Plant Health Agency, National Wildlife Management Centre, Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire, UK Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK
| | - Richard J Delahay
- Animal and Plant Health Agency, National Wildlife Management Centre, Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire, UK
| | - Andrew Robertson
- Animal and Plant Health Agency, National Wildlife Management Centre, Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire, UK Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK
| | - Robbie A McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK
| | - Alastair J Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK
| | - Terry A Burke
- University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, UK
| | - Dave Hodgson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK
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26
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Buesching CD, Newman C, Service K, Macdonald DW, Riordan P. Latrine marking patterns of badgers (
Meles meles
) with respect to population density and range size. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Christina D. Buesching
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit Department of Zoology The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre University of Oxford Tubney House Tubney OX13 5QL UK
| | - Chris Newman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit Department of Zoology The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre University of Oxford Tubney House Tubney OX13 5QL UK
| | - Katrina Service
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit Department of Zoology The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre University of Oxford Tubney House Tubney OX13 5QL UK
| | - David W. Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit Department of Zoology The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre University of Oxford Tubney House Tubney OX13 5QL UK
| | - Philip Riordan
- Department of Zoology University of Oxford South Parks Road Oxford OX1 3PS UK
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27
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McDonald JL, Bailey T, Delahay RJ, McDonald RA, Smith GC, Hodgson DJ. Demographic buffering and compensatory recruitment promotes the persistence of disease in a wildlife population. Ecol Lett 2016; 19:443-9. [PMID: 26868206 PMCID: PMC4790914 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2015] [Revised: 09/30/2015] [Accepted: 01/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Demographic buffering allows populations to persist by compensating for fluctuations in vital rates, including disease‐induced mortality. Using long‐term data on a badger (Meles meles Linnaeus, 1758) population naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis, we built an integrated population model to quantify impacts of disease, density and environmental drivers on survival and recruitment. Badgers exhibit a slow life‐history strategy, having high rates of adult survival with low variance, and low but variable rates of recruitment. Recruitment exhibited strong negative density‐dependence, but was not influenced by disease, while adult survival was density independent but declined with increasing prevalence of diseased individuals. Given that reproductive success is not depressed by disease prevalence, density‐dependent recruitment of cubs is likely to compensate for disease‐induced mortality. This combination of slow life history and compensatory recruitment promotes the persistence of a naturally infected badger population and helps to explain the badger's role as a persistent reservoir of M. bovis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenni L McDonald
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Trevor Bailey
- College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QF, UK
| | - Richard J Delahay
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire, GL10 3UJ, UK
| | - Robbie A McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Graham C Smith
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire, GL10 3UJ, UK
| | - Dave J Hodgson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
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28
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29
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Corner LAL, Stuart LJ, Kelly DJ, Marples NM. Reproductive Biology Including Evidence for Superfetation in the European Badger Meles meles (Carnivora: Mustelidae). PLoS One 2015; 10:e0138093. [PMID: 26465324 PMCID: PMC4605486 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2014] [Accepted: 08/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The reproductive biology of the European badger (Meles meles) is of wide interest because it is one of the few mammal species that show delayed implantation and one of only five which are suggested to show superfetation as a reproductive strategy. This study aimed to describe the reproductive biology of female Irish badgers with a view to increasing our understanding of the process of delayed implantation and superfetation. We carried out a detailed histological examination of the reproductive tract of 264 female badgers taken from sites across 20 of the 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland. The key results show evidence of multiple blastocysts at different stages of development present simultaneously in the same female, supporting the view that superfetation is relatively common in this population of badgers. In addition we present strong evidence that the breeding rate in Irish badgers is limited by failure to conceive, rather than failure at any other stages of the breeding cycle. We show few effects of age on breeding success, suggesting no breeding suppression by adult females in this population. The study sheds new light on this unusual breeding strategy of delayed implantation and superfetation, and highlights a number of significant differences between the reproductive biology of female Irish badgers and those of Great Britain and Swedish populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leigh A. L. Corner
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Lynsey J. Stuart
- Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - David J. Kelly
- Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Trinity Centre for Biodiversity Research, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Nicola M. Marples
- Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Trinity Centre for Biodiversity Research, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- * E-mail:
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30
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Tinnesand HV, Buesching CD, Noonan MJ, Newman C, Zedrosser A, Rosell F, Macdonald DW. Will Trespassers Be Prosecuted or Assessed According to Their Merits? A Consilient Interpretation of Territoriality in a Group-Living Carnivore, the European Badger (Meles meles). PLoS One 2015; 10:e0132432. [PMID: 26147753 PMCID: PMC4493095 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2015] [Accepted: 06/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Socio-spatial interactions of Carnivores have traditionally been described using the vocabulary of territoriality and aggression, with scent marks interpreted as 'scent fences'. Here, we investigate the role of olfactory signals in assumed territorial marking of group-living solitary foragers using European badgers Meles meles as a model. We presented anal gland secretions (n = 351) from known individuals to identifiable recipients (n = 187), to assess response-variation according to familiarity (own-group, neighbours, strangers) and spatial context (in-context: at a shared border; out-of-context: at an unshared border/ the main sett). Sniffing and over-marking (with subcaudal gland secretion) responses were strongest to anal gland secretions from strangers, intermediate to neighbouring-group and weakest to own-group members. Secretions from both, strangers and neighbours, were sniffed for longer than were own-group samples, although neighbour-secretion presented out-of-context evoked no greater interest than in-context. On an individual level, responses were further moderated by the relevance of individual-specific donor information encoded in the secretion, as it related to the physiological state of the responder. There was a trend bordering on significance for males to sniff for longer than did females, but without sex-related differences in the frequency of subcaudal over-marking responses, and males over-marked oestrous female secretions more than non-oestrous females. There were no age-class related differences in sniff-duration or in over-marking. Evaluating these results in the context of the Familiarity hypothesis, the Threat-level hypothesis, and the Individual advertisement hypothesis evidences that interpretations of territorial scent-marks depicting rigid and potentially agonistic discrimination between own- and foreign-group conspecifics are overly simplistic. We use our findings to advance conceptual understanding of badger socio-spatial ecology, and the general context of territoriality and group-range dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helga V. Tinnesand
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Environmental and Health Studies, Telemark University College, N-3800 Bø i Telemark, Norway
| | - Christina D. Buesching
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Dept. of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney House, Abingdon Rd, Tubney, Abingdon, OX13 5QL, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J. Noonan
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Dept. of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney House, Abingdon Rd, Tubney, Abingdon, OX13 5QL, United Kingdom
| | - Chris Newman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Dept. of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney House, Abingdon Rd, Tubney, Abingdon, OX13 5QL, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Zedrosser
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Environmental and Health Studies, Telemark University College, N-3800 Bø i Telemark, Norway
- Department of Integrative Biology, Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Gregor Mendel Str. 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Frank Rosell
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Environmental and Health Studies, Telemark University College, N-3800 Bø i Telemark, Norway
| | - David W. Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Dept. of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney House, Abingdon Rd, Tubney, Abingdon, OX13 5QL, United Kingdom
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Sin YW, Annavi G, Newman C, Buesching C, Burke T, Macdonald DW, Dugdale HL. MHC class II-assortative mate choice in European badgers (Meles meles). Mol Ecol 2015; 24:3138-50. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2014] [Revised: 04/22/2015] [Accepted: 04/23/2015] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yung Wa Sin
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU); Department of Zoology; Recanati-Kaplan Centre; University of Oxford; Tubney House Abingdon Road Abingdon Oxfordshire OX13 5QL UK
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences; University of Sheffield; Western Bank; Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN UK
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Museum of Comparative Zoology; Harvard University; 26 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA
| | - Geetha Annavi
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU); Department of Zoology; Recanati-Kaplan Centre; University of Oxford; Tubney House Abingdon Road Abingdon Oxfordshire OX13 5QL UK
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences; University of Sheffield; Western Bank; Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN UK
- Biology Department; Faculty of Science; Universiti Putra Malaysia; 43400 UPM Serdang Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia
| | - Chris Newman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU); Department of Zoology; Recanati-Kaplan Centre; University of Oxford; Tubney House Abingdon Road Abingdon Oxfordshire OX13 5QL UK
| | - Christina Buesching
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU); Department of Zoology; Recanati-Kaplan Centre; University of Oxford; Tubney House Abingdon Road Abingdon Oxfordshire OX13 5QL UK
| | - Terry Burke
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences; University of Sheffield; Western Bank; Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN UK
| | - David W. Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU); Department of Zoology; Recanati-Kaplan Centre; University of Oxford; Tubney House Abingdon Road Abingdon Oxfordshire OX13 5QL UK
| | - Hannah L. Dugdale
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences; University of Sheffield; Western Bank; Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN UK
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences; University of Groningen; PO Box 11103 9700CC Groningen the Netherlands
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Sin YW, Annavi G, Dugdale HL, Newman C, Burke T, MacDonald DW. Pathogen burden, co-infection and major histocompatibility complex variability in the European badger (Meles meles). Mol Ecol 2014; 23:5072-88. [PMID: 25211523 DOI: 10.1111/mec.12917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2013] [Revised: 09/07/2014] [Accepted: 09/08/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yung Wa Sin
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit; Department of Zoology; Recanati-Kaplan Centre; University of Oxford; Tubney House, Abingdon Road Tubney Abingdon Oxfordshire OX13 5QL UK
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences; University of Sheffield; Sheffield S10 2TN UK
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Museum of Comparative Zoology; Harvard University; 26 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA
| | - Geetha Annavi
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit; Department of Zoology; Recanati-Kaplan Centre; University of Oxford; Tubney House, Abingdon Road Tubney Abingdon Oxfordshire OX13 5QL UK
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences; University of Sheffield; Sheffield S10 2TN UK
- Faculty of Science; Department of Biology; University of Putra Malaysia; UPM 43400 Serdang Selangor Malaysia
| | - Hannah L. Dugdale
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences; University of Sheffield; Sheffield S10 2TN UK
- Behavioural Ecology and Self-Organization; University of Groningen; PO Box 11103 9700 CC Groningen the Netherlands
- Theoretical Biology; University of Groningen; PO Box 11103 9700 CC Groningen the Netherlands
| | - Chris Newman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit; Department of Zoology; Recanati-Kaplan Centre; University of Oxford; Tubney House, Abingdon Road Tubney Abingdon Oxfordshire OX13 5QL UK
| | - Terry Burke
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences; University of Sheffield; Sheffield S10 2TN UK
| | - David W. MacDonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit; Department of Zoology; Recanati-Kaplan Centre; University of Oxford; Tubney House, Abingdon Road Tubney Abingdon Oxfordshire OX13 5QL UK
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Annavi G, Newman C, Dugdale HL, Buesching CD, Sin YW, Burke T, Macdonald DW. Neighbouring-group composition and within-group relatedness drive extra-group paternity rate in the European badger (Meles meles). J Evol Biol 2014; 27:2191-203. [PMID: 25234113 PMCID: PMC4283041 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2014] [Revised: 07/22/2014] [Accepted: 07/27/2014] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Extra-group paternity (EGP) occurs commonly among group-living mammals and plays an important role in mating systems and the dynamics of sexual selection; however, socio-ecological and genetic correlates of EGP have been underexplored. We use 23 years of demographic and genetic data from a high-density European badger (Meles meles) population, to investigate the relationship between the rate of EGP in litters and mate availability, mate incompatibility and mate quality (heterozygosity). Relatedness between within-group assigned mothers and candidate fathers had a negative quadratic effect on EGP, whereas the number of neighbouring-group candidate fathers had a linear positive effect. We detected no effect of mean or maximum heterozygosity of within-group candidate fathers on EGP. Consequently, EGP was associated primarily with mate availability, subject to within-group genetic effects, potentially to mitigate mate incompatibility and inbreeding. In badgers, cryptic female choice, facilitated by superfecundation, superfoetation and delayed implantation, prevents males from monopolizing within-group females. This resonates with a meta-analysis in group-living mammals, which proposed that higher rates of EGP occur when within-group males cannot monopolize within-group females. In contrast to the positive meta-analytic association, however, we found that EGP associated negatively with the number of within-group assigned mothers and the number of within-group candidate fathers; potentially a strategy to counter within-group males committing infanticide. The relationship between the rate of EGP and socio-ecological or genetic factors can therefore be intricate, and the potential for cryptic female choice must be accounted for in comparative studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Annavi
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of OxfordTubney, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of SheffieldSheffield, UK
- Biology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Putra MalaysiaSelangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - C Newman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of OxfordTubney, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - H L Dugdale
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of SheffieldSheffield, UK
- Theoretical Biology, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of GroningenGroningen, The Netherlands
- Behavioural Ecology and Self-Organization, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of GroningenGroningen, The Netherlands
| | - C D Buesching
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of OxfordTubney, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK
| | - Y W Sin
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of OxfordTubney, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of SheffieldSheffield, UK
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA, USA
| | - T Burke
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of SheffieldSheffield, UK
| | - D W Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of OxfordTubney, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK
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Annavi G, Newman C, Buesching CD, Macdonald DW, Burke T, Dugdale HL. Heterozygosity-fitness correlations in a wild mammal population: accounting for parental and environmental effects. Ecol Evol 2014; 4:2594-609. [PMID: 25360289 PMCID: PMC4203301 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2014] [Accepted: 04/24/2014] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
HFCs (heterozygosity–fitness correlations) measure the direct relationship between an individual's genetic diversity and fitness. The effects of parental heterozygosity and the environment on HFCs are currently under-researched. We investigated these in a high-density U.K. population of European badgers (Meles meles), using a multimodel capture–mark–recapture framework and 35 microsatellite loci. We detected interannual variation in first-year, but not adult, survival probability. Adult females had higher annual survival probabilities than adult males. Cubs with more heterozygous fathers had higher first-year survival, but only in wetter summers; there was no relationship with individual or maternal heterozygosity. Moist soil conditions enhance badger food supply (earthworms), improving survival. In dryer years, higher indiscriminate mortality rates appear to mask differential heterozygosity-related survival effects. This paternal interaction was significant in the most supported model; however, the model-averaged estimate had a relative importance of 0.50 and overlapped zero slightly. First-year survival probabilities were not correlated with the inbreeding coefficient (f); however, small sample sizes limited the power to detect inbreeding depression. Correlations between individual heterozygosity and inbreeding were weak, in line with published meta-analyses showing that HFCs tend to be weak. We found support for general rather than local heterozygosity effects on first-year survival probability, and g2 indicated that our markers had power to detect inbreeding. We emphasize the importance of assessing how environmental stressors can influence the magnitude and direction of HFCs and of considering how parental genetic diversity can affect fitness-related traits, which could play an important role in the evolution of mate choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geetha Annavi
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX13 5QL, U.K ; NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield Sheffield, S10 2TN, U.K ; Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, University of Putra Malaysia UPM 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Christopher Newman
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX13 5QL, U.K
| | - Christina D Buesching
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX13 5QL, U.K
| | - David W Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX13 5QL, U.K
| | - Terry Burke
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield Sheffield, S10 2TN, U.K
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield Sheffield, S10 2TN, U.K ; Theoretical Biology, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen PO Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands ; Behavioural Ecology and Self-Organization, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen PO Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
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George SC, Smith TE, Mac Cana PSS, Coleman R, Montgomery WI. Physiological stress in the Eurasian badger (Meles meles): effects of host, disease and environment. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2014; 200:54-60. [PMID: 24607571 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2014.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2013] [Revised: 02/06/2014] [Accepted: 02/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A method for monitoring hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) responses of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) to stressors was validated by measuring cortisol excretion in serum and faeces. Serum and faecal samples were collected under anaesthesia from live-captured, wild badgers and fresh faeces was collected from latrines at 15 social groups in County Down, Northern Ireland. Variation in levels of cortisol in wild badgers was investigated relative to disease status, season, age, sex, body mass, body condition and reproductive status and environmental factors that might influence stress. Faecal cortisol levels were significantly higher in animals testing culture-positive for Mycobacterium bovis. Prolonged elevation of cortisol can suppress immune function, which may have implications for disease transmission. There was a strong seasonal pattern in both serum cortisol, peaking in spring and faecal cortisol, peaking in summer. Cortisol levels were also higher in adults with poor body condition and low body mass. Faecal samples collected from latrines in grassland groups had significantly higher cortisol than those collected from woodland groups, possibly as a result of greater exposure to sources of environmental stress. This study is the first to investigate factors influencing physiological stress in badgers and indicates that serological and faecal excretion are valid indices of the HPA response to a range of stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheila C George
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Medical and Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, United Kingdom.
| | - Tessa E Smith
- School of Biological Sciences, University College Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester CH1 4BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Pól S S Mac Cana
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Medical and Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Coleman
- School of Biological Sciences, University College Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester CH1 4BJ, United Kingdom
| | - William I Montgomery
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Medical and Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, United Kingdom
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36
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Kaneko Y, Kanda E, Tashima S, Masuda R, Newman C, Macdonald DW. The socio-spatial dynamics of the Japanese badger (Meles anakuma). J Mammal 2014. [DOI: 10.1644/12-mamm-a-158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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Weber N, Bearhop S, Dall SRX, Delahay RJ, McDonald RA, Carter SP. Denning behaviour of the European badger ( Meles meles) correlates with bovine tuberculosis infection status. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012; 67:471-479. [PMID: 32214614 PMCID: PMC7080146 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1467-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2012] [Revised: 11/29/2012] [Accepted: 11/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Heterogeneities in behaviours of individuals may underpin important processes in evolutionary biology and ecology, including the spread of disease. Modelling approaches can sometimes fail to predict disease spread, which may partly be due to the number of unknown sources of variation in host behaviour. The European badger is a wildlife reservoir for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in Britain and Ireland, and individual behaviour has been demonstrated to be an important factor in the spread of bTB among badgers and to cattle. Radio-telemetry devices were deployed on 40 badgers from eight groups to investigate patterns of den (sett) use in a high-density population, where each group had one or two main and three to eight outlier setts in their territory. Badgers were located at their setts for 28 days per season for 1 year to investigate how patterns differed between individuals. Denning behaviour may have a strong influence on contact patterns and the transmission of disease. We found significant heterogeneity, influenced by season, sex and age. Also, when controlling for these, bTB infection status interacting with season was highly correlated with sett use. Test-positive badgers spent more time away from their main sett than those that tested negative. We speculate that wider-ranging behaviour of test-positive animals may result in them contacting sources of infection more frequently and/or that their behaviour may be influenced by their disease status. Measures to control infectious diseases might be improved by targeting functional groups, specific areas or times of year that may contribute disproportionately to disease spread.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Weber
- 1Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ UK.,2The Food and Environment Research Agency, Sand Hutton York, YO41 1LZ UK
| | - Stuart Bearhop
- 1Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ UK
| | - Sasha R X Dall
- 1Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ UK
| | - Richard J Delahay
- 2The Food and Environment Research Agency, Sand Hutton York, YO41 1LZ UK
| | - Robbie A McDonald
- 3Environment and Sustainability Institute, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ UK
| | - Stephen P Carter
- 2The Food and Environment Research Agency, Sand Hutton York, YO41 1LZ UK
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Richards-Zawacki CL, Wang IJ, Summers K. Mate choice and the genetic basis for colour variation in a polymorphic dart frog: inferences from a wild pedigree. Mol Ecol 2012; 21:3879-92. [PMID: 22650383 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2012.05644.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how reproductive barriers evolve during speciation remains an important question in evolution. Divergence in mating preferences may be a common first step in this process. The striking colour pattern diversity of strawberry dart frog (Dendrobates pumilio) populations has likely been shaped by sexual selection. Previous laboratory studies have shown that females attend to male coloration and prefer to court with males of their own colour, suggesting that divergent morphs may be reproductively isolated. To test this hypothesis, we used molecular data to estimate pedigree relationships from a polymorphic population. Whereas in the laboratory both red and yellow females preferred to court with males of their own phenotype, our pedigree shows a pattern of assortative mating only for red females. In the wild, yellow females appear to be less choosy about their mates, perhaps because they incur higher costs associated with searching than females of the more common red phenotype. We also used our pedigree to investigate the genetic basis for colour-pattern variation. The phenotype frequencies we observed were consistent with those expected if dorsal background coloration is controlled by a single locus, with complete dominance of red over yellow. Our results not only help clarify the role of sexual selection in reducing gene flow, but also shed light on the mechanisms underlying colour-pattern variation among sympatric colour morphs. The difference we observed between mating preferences measured under laboratory conditions and the pattern of mate choice observed in the wild highlight the importance of field studies for understanding behavioural reproductive isolation.
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Pope LC, Vernes K, Goldizen AW, Johnson CN. Mating system and local dispersal patterns of an endangered potoroid, the northern bettong (Bettongia tropica). AUST J ZOOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1071/zo12071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The northern bettong (Bettongia tropica) (Potoroidae), is an endangered macropod with a restricted distribution. We combined radio-tracking and trapping data with microsatellite genotypes to infer the mating system and local dispersal patterns of this species, and discuss their relevance to translocations. We defined the mating system as ‘overlap promiscuity’ (sensu Wittenberger 1979), though we cannot rule out serial monogamy. We found significant effects of proximity (average distance between parents = 190 m) and male weight, but not size, on the likelihood of paternity, suggesting that closer, heavier males have greater mating success. The average distance between putative pairs of relatives suggested that most dispersal occurred over short distances, with the distance between ‘related’ females significantly lower than that between related males (0.9 km versus 1.3 km). A spatial autocorrelation analysis showed high female relatedness across distances of up to 435 m, equivalent to half an average home range width. Conversely, male pairs had low relatedness across 0 to 870 m. These results suggested that female young often settle next to their mother, while males avoid nesting within their father’s home range. Both limited natal and ‘mating’ dispersal may have contributed to the strong genetic structure previously reported for this species.
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Newman C, Zhou YB, Buesching CD, Kaneko Y, Macdonald DW. Contrasting Sociality in Two Widespread, Generalist, Mustelid Genera,MelesandMartes. MAMMAL STUDY 2011. [DOI: 10.3106/041.036.0401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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41
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Dugdale HL, Griffiths A, Macdonald DW. Polygynandrous and repeated mounting behaviour in European badgers, Meles meles. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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42
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Female teat size is a reliable indicator of annual breeding success in European badgers: Genetic validation. Mamm Biol 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2011.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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DUGDALE HANNAHL, POPE LISAC, NEWMAN CHRIS, MACDONALD DAVIDW, BURKE TERRY. Age-specific breeding success in a wild mammalian population: selection, constraint, restraint and senescence. Mol Ecol 2011; 20:3261-74. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2011.05167.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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44
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Delahay RJ, Walker N, Gunn MR, Christie C, Wilson GJ, Cheeseman CL, McDonald RA. Using lifetime tooth-wear scores to predict age in wild Eurasian badgers: performance of a predictive model. J Zool (1987) 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2011.00796.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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45
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Characterisation of twenty-one European badger (Meles meles) microsatellite loci facilitates the discrimination of second-order relatives. CONSERV GENET RESOUR 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s12686-011-9392-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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46
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Alloparental behaviour and long-term costs of mothers tolerating other members of the group in a plurally breeding mammal. Anim Behav 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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47
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Frantz AC, Pope LC, Etherington TR, Wilson GJ, Burke T. Using isolation-by-distance-based approaches to assess the barrier effect of linear landscape elements on badger (Meles meles) dispersal. Mol Ecol 2010; 19:1663-74. [PMID: 20345687 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2010.04605.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
As the European badger (Meles meles) can be of conservation or management concern, it is important to have a good understanding of the species' dispersal ability. In particular, knowledge of landscape elements that affect dispersal can contribute to devising effective management strategies. However, the standard approach of using Bayesian clustering methods to correlate genetic discontinuities with landscape elements cannot easily be applied to this problem, as badger populations are often characterized by a strong confounding isolation-by-distance (IBD) pattern. We therefore developed a two-step method that compares the location of pairs of related badgers relative to a putative barrier and utilizes the expected spatial genetic structure characterized by IBD as a null model to test for the presence of a barrier. If a linear feature disrupts dispersal, the IBD pattern characterising pairs of individuals located on different sides of a putative barrier should differ significantly from the pattern obtained with pairs of individuals located on the same side. We used our new approach to assess the impact of rivers and roads of different sizes on badger dispersal in western England. We show that a large, wide river represented a barrier to badger dispersal and found evidence that a motorway may also restrict badger movement. Conversely, we did not find any evidence for small rivers and roads interfering with badger movement. One of the advantages of our approach is that potentially it can detect features that disrupt gene flow locally, without necessarily creating distinct identifiable genetic units.
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Affiliation(s)
- A C Frantz
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
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Slate J. Terry Burke - recipient of the 2009 Molecular EcologyPrize. Mol Ecol 2010; 19:23-4. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2009.04453.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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50
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Lin TT, You EM, Lin YK. Social and Genetic Mating Systems of the Asian Lesser White-toothed Shrew, Crocidura shantungensis, in Taiwan. J Mammal 2009. [DOI: 10.1644/08-mamm-a-346r1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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