Inbreeding and inbreeding depression of early life traits in a cooperative mammal

  1. JOHANNA F. NIELSEN1,2,
  2. SINEAD ENGLISH3,
  3. WILL P. GOODALL-COPESTAKE1,4,
  4. JINLIANG WANG2,
  5. CRAIG A. WALLING1,
  6. ANDREW W. BATEMAN3,
  7. TOM P. FLOWER5,
  8. ROBERT L. SUTCLIFFE5,
  9. JAMIE SAMSON5,
  10. NATHAN K. THAVARAJAH5,
  11. LOESKE E. B. KRUUK1,
  12. TIM H. CLUTTON-BROCK3,
  13. JOSEPHINE M. PEMBERTON1

Article first published online: 12 APR 2012

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05565.x

Issue

Molecular Ecology

Molecular Ecology

Volume 21, Issue 11, pages 2788–2804, June 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

NIELSEN, J. F., ENGLISH, S., GOODALL-COPESTAKE, W. P., WANG, J., WALLING, C. A., BATEMAN, A. W., FLOWER, T. P., SUTCLIFFE, R. L., SAMSON, J., THAVARAJAH, N. K., KRUUK, L. E. B., CLUTTON-BROCK, T. H. and PEMBERTON, J. M. (2012), Inbreeding and inbreeding depression of early life traits in a cooperative mammal. Molecular Ecology, 21: 2788–2804. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05565.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, UK

  2. 2

    Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK

  3. 3

    Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK

  4. 4

    British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK

  5. 5

    Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag 20, Hatfield, 0028, South Africa

*Johanna Nielsen, Fax: +44 131 650 6564; E-mail: johanna.nielsen@ed.ac.uk

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 24 MAY 2012
  2. Article first published online: 12 APR 2012
  3. Received 16 November 2011; revision received 10 February 2012; accepted 22 February 2012

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Keywords:

  • emergence mass;
  • growth rate;
  • inbreeding;
  • inbreeding depression;
  • juvenile survival;
  • Suricata suricatta

Abstract

Mating between relatives often results in negative fitness consequences or inbreeding depression. However, the expression of inbreeding in populations of wild cooperative mammals and the effects of environmental, maternal and social factors on inbreeding depression in these systems are currently not well understood. This study uses pedigree-based inbreeding coefficients from a long-term study of meerkats (Suricata suricatta) in South Africa to reveal that 44% of the population have detectably non-zero (F > 0) inbreeding coefficients. 15% of these inbred individuals were the result of moderate inbreeding (F ≥ 0.125), although such inbreeding events almost solely occurred when mating individuals had no prior experience of each other. Inbreeding depression was evident for a range of traits: pup mass at emergence from the natal burrow, hind-foot length, growth until independence and juvenile survival. However, we found no evidence of significant inbreeding depression for skull and forearm length or for pup survival. This research provides a rare investigation into inbreeding in a cooperative mammal, revealing high levels of inbreeding, considerable negative consequences and complex interactions with the social environment.

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