Relatedness-based mate choice and female philopatry: inbreeding trends of wolf packs in a human-dominated landscape.

ABSTRACT: Inbreeding can reduce offspring fitness and has substantial implications for the genetic diversity and long-term viability of populations. In social cooperative canids, inbreeding is conditioned by the geographic proximity between opposite-sex kin outside natal groups and the presence of related individuals in neighbouring groups. Consequently, challenges in moving into other regions where the species is present can also affect inbreeding rates. These can be particularly problematic in areas of high human density, where movement can be restricted, even for highly vagile species. In this study, we investigate the socio-ecological dynamics of Iberian wolf packs in the human-dominated landscape of Alto Minho, in northwest Portugal, where wolves exhibit a high prevalence of short-distance disp

SUBMITTER: Pacheco C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10997798 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature