Mother knows best: dominant females determine offspring dispersal in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Relatedness between group members is central to understanding the causes of animal dispersal. In many group-living mammals this can be complicated as extra-pair copulations result in offspring having varying levels of relatedness to the dominant animals, leading to a potential conflict between male and female dominants over offspring dispersal strategies. To avoid resource competition and inbreeding, dominant males might be expected to evict unrelated males and related females, whereas the reverse strategy would be expected for dominant females.

Methodology/principal findings

We used microsatellites and long-term data from an urban fox (Vulpes vulpes) population to compare dispersal strategies between offspring with intra- and extra-group fathers and mothers of di

SUBMITTER: Whiteside HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3140410 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature