Kinship and familiarity mitigate costs of social conflict between Seychelles warbler neighbors.

ABSTRACT: Because virtually all organisms compete with others in their social environment, mechanisms that reduce conflict between interacting individuals are crucial for the evolution of stable families, groups, and societies. Here, we tested whether costs of social conflict over territorial space between Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) are mitigated by kin-selected (genetic relatedness) or mutualistic (social familiarity) mechanisms. By measuring longitudinal changes in individuals' body mass and telomere length, we demonstrated that the fitness costs of territoriality are driven by a complex interplay between relatedness, familiarity, local density, and sex. Physical fights were less common at territory boundaries shared between related or familiar males. In line with this,

SUBMITTER: Bebbington K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5664493 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature