No evidence for female kin association, indications for extragroup paternity, and sex-biased dispersal patterns in wild western gorillas.

ABSTRACT: Characterizing animal dispersal patterns and the rational behind individuals' transfer choices is a long-standing question of interest in evolutionary biology. In wild western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), a one-male polygynous species, previous genetic findings suggested that, when dispersing, females might favor groups with female kin to promote cooperation, resulting in higher-than-expected within-group female relatedness. The extent of male dispersal remains unclear with studies showing conflicting results. To investigate male and female dispersal patterns and extragroup paternity, we analyzed long-term field observations, including female spatial proximity data, together with genetic data (10 autosomal microsatellites) on individuals from a unique set of four habituated western g

SUBMITTER: Masi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8216920 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature