Living with relatives offsets the harm caused by pathogens in natural populations.

ABSTRACT: Living with relatives can be highly beneficial, enhancing reproduction and survival. High relatedness can, however, increase susceptibility to pathogens. Here, we examine whether the benefits of living with relatives offset the harm caused by pathogens, and if this depends on whether species typically live with kin. Using comparative meta-analysis of plants, animals, and a bacterium (n_species = 56), we show that high within-group relatedness increases mortality when pathogens are present. In contrast, mortality decreased with relatedness when pathogens were rare, particularly in species that live with kin. Furthermore, across groups variation in mortality was lower when relatedness was high, but abundances of pathogens were more variable. The effects of within-group relat

SUBMITTER: Bensch HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8313236 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature