Relatedness and spatial distance modulate intergroup interactions: experimental evidence from a social rodent  

作　　者：Ke DENG Wei LIU De-Hua WANG 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents,Institute of Zoology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China [2]Chengdu Institute of Biology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Chengdu,Sichuan,China [3]University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China

出　　处：《Current Zoology》2019年第5期527-534,共8页动物学报（英文版）

基　　金：We are grateful to all the members of the Animal Physiological Ecology Group for helpful discussions.We also thank Mr Bin Wu,Plant Protection Station of Taipusiqi,for help with the field work.We are grateful to Dr Michael Cant for his help revising the manuscript.This study was financially support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31372211)for W.L.and from the Chinese Academy of Sciences(KSCX2-EW-N-005)for D-H.W.

摘　　要：Kin selection theory predicts that individuals should generally behave less aggressively or more amicably towards relatives than nonkin.However,how individuals treat conspecifics depends on genetic relatedness but also on the ecological context,which influences the benefits and costs of their interactions.In this study,we used microsatellite DNA markers and behavioral tests to examine the influence of kinship and proximity on the social behavior of Mongolian gerbils Meriones unguiculatus living in different social groups,and whether these effects varied with sex and season.We recorded the duration of 4 behavioral categories(investigative,neutral,amicable,and agonistic)during a 10-min pairwise test.We found that genetic relatedness had significant effects on the duration of investigative,neutral,and amicable behavior,but not on agonistic behavior.We also found significant interaction effects of relatedness and distance between burrow systems(i.e.,spatial distance)on investigative,neutral,and amicable behavior,which suggests that the effects of kinship on social behavior were restricted by spatial proximity.The interaction effect between sex and relatedness on amicable behavior showed that male gerbils became more intimate with individuals of the same sex that had higher pairwise relatedness than females.Furthermore,both male and female gerbils enhanced their aggression during the food-hoarding season,but the intensity of these changes was significantly higher in females.Overall,our results suggest that the effects of kinship and spatial proximity on social behavior exhibit sexual or seasonal patterns,thereby implying ecological context-dependent responses to out-group individuals in Mongolian gerbils.

关 键 词：FAMILIARITY KINSHIP Meriones unguiculatus SEASONALITY SOCIAL behavior 

分 类 号：TG1[金属学及工艺—金属学]