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Published on: October 5, 2018
Behavioural inbreeding avoidance in wild African elephants.
Elizabeth A Archie1, Julie A Hollister-Smith, Joyce H Poole
1Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, NZP/NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20008, USA. archiee@si.edu
Molecular Ecology
|September 6, 2007
Summary
African elephants avoid mating with close relatives, despite challenges like intense male competition. This study reveals males sire fewer offspring with kin, supporting kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance in elephants.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Ecology
- Conservation Genetics
- Mammalogy
Background:
- Inbreeding depression poses evolutionary costs, driving the need for inbreeding avoidance mechanisms.
- Sex-biased dispersal in African elephants (Loxodonta africana) does not fully separate male and female relatives, creating potential for inbreeding.
- High opportunity costs, especially for males due to intense competition and rare estrus periods, may influence inbreeding avoidance strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if African elephants engage in sexual behavior and reproduction with relatives less often than predicted by chance.
- To investigate the role of kin recognition in mitigating inbreeding in a species with incomplete kin separation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 28 years of behavioral and demographic data from wild elephants in Amboseli National Park, Kenya.
- Genotyped 545 individuals (females, males, calves) to establish genetic relatedness.
- Compared the frequency of sexual behavior and successful reproduction between relatives and non-relatives.
Main Results:
- Elephants showed a statistically significant avoidance of sexual behavior with close kin.
- Males sired proportionally fewer offspring with natal family members and close genetic relatives (maternal and paternal) compared to non-kin.
- Evidence supports the hypothesis of active inbreeding avoidance in African elephants.
Conclusions:
- African elephants actively avoid inbreeding, demonstrating kin recognition capabilities.
- The findings contribute to understanding the evolution of inbreeding avoidance mechanisms in mammals.
- Results have implications for conservation strategies aimed at maintaining genetic diversity in elephant populations.
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