Inbreeding load and inbreeding depression estimated from lifetime reproductive success in a small, dispersal-limited...

The fitness consequences of inbreeding and the individual behaviors that prevent its detrimental effects can be challenging to document in wild populations. Here, we use field and molecular data from a 17-year study of banner-tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) to quantify the relationship between inbreeding, mate kinship, and lifetime reproductive success. Using a pedigree that was reconstructed using genetic and field data within a Bayesian framework (median probability of parental assignment = 0.92, mean pedigree depth = 6 generations), we estimated both inbreeding coefficients and kinship between individuals that produced offspring (mean inbreeding coefficient = 0.07, mean mate kinship = 0.08). We also used the pedigree, in combination with census data, to generate a series of fitness estimates, ranging from survival to reproductive maturity to lifetime reproductive success. We found that the population's inbreeding load was low to moderate (0.98-4.66 haploid lethal equivalents) and increased with the time frame over which fitness was estimated (lowest for survival to maturity, highest for adult-to-adult reproductive success). Fitness decreased with increasing inbreeding coefficients. For example, lifetime reproductive success was reduced by 24% for individuals with inbreeding coefficients greater than twice the population mean. Within full sibling pairs, the sibling with less-related mates produced an average of 30% more offspring over its lifetime. These data further illustrate that inbreeding can have a negative effect on lifetime reproductive success.