Female philopatry may influence antipredatory behavior in a solitary mammal
Whether neighboring individuals are related or not has a number of important ecological & evolutionary ramifications. Kin selection resulting from philopatry can play an important role in social and antipredatory behavior. Ground squirrels exhibit alarm vocalizations in the presence of predators...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2025-03-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/18933.pdf |
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| author | Alexandra Burnett Michelle Hein Natalie Payne Karla L. Vargas Melanie Culver John L. Koprowski |
| author_facet | Alexandra Burnett Michelle Hein Natalie Payne Karla L. Vargas Melanie Culver John L. Koprowski |
| author_sort | Alexandra Burnett |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Whether neighboring individuals are related or not has a number of important ecological & evolutionary ramifications. Kin selection resulting from philopatry can play an important role in social and antipredatory behavior. Ground squirrels exhibit alarm vocalizations in the presence of predators; however, the degree to which kin selection shapes alarm calling behavior varies with species ecology and the degree of relatedness between neighbors. We studied a solitary ground squirrel species that exhibits sex-biased calling propensity to determine if female philopatry may be responsible for sex differences in antipredatory behavior observed in our population. We used double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) to sample the genomes of Harris’s antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii) to determine the relatedness between individuals and test whether genetic and geographic distance were correlated. We found that geographic distance had a positive relationship with genetic distance, and that this relationship was sex-dependent, suggesting male-biased dispersal. Our results provide supporting evidence that female philopatry may be responsible for higher calling propensity observed in female squirrels, potentially influencing antipredatory behavior in this species via kin selection. Our findings add to a growing body of evidence that philopatry is an important ecological driver influencing sociospatial organization in solitary species. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ff0b24a25bac4aca8f0cba14b29455bf |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj-art-ff0b24a25bac4aca8f0cba14b29455bf2025-08-20T02:50:56ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592025-03-0113e1893310.7717/peerj.18933Female philopatry may influence antipredatory behavior in a solitary mammalAlexandra Burnett0Michelle Hein1Natalie Payne2Karla L. Vargas3Melanie Culver4John L. Koprowski5School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United StatesEcology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United StatesSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United StatesSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United StatesSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United StatesSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United StatesWhether neighboring individuals are related or not has a number of important ecological & evolutionary ramifications. Kin selection resulting from philopatry can play an important role in social and antipredatory behavior. Ground squirrels exhibit alarm vocalizations in the presence of predators; however, the degree to which kin selection shapes alarm calling behavior varies with species ecology and the degree of relatedness between neighbors. We studied a solitary ground squirrel species that exhibits sex-biased calling propensity to determine if female philopatry may be responsible for sex differences in antipredatory behavior observed in our population. We used double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) to sample the genomes of Harris’s antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii) to determine the relatedness between individuals and test whether genetic and geographic distance were correlated. We found that geographic distance had a positive relationship with genetic distance, and that this relationship was sex-dependent, suggesting male-biased dispersal. Our results provide supporting evidence that female philopatry may be responsible for higher calling propensity observed in female squirrels, potentially influencing antipredatory behavior in this species via kin selection. Our findings add to a growing body of evidence that philopatry is an important ecological driver influencing sociospatial organization in solitary species.https://peerj.com/articles/18933.pdfAmmospermophilus harrisiiPhilopatryKin selectionddRADseqAntipredatorBehavior |
| spellingShingle | Alexandra Burnett Michelle Hein Natalie Payne Karla L. Vargas Melanie Culver John L. Koprowski Female philopatry may influence antipredatory behavior in a solitary mammal PeerJ Ammospermophilus harrisii Philopatry Kin selection ddRADseq Antipredator Behavior |
| title | Female philopatry may influence antipredatory behavior in a solitary mammal |
| title_full | Female philopatry may influence antipredatory behavior in a solitary mammal |
| title_fullStr | Female philopatry may influence antipredatory behavior in a solitary mammal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Female philopatry may influence antipredatory behavior in a solitary mammal |
| title_short | Female philopatry may influence antipredatory behavior in a solitary mammal |
| title_sort | female philopatry may influence antipredatory behavior in a solitary mammal |
| topic | Ammospermophilus harrisii Philopatry Kin selection ddRADseq Antipredator Behavior |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/18933.pdf |
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