Skip Navigation


Behavioral Ecology Advance Access first published online on March 7, 2008
This version published online on March 28, 2008
Behavioral Ecology, doi:10.1093/beheco/arn028
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Lay Summary
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
arn028v3    most recent
arn028v2
arn028v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lucia, K. E.
Right arrow Articles by Solomon, N. G.
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Lucia, K. E.
Right arrow Articles by Solomon, N. G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Philopatry in prairie voles: an evaluation of the habitat saturation hypothesis

Kristen E. Luciaa, Brian Keaneb, Loren D. Hayesa, Y. Kirk Lina, Robert L. Schaeferc and Nancy G. Solomona

a Center for Animal Behavior, Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA b Center for Animal Behavior, Department of Zoology, Miami University, Hamilton, OH 45011, USA c Department of Statistics, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA

Address correspondence to K.E. Lucia. E-mail: luciake{at}muohio.edu. L.D. Hayes is now at Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe, LA 71209, USA. Y.K. Lin is now at Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan, Republic of China.


  Abstract

Natal philopatry, or delayed dispersal of sexually mature offspring, may be due to ecological constraints on dispersal. In this study, we manipulated the population density of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) living in experimental outdoor enclosures to test a prediction from the habitat saturation hypothesis that philopatry and subsequent group formation in this cooperatively breeding mammal is affected by the availability of suitable territories. We detected a significant, positive relationship between the proportion of offspring remaining philopatric and density, with females being more philopatric than males at all densities. This increase in philopatry led to a significant increase in the proportion of social units that were groups as well as a significant increase in group size. These results provide the strongest evidence of a causal effect of density on dispersal and group formation in a mammal. Our findings suggest that habitat saturation is at least a partial explanation for philopatry in prairie voles. However, we cannot eliminate the possibility that other variables, such as benefits accrued from remaining philopatric, may also be factors contributing to philopatry. Nonetheless, these results show that changes in ecological conditions can influence social structure within a population, leading to group formation and a social milieu conducive to the evolution of cooperative breeding.

Key words: dispersal, ecological constraints, habitat saturation, philopatry, prairie voles.

Citations have been updated

Received 24 September 2007; revised 28 January 2008; accepted 28 January 2008.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.