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Behavioral Ecology Advance Access published online on June 6, 2006
Behavioral Ecology, doi:10.1093/beheco/arl002
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© The Author 2006. 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
Received August 12, 2005
Revised March 29, 2006
Accepted April 27, 2006

Article

Natal dispersal, interactions among siblings and intrasexual competition

Jean-François Le Galliard 1 *, G. Gundersen 1, H.P. Andreassen 2, and N.C. Stenseth 1

1 Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo, PO Box 1050, Blindern, Oslo NO-0316, Norway
2 Faculty of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Hedmark University College, Koppang NO-2480, Norway

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Jean-François Le Galliard, E-mail: galliard{at}biologie.ens.fr


  Abstract

According to the classical model of a polygynous mating system, male-biased dispersal is a consequence of inbreeding avoidance and sexual asymmetries in competition. However, kin cooperation can change the costs and benefits of dispersal to each sex and may also select for philopatry in females. Here, we report from an experimental study designed to tease apart the effects of competition, cooperation, and inbreeding avoidance on natal dispersal in juvenile root voles (Microtus oeconomus). We manipulated the presence of opposite-sex littermates and tested how interactions among siblings influence dispersal and sexual maturation. We also manipulated the juvenile sex ratio to compare the strength of intrasexual versus intersexual competition. Natal dispersal was unrelated to the juvenile sex ratio, females aggregated in space, and there was a consistent spatial overlap among sisters. Males dispersed more in the absence of their sisters, resulting in stronger spatial segregation between sexes, than in the presence of their sisters. Thus, natal dispersal did not reduce the risks of interactions with siblings and intrasexual competition. We suggest that kin clusters in females function as a defense against aggressive or infanticidal behavior by unfamiliar males.

Keywords: inbreeding avoidance; infanticide; intrasexual competition; kin cooperation; maturation; natal dispersal.
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