Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 107, Issue 46, Pages 19949-19954Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1007997107
Keywords
animal model; gene-culture coevolution; social learning; reproductive success; relatedness
Categories
Funding
- Australian Research Council [A19701144, DP0346313]
- W. V. Scott Foundation
- National Geographic Society
- Seaworld Research and Rescue Foundation
- A. H. Schultz-Stiftung
- Claraz-Schenkung
- National Science Foundation [0316800, 9753044]
- Georgetown University
- Direct For Biological Sciences
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems [0316800, 9753044] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Behavioral and Cognitive Sci
- Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie [941487] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Australian Research Council [DP0346313] Funding Source: Australian Research Council
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The evolutionary forces that drive fitness variation in species are of considerable interest. Despite this, the relative importance and interactions of genetic and social factors involved in the evolution of fitness traits in wild mammalian populations are largely unknown. To date, a few studies have demonstrated that fitness might be influenced by either social factors or genes in natural populations, but none have explored how the combined effect of social and genetic parameters might interact to influence fitness. Drawing from a long-term study of wild bottlenose dolphins in the eastern gulf of Shark Bay, Western Australia, we present a unique approach to understanding these interactions. Our study shows that female calving success depends on both genetic inheritance and social bonds. Moreover, we demonstrate that interactions between social and genetic factors also influence female fitness. Therefore, our study represents a major methodological advance, and provides critical insights into the interplay of genetic and social parameters of fitness.
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