Why do mammal groups exhibit such diverse kinship structures? This study delves into the factors shaping the genetic relatedness within mammal groups, focusing on the proportions of full siblings, half-siblings, and unrelated individuals. It provides a theoretical framework for understanding the evolution of social behavior and cooperation. Using a mathematical model, the author investigates how male and female reproductive skew, along with sex ratios, influence kinship composition. The results indicate that high male reproductive skew and female-biased sex ratios favor paternal half-siblings, while high female reproductive skew and male-biased sex ratios increase maternal half-siblings. Full siblings arise from high reproductive skew in both sexes or pair-bond stability. These findings offer valuable insights into the evolutionary pressures that drive the formation of different social structures in mammals, ranging from cooperatively breeding species to pair-bonded societies like humans. This study has relevance for understanding the evolution of human social structures.
Published in Behavioral Ecology, this paper aligns with the journal’s focus on animal behavior and ecology. It contributes to the understanding of social evolution, a key area of interest for the journal, and builds upon existing research by exploring the factors that determine kinship composition in mammal groups. The paper’s theoretical framework is relevant to the journal’s readership in behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology.
| Category | Category Repetition |
|---|---|
| Science: Biology (General): Ecology | 18 |
| Science: Biology (General) | 17 |
| Science: Biology (General): Evolution | 13 |
| Science: Zoology | 10 |
| Agriculture: Plant culture | 8 |