Social effects of inbreeding associated with parental care
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Date
27/11/2014Author
Mattey, Sarah Nadine
Metadata
Abstract
Inbreeding is associated with reduced fitness, a phenomenon known as inbreeding
depression. I investigated direct and indirect effects of inbreeding on social traits
associated with parental care in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. This
species breeds on small vertebrate carcasses and the parents provide care by
maintaining the carcass and regurgitating food to begging larvae. I quantified the
survival of outbred offspring produced by inbred and outbred parents. I found that
inbred offspring had reduced survival compared to outbred offspring, and that outbred
offspring produced by inbred parents survived less well. Such intergenerational effects
of inbreeding suggests that inbreeding may affect the amount of parental care provided
to offspring. I tested this by investigating the amount of care inbred and outbred male
and female parents provided to outbred offspring. I found no reductions in the amount
of care provided by inbred parents but found that parents provided more care when
their partner was inbred. In addition, I investigated effects of inbreeding on
parent-offspring communication, when either female parents or their offspring were
inbred. I found that whilst inbred offspring begged less, parents provided inbred
offspring with more care. The effects of inbreeding had significant consequences
affecting biparental negotiation and parent-offspring communication. Next, I tested
for the effects of inbreeding on the antimicrobial properties of secretions that both
parents apply to the carcass during larval development. I found that the bactericidal
activity of inbred male parents was reduced compared to outbred male parents during
the dispersal stages and no evidence for the secretions of inbred and outbred female
parents differing. Finally, to test whether the strong inbreeding depression found in
this species influenced the mating decisions, I presented females with related or
unrelated males, and found no evidence that females avoided inbreeding. These results
show that to accurately estimate the fitness consequences of inbreeding the social
effects on all individuals within a family must be accounted for.