Behavioural, demographic and fitness consequences of social instability in cooperatively breeding dwarf mongoose groups

Julie M Kern*, Amy Morris-Drake, Andrew N Radford

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Social instability frequently arises in group-living species, but the potential costs have rarely been investigated in free-living cooperative breeders, especially across different timeframes. Using natural observations, body-mass measurements and life-history data from dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula), we determined the short- and longer-term consequences of a change in one of the dominant breeding pair. We found that a new breeder led to alterations in both collective and individual behaviour (i.e., increases in communal scent-marking, engagement in intergroup interactions, sentinel activity and within-group grooming), as well as reduced body-mass gain, further demographic changes and decreased reproductive success (i.e., fewer pups surviving to adulthood). The effects were particularly apparent when it was the female breeder who changed; new female breeders were younger than more experienced counterparts. Our findings support the idea that stability and cooperation are strongly linked and provide potential reasons for previously documented health and fitness benefits of social stability.
Original languageEnglish
Article number20230901
Pages (from-to)20230901
Number of pages12
JournalProceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume290
Issue number2005
Early online date16 Aug 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Aug 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by a University of Bristol Science Faculty Studentship (to J.M.K.) and a European Research Council Consolidator Grant 682253 (to A.N.R.). Acknowledgements

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors.

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