Life-history and genetic relationships in cooperatively breeding dwarf mongoose groups

Abstract

Cooperatively breeding societies show distinct interspecific variations in social and genetic organization. Long-term studies provide invaluable data to further our understanding of the evolution and maintenance of cooperative breeding but have also demonstrated how variation exists within species. Here we integrate life-history, behavioural and genetic data from a long-term study of dwarf mongooses Helogale parvula in South Africa to document mating, breeding, dispersal and relatedness patterns in this population and compare them to those found in a Tanzanian population at the other extreme of the species’ range. Our genetic data reveal high levels of reproductive skew, above that expected through observational data. Dispersal was male-biased and was seen more frequently towards the onset of the breeding season, but females also regularly switched between groups. These patterns of breeding and dispersal resulted in a genetically structured population: individuals were more related to groupmates than outsiders, apart from the unrelated dominant pair, ultimately resulting in reduced inbreeding risk. Our results also demonstrate that dwarf mongooses are largely consistent in their social structure across their sub-Saharan distribution. This work demonstrates the direct and indirect pathways to reproductive success for dwarf mongooses and helps to explain the maintenance of cooperative breeding in the species.