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Female mate-choice drives the evolution of male-biased dispersal in a social mammal

Nature volume 448, pages 798–801 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Dispersal has a significant impact on lifetime reproductive success1, and is often more prevalent in one sex than the other2. In group-living mammals, dispersal is normally male-biased and in theory this sexual bias could be a response by males to female mate preferences, competition for access to females or resources, or the result of males avoiding inbreeding2,3,4,5,6,7. There is a lack of studies on social mammals that simultaneously assess these factors and measure the fitness consequences of male dispersal decisions. Here we show that male-biased dispersal in the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) most probably results from an adaptive response by males to simple female mate-choice rules that have evolved to avoid inbreeding. Microsatellite profiling revealed that females preferred sires that were born into or immigrated into the female’s group after the female was born. Furthermore, young females preferred short-tenured sires and older females preferred longer-tenured sires. Males responded to these female mate preferences by initiating their reproductive careers in groups containing the highest number of young females. As a consequence, 11% of males started their reproductive career in their natal group and 89% of males dispersed. Males that started reproduction in groups containing the highest number of young females had a higher long-term reproductive success than males that did not. The female mate-choice rules ensured that females effectively avoided inbreeding without the need to discriminate directly against close kin or males born in their own group, or to favour immigrant males. The extent of male dispersal as a response to such female mate preferences depends on the demographic structure of breeding groups, rather than the genetic relatedness between females and males.

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Figure 1: The relationship between the age of the mother on the date of conception and the tenure of the father.
Figure 2: Preference of male spotted hyaenas for clans with the highest number of young females.
Figure 3: The influence of the number of young female clan members at clan selection on the long-term reproductive success of male spotted hyaenas.
Figure 4: The fitness benefits of male spotted hyaenas that selected clans with the highest number of young females.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology for permission to conduct the study, the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, A. Francis, L. Kimaay, T. Ndooto, G. Orio, H. Richner, D. Thierer, C. Trout, L. Trout, C. Voigt and W. Wickler for their assistance and suggestions. This study was financed by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, the Fritz-Thyssen-Stiftung, the Stifterverband der deutschen Wissenschaft, the Max Planck Society, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Messerli Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Strasse 17, D-10315 Berlin, Germany,

    O. P. Höner, B. Wachter, M. L. East, W. J. Streich, K. Wilhelm & H. Hofer

  2. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK,

    T. Burke

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  1. O. P. Höner
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Correspondence to O. P. Höner.

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Höner, O., Wachter, B., East, M. et al. Female mate-choice drives the evolution of male-biased dispersal in a social mammal. Nature 448, 798–801 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06040

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