Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK.
Mol Ecol. 2012 Jun;21(11):2788-804. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05565.x. Epub 2012 Apr 12.
Mating between relatives often results in negative fitness consequences or inbreeding depression. However, the expression of inbreeding in populations of wild cooperative mammals and the effects of environmental, maternal and social factors on inbreeding depression in these systems are currently not well understood. This study uses pedigree-based inbreeding coefficients from a long-term study of meerkats (Suricata suricatta) in South Africa to reveal that 44% of the population have detectably non-zero (F > 0) inbreeding coefficients. 15% of these inbred individuals were the result of moderate inbreeding (F ≥ 0.125), although such inbreeding events almost solely occurred when mating individuals had no prior experience of each other. Inbreeding depression was evident for a range of traits: pup mass at emergence from the natal burrow, hind-foot length, growth until independence and juvenile survival. However, we found no evidence of significant inbreeding depression for skull and forearm length or for pup survival. This research provides a rare investigation into inbreeding in a cooperative mammal, revealing high levels of inbreeding, considerable negative consequences and complex interactions with the social environment.
近亲交配通常会导致负面的适合度后果或近交衰退。然而，目前对于野生合作哺乳动物群体中的近交表达以及环境、母体和社会因素对这些系统中近交衰退的影响还不是很了解。本研究利用南非长期研究的猫鼬（Suricata suricatta）的基于系谱的近交系数，揭示了 44%的种群具有可检测到的非零（F>0）近交系数。这些近交个体中有 15%是中度近交（F≥0.125）的结果，尽管这种近交事件几乎只发生在交配个体彼此没有事先经验的情况下。一系列特征表现出了近交衰退：从出生地洞穴中出来的幼崽的体重、后脚长度、独立前的生长和幼崽的存活率。然而，我们没有发现头骨和前臂长度或幼崽存活率有明显近交衰退的证据。这项研究对合作哺乳动物的近交进行了罕见的调查，揭示了高水平的近交、相当大的负面影响以及与社会环境的复杂相互作用。
