Is incest common in gray wolf packs?

Deborah Smith; Thomas Meier; Eli Geffen; L. David Mech; John W. Burch; Layne G. Adams; Robert K. Wayne

doi:10.1093/beheco/8.4.384

Is incest common in gray wolf packs?

Deborah Smith, Thomas Meier, Eli Geffen, L. David Mech, John W. Burch, Layne G. Adams, Robert K. Wayne^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Zoology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

63 Scopus citations

Abstract

Wolf packs generally consist of a breeding pair and their maturing offspring that help provision and protect pack young. Because the reproductive tenure in wolves is often short, reproductively mature offspring might replace their parents, resulting in sibling or parent-offspring matings. To determine the extent of incestuous pairings, we measured relatedness based on variability in 20 microsatellite loci of mated pairs, parent-offspring pairs, and siblings in two populations of gray wolves. Our 16 sampled mated pairs had values of relatedness not overlapping those of known parent-offspring or sibling dyads, which is consistent with their being unrelated or distantly related. These results suggest that full siblings or a parent and its offspring rarely mate and that incest avoidance is an important constraint on gray wolf behavioral ecology.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	384-391
Number of pages	8
Journal	Behavioral Ecology
Volume	8
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/8.4.384
State	Published - 1997

Funding

Funders	Funder number
National Park Service

Keywords

Canis lupus
Gray wolves
Inbreeding
Incest
Microsatellites

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1093/beheco/8.4.384

Cite this

@article{e13509fb1152467b865eb4d152447e7e,

title = "Is incest common in gray wolf packs?",

abstract = "Wolf packs generally consist of a breeding pair and their maturing offspring that help provision and protect pack young. Because the reproductive tenure in wolves is often short, reproductively mature offspring might replace their parents, resulting in sibling or parent-offspring matings. To determine the extent of incestuous pairings, we measured relatedness based on variability in 20 microsatellite loci of mated pairs, parent-offspring pairs, and siblings in two populations of gray wolves. Our 16 sampled mated pairs had values of relatedness not overlapping those of known parent-offspring or sibling dyads, which is consistent with their being unrelated or distantly related. These results suggest that full siblings or a parent and its offspring rarely mate and that incest avoidance is an important constraint on gray wolf behavioral ecology.",

keywords = "Canis lupus, Gray wolves, Inbreeding, Incest, Microsatellites",

author = "Deborah Smith and Thomas Meier and Eli Geffen and {David Mech}, L. and Burch, {John W.} and Adams, {Layne G.} and Wayne, {Robert K.}",

note = "Funding Information: This study was funded primarily by the U. S. National Park Service (NPS) Natural Resources Preservation Program. The American Association for University Women, the Stockman Sportmen't dub. and the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund of the American Museum supported the activities of D. S. Additionally, Denali National Park, the VS. Fish and WudHfe Service, the U. S National Biological Service, and the USDA North Central Forest Experiment Station contributed to the project Finally, we thank numerous National Park Service staff and various pilots for helpful field assistance and Klaus Koepfli for editing the manuscript.",

year = "1997",

doi = "10.1093/beheco/8.4.384",

language = "אנגלית",

volume = "8",

pages = "384--391",

journal = "Behavioral Ecology",

issn = "1045-2249",