Agonistic onset during development differentiates wild house mouse males (Mus domesticus)

Abstract

Wild house mouse populations have been suggested to locally adapt to varying dispersal regimes by expressing divergent aggressivity phenotypes. This conjecture implies, first, genetic polymorphism for dispersive strategies which is supported by the finding of heritable variation for male dispersal tendency in feral house mice. Secondly, aggressivity is assumed to translate into dispersal rates. This speculation is reinforced by experimental evidence showing that non-agonistic males display lower dispersal propensity than same-aged males that have established agonistic dominance. However, the actual ontogenetic behavioural pattern and its variability among populations remain unknown. Hence, in this study the timing of agonistic onset is quantified within laboratory-reared fraternal pairs, and compared between descendants from two different feral populations. Males from the two populations (G and Z) differed strongly in agonistic development, as Z fraternal pairs had a 50% risk of agonistic onset before 23.5+/-2.7 days of age, while this took 57.3+/-5.4 days in males from population G. This difference coincided with significant genetic differentiation between the males of the two populations as determined by 11 polymorphic microsatellite markers. Furthermore, in population G, males from agonistic and amicable fraternal pairs exhibited significant genetic differentiation. These results corroborate the supposition of genetic variability for dispersive strategies in house mice, and identify the ontogenetic timing of agonistic phenotype development as the potential basis for genetic differentiation. This opens a unique opportunity to study the genetic determination of a complex mammalian behavioural syndrome in a life history context, using a simple laboratory paradigm.