Comparisons of between-group differentiation in male kinship between bonobos and chimpanzees

Abstract

Patterns of kinship among individuals in different groups have been rarely examined in animals. Two closest living relatives of humans, bonobos and chimpanzees share many characteristics of social systems including male philopatry, whereas one major difference between the two species is the nature of intergroup relationship. Intergroup relationship is basically antagonistic and males sometimes kill individuals of other groups in chimpanzees, whereas it is much more moderate in bonobos and copulations between individuals of different groups are often observed during intergroup encounters. Such behavioural differences may facilitate more frequent between-group male gene flow and greater between-group differentiation in male kinship in bonobos than in chimpanzees. Here we compared differences between average relatedness among males within groups and that among males of neighbouring groups, and between-group male genetic distance between bonobos and chimpanzees. Contrary to expectation, the differences between average relatedness among males within groups and that among males of neighbouring groups were significantly greater in bonobos than in chimpanzees. There were no significant differences in autosomal and Y-chromosomal between-group male genetic distance between the two species. Our results showed that intergroup male kinship is similarly or more differentiated in bonobos than in chimpanzees.