Costs of social dispersal in a polygynous mammal

Abstract

Evaluating the costs and benefits of dispersal on individual life history is critical to understanding its importance to ecology and evolution. In feral horses (Equus ferus caballus), females may permanently move among breeding groups (bands) during their lifetime (termed social dispersal). Here, we assess costs and benefits of adult female social dispersal using 7 years of movement and life history data from an individual-based study of feral horses on Sable Island. Using path and survival analyses, we explored relationships between social dispersal, female reproduction, and survival of offspring. Dispersal negatively correlated with a female’s next reproduction (probability to produce a living foal that was observed during our summer census) and reproductive success (RS) over the longer term (probability of producing foals in subsequent years). Females that dispersed had longer latency before next reproduction than nondispersing (philopatric) females. We could not measure costs in terms of induced abortions or neonatal survival, but we observed no evidence of infanticide during our summer censuses. Furthermore, overwinter survival of foals to 3 years of age was not affected by either dispersal of its mother before conception or as pregnant. Despite a 10% higher rate for foals dispersing with mothers to survive to 3 years compared with those of philopatric females, the difference was not statistically significant. Overall, our results suggest that dispersing individuals have lower RS that may be a cost of social dispersal on future reproduction.