Abstract
IntroductionMaternal kin selection is a driving force in the evolution of mammalian social complexity and it requires that kin are distinctive from nonkin. The transition from the ancestral state of asociality to the derived state of complex social groups is thought to have occurred via solitary foraging, in which individuals forage alone, but, unlike the asocial ancestors, maintain dispersed social networks via scent-marks and vocalizations. We hypothesize that matrilineal signatures in vocalizations were an important part of these networks. We used the solitary foraging gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) as a model for ancestral solitary foragers and tested for matrilineal signatures in their calls, thus investigating whether such signatures are already present in solitary foragers and could have facilitated the kin selection thought to have driven the evolution of increased social complexity in mammals. Because agonism can be very costly, selection for matrilineal signatures in agonistic calls should help reduce agonism between unfamiliar matrilineal kin. We conducted this study on a well-studied population of wild mouse lemurs at Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar. We determined pairwise relatedness using seven microsatellite loci, matrilineal relatedness by sequencing the mitrochondrial D-loop, and sleeping group associations using radio-telemetry. We recorded agonistic calls during controlled social encounters and conducted a multi-parametric acoustic analysis to determine the spectral and temporal structure of the agonistic calls. We measured 10 calls for each of 16 females from six different matrilineal kin groups.ResultsCalls were assigned to their matriline at a rate significantly higher than chance (pDFA: correct = 47.1%, chance = 26.7%, p = 0.03). There was a statistical trend for a negative correlation between acoustic distance and relatedness (Mantel Test: g = -1.61, Z = 4.61, r = -0.13, p = 0.058).ConclusionsMouse lemur agonistic calls are moderately distinctive by matriline. Because sleeping groups consisted of close maternal kin, both genetics and social learning may have generated these acoustic signatures. As mouse lemurs are models for solitary foragers, we recommend further studies testing whether the lemurs use these calls to recognize kin. This would enable further modeling of how kin recognition in ancestral species could have shaped the evolution of complex sociality.
Highlights
Maternal kin selection is a driving force in the evolution of mammalian social complexity and it requires that kin are distinctive from nonkin
Mouse lemur agonistic calls are moderately distinctive by matriline
Because sleeping groups consisted of close maternal kin, both genetics and social learning may have generated these acoustic signatures
Summary
Maternal kin selection is a driving force in the evolution of mammalian social complexity and it requires that kin are distinctive from nonkin. Maternal kin selection (the preferential treatment of matrilineal relatives [1,2]) has been argued to be one of the driving forces in the evolution of mammalian sociality, underpinning some of the most complex and intriguing social behaviors including communal infant rearing and socialization, the evolution of group-living, alliance formation and cooperation [1,3,4,5]. While such manifestations of kin selection are well documented in gregarious species that live in complex social groups [3,4], its evolutionary foundations are likely to have emerged in less complex, ancestral species ([6], but see [7]). Mammals under these conditions would be expected to benefit from having matrilineal signatures in their vocalizations
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