Abstract
Sex-biased natal dispersal is widespread, and its significance remains a central question in evolutionary biology. However, theory so far fails to predict some of the most common patterns found in nature. To address this, we present novel results from an individual-based model investigating the joint roles of inbreeding load, demographic stochasticity, environmental stochasticity, and dispersal costs for the evolution of sex-biased dispersal. Most strikingly, we found that male-biased natal dispersal evolved in polygynous systems as a result of the interplay between inbreeding avoidance and stochasticity, whereas previous theory, in contrast to empirical observations, predicted male philopatry and female-biased natal dispersal under inbreeding load alone. Furthermore, the direction of the bias varied according to the nature of stochasticity. Our results therefore provide a unification of previous theory, yielding a much better qualitative match with empirical observations of male-biased dispersal in mate defense mating systems.
Highlights
Life-history traits such as dispersal are shaped by evolution, and the causes and consequences of the variation in dispersal strategies observed have long been of interest
The resource competition hypothesis and some empirical studies attribute local mate competition (LMC) as the major cause for male-biased dispersal (Greenwood 1980; Lawson Handley and Perrin 2007); any process potentially altering competition for mates and/or other resources could alter the evolution of sex-biased dispersal
We consider the synergistic effects of inbreeding load, mating system, dispersal costs, and kin competition together with both demographic and environmental stochasticity for the evolution of sex-biased natal dispersal
Summary
Life-history traits such as dispersal are shaped by evolution, and the causes and consequences of the variation in dispersal strategies observed have long been of interest. The resource competition hypothesis and some empirical studies attribute local mate competition (LMC) as the major cause for male-biased dispersal (Greenwood 1980; Lawson Handley and Perrin 2007); any process potentially altering competition for mates and/or other resources could alter the evolution of sex-biased dispersal. Given the ecological importance of dispersal, understanding how different selective forces are likely to operate together in order to shape the evolution of sex-biased dispersal is essential In this theoretical study, we consider the synergistic effects of inbreeding load, mating system, dispersal costs, and kin competition together with both demographic and environmental stochasticity for the evolution of sex-biased natal dispersal.
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