ArticleBMC ecology and evolution2022
Patterns of sex-biased dispersal are consistent with social and ecological constraints in a group-living cichlid fish.
Article in BMC ecology and evolution, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Group size modulates kinship dynamics and selection on social traits.Evolution letters · 2026Article
- Comparative spatial cognition in wild Tanganyikan cichlids: navigation performance varies with home range and shelter availability.Animal cognition · 2026Article
- Habitat Differences in Resource Density and Distribution Affect Ecology and Life History of a Landscape-Modifying Fish.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- How can we measure resource quality when resources differ in many ways? Deconstructing shelter quality in a social fish.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Philopatry yields higher fitness than dispersal in a cooperative breeder with sex-specific life history trajectories.Science advances · 2023Article
- Aggression and spatial positioning of kin and non-kin fish in social groups.Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral EcologyArticle
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6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
backgroundSex-biased dispersal is a common and widespread phenomenon that can fundamentally shape the genetic structure of the social environments in which animals live. For animals that live in and move between social groups, sex-biased dispersal can result in an asymmetry in the degree of relatedness among cohabiting males and females, which can have strong implications for their social evolution. In this study, we measured the relatedness structure within and across groups of a wild population of Neolamprologus multifasciatus, a highly-social, shell-dwelling cichlid fish endemic to Lake Tanganyika, East Africa. In total, we genotyped 812 fish from 128 social groups at 20 microsatellite loci. Neolamprologus multifasciatus live at high densities, and also experience strong ecological constraints on free movement throughout their habitat. At the same time, they exhibit sex differences in the degree of reproductive competition within their groups and this makes them an excellent model system for studying the factors associated with sex-biased dispersal.
resultsSocial groups of N. multifasciatus consist of multiple males and females living together. We found that cohabiting females were unrelated to one another (Lynch-Ritland estimates of relatedness = 0.045 ± 0.15, average ± SD), while males shared much higher, albeit variable, levels of relatedness to other males in their groups (0.23 ± 0.27). We uncovered a pronounced decline in relatedness between males living in separate groups as the spatial separation between them increased, a pattern that was not evident in females. Female dispersal was also markedly constrained by the distribution and availability of nearby territories to which they could emigrate.
conclusionsOur results indicate female-biased dispersal in N. multifasciatus. Our study also highlights how the spatial distribution of suitable dispersal destinations can influence the movement decisions of animals. We also emphasize how sex-biased dispersal can influence the relatedness structure of the social environment in which individuals interact and compete with one another.
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