Socio-spatial organization reveals paternity and low kinship in the Honduran white bat (Ectophylla alba) in Costa Rica |
| |
| Authors: | Edgar G GUTIÉRREZ Isabela VIVAS-TORO Daniela CARMONA-RUÍZ David VILLALOBOS-CHAVES Bernal RODRÍGUEZ-HERRERA Melina Del REAL-MONROY Gloria LEÓN-AVILA Jorge ORTEGA |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Laboratorio de Bioconservación y Manejo, Posgrado en Ciencias Quimicobiológicas, Departamento de Zoología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México, México;2. Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA;3. Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica;4. Laboratorio de Genómica Evolutiva, Doctorado en Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Zac., México;5. Laboratorio de Genética, Posgrado en Ciencias Quimicobiológicas, Departamento de Zoología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México, México |
| |
| Abstract: | Ectophylla alba is a tent-making bat that roosts in mixed-sex clusters comprising adults and offspring. Our goal was to determine the genetic identity of individuals belonging to different roosting groups. We tested the hypothesis of kin selection as a major force structuring group composition. We used 9 microsatellites designed for E. alba to determine the genetic identity and probability of parentage of individuals. We analyzed parentage and kinship using the software ML-Relate, GenAIEx, and Cervus. The obtained relationship probabilities (0.5) revealed a clear maternal relationship between female adults and offspring with allele compatibility, and at least 5 relationships between male adults and pups. We found a low degree of relatedness within roosting groups. Between roosting groups at different sites, the mean probability of a half-sibling relationship ranged from 0.214 to 0.244 and, for full-sibling relationship, from 0.383 to 0.553. Genetically, adult individuals were poorly related within clusters, and kinship as an evolutionary force could not explain group membership. |
| |
| Keywords: | Ectophylla alba group composition kinship microsatellites relatedness |
|
|
