Social variables affecting mate preferences, copulation and reproductive outcome in a pack of free-ranging dogs - PubMed (original) (raw)

Social variables affecting mate preferences, copulation and reproductive outcome in a pack of free-ranging dogs

Simona Cafazzo et al. PLoS One. 2014.

Abstract

Mating and reproductive outcome is often determined by the simultaneous operation of different mechanisms like intra-sexual competition, mating preferences and sexual coercion. The present study investigated how social variables affected mating outcome in a pack of free-ranging dogs, a species supposed to have lost most features of the social system of wolves during domestication. We found that, although the pack comprised multiple breeding individuals, both male copulation success and female reproductive success were positively influenced by a linear combination of dominance rank, age and leadership. Our results also suggest that mate preferences affect mating outcome by reinforcing the success of most dominant individuals. In particular, during their oestrous period bitches clearly searched for the proximity of high-ranking males who displayed affiliative behaviour towards them, while they were more likely to reject the males who intimidated them. At the same time, male courting effort and male-male competition for receptive females appeared to be stronger in the presence of higher-ranking females, suggesting a male preference for dominant females. To our knowledge, these results provide the first clear evidence of social regulation of reproductive activities in domestic dogs, and suggest that some common organizing mechanisms may contribute to shape the social organization of both dogs and wolves.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1. Results of the principal components analysis (PCA) for resident males.

The circle shows the correlation between the original variables and the two new components. a = male standardized dominance rank, b = male leadership score, c = rate of aggression displayed by males towards females, d = rate of the net number of approaches within 1 metre that males received by females, e = rate of affiliative behaviour displayed by males towards females. Pearson correlations between factor 1 of the PCA and the original variables were: −0.90 (a), −0.92 (b), 0.48 (c), −0.95 (d), −0.87 (e); Pearson correlations between factor 2 and the original variables were: −0.09 (a), −0.15 (b), −0.88 (c), −0.12 (d), −0.09 (e).

Figure 2

Figure 2. Results of the general linear models developed for males.

(a) The relation between ‘male copulation tie rate’ and the first factor of the PCA. High negative values on factor 1 indicate high-ranking males who often led the pack, who were frequently approached within 1 metre by females and who displayed both a high rate of affiliative behaviour and a low rate of aggressive behaviour towards females; (b) The relation between “rate of refusals that males received by females” and the second factor of the PCA. High negative values on factor 2 indicate a high rate of aggressive behaviour displayed by males towards females.

Figure 3

Figure 3. Results of the principal components analysis (PCA) for females.

The circle shows the correlation between the original variables and the two new components. a = female standardized dominance rank, b = female leadership score, c = female age. Pearson correlations between factor 1 of the PCA and the original variables were: −0.95 (a), −0.99 (b), −0.97 (c); Pearson correlations between factor 2 and the original variables were: −0.31 (a), 0.09 (b), 0.21 (c).

Figure 4

Figure 4. Correlation between the first factor PCA developed for females and: (a) rate of received mounts; (b) proportion of interrupted mounts.

See text for additional explanations.

Figure 5

Figure 5. The relation between ‘female reproductive success' and the first factor of the PCA developed for females.

Reproductive success has been assessed as number of puppies survived to maturity. High negative values on factor 1 indicate high-ranking and old females who often led the pack.

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Grants and funding

This research was partially funded by the Department of Education, University and Research of Italian Government (PRIN 2004), and by University of Parma with FIL 2005 to Paola Valsecchi; it also complies with all laws of the country (Italy) in which it was performed. Manuscript preparation was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): [M 1400-B19] to Simona Cafazzo. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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