SUBORDINATE REPRODUCTION IN DWARF MONGOOSES

Dwarf mongooses, Helogale parvula, are group-living carnivores in which the oldest male and female dominate reproduction, while subordinates tolerate reproductive suppression and provide care for the offspring of the oldest pair. Subordinates of both sexes, however, mate and subordinate females occasionally become pregnant. In addition, a model of 'power-sharing' in social groups (Vehrencamp 1983, Anim. Behav., 31, 667-682) predicts that dominant individuals should cede some fitness to subordinates, particularly older, higher-ranking individuals not closely related to the dominants, in order to retain them within the group. Human multilocus probes (Jeffreys' 33.15 and 33.6) were used to 'fingerprint' dwarf mongooses from nine different packs in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. The results demonstrate that subordinates of both sexes obtain direct fitness: 24% of young had subordinate fathers, while 15% had subordinate mothers. Multiple paternity can occur within a single female's litter. Those subordinates that reproduced were of high social rank and tended to be distantly related to the same-sex dominant, as predicted by Vehrencamp's model. The number of yearlings produced by subordinate females was similar to that predicted by the model. Subordinate males father a relatively high proportion of offspring given their frequency of mating, while subordinate females mate relatively more often than they produce offspring, consistent with previously inferred differences between the mechanisms of male and female reproductive suppression (Creel et al. 1992, Anim. Behav., 43, 231-245). Even though DNA analyses indicate that subordinates produced a substantial proportion of young born in this population, the magnitude of direct fitness obtained by subordinates was still low compared with the magnitude of indirect fitness obtained by helping. © 1993 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.