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Mother-offspring distances reflect sex differences in fine-scale genetic structure of eastern grey kangaroos.

ABSTRACT: Natal dispersal affects life history and population biology and causes gene flow. In mammals, dispersal is usually male-biased so that females tend to be philopatric and surrounded by matrilineal kin, which may lead to preferential associations among female kin. Here we combine genetic analyses and behavioral observations to investigate spatial genetic structure and sex-biased dispersal patterns in a high-density population of mammals showing fission-fusion group dynamics. We studied eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) over 2 years at Wilsons Promontory National Park, Australia, and found weak fine-scale genetic structure among adult females in both years but no structure among adult males. Immature male kangaroos moved away from their mothers at 18-25 months of age, while immature females remained near their mothers until older. A higher proportion of male (34%) than female (6%) subadults and young adults were observed to disperse, although median distances of detected dispersals were similar for both sexes. Adult females had overlapping ranges that were far wider than the maximum extent of spatial genetic structure found. Female kangaroos, although weakly philopatric, mostly encounter nonrelatives in fission-fusion groups at high density, and therefore kinship is unlikely to strongly affect sociality.

SUBMITTER: King WJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4449761 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Mother-offspring distances reflect sex differences in fine-scale genetic structure of eastern grey kangaroos.

King Wendy J WJ Garant Dany D Festa-Bianchet Marco M

Ecology and evolution 20150422 10

Natal dispersal affects life history and population biology and causes gene flow. In mammals, dispersal is usually male-biased so that females tend to be philopatric and surrounded by matrilineal kin, which may lead to preferential associations among female kin. Here we combine genetic analyses and behavioral observations to investigate spatial genetic structure and sex-biased dispersal patterns in a high-density population of mammals showing fission-fusion group dynamics. We studied eastern gre ...[more]

PMID: 26045958

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Project description:BackgroundNausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) is common and underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Longer-term offspring outcomes are also not well documented. This study aimed to determine if NVP, even in milder forms, is associated with adverse pregnancy and childhood growth outcomes.MethodsIn the GUSTO prospective mother-offspring cohort, women with singleton pregnancies (n = 1172) recruited in first trimester responded to interviewer-administered questions at 26-28 weeks' gestation about earlier episodes of NVP since becoming pregnant. Pregnancy outcomes were obtained from medical records. Offspring height and weight measured at 15 time-points between birth to 72 months (m) were standardised for age and sex.Results58.5% (n = 686) reported mild-moderate vomiting (mNVP), 10.5% (n = 123) severe vomiting (sNVP) and 5.7% (n = 67) severe vomiting with hospitalisation (shNVP). There was no difference in odds of gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, labour induction or caesarean section after adjustment for covariates. sNVP was associated with late preterm delivery [34+ 0-36+ 6 weeks', adjusted OR = 3.04 (95% CI 1.39,6.68)], without increased odds of neonatal unit admission. Compared with no NVP, boys born to mothers with sNVP were longer at birth [adjusted β = 0.38 standard deviations (SDs) (95% CI 0.02,0.73)], remained taller [0.64 SDs (0.23,1.04) at 72 m] and heavier [0.57 SDs (0.05,1.08) at 60 m] without differences in BMI. Conversely, girls born to mothers with shNVP were lighter from 48 m [- 0.52 SDs (- 1.00, - 0.03)] onwards with lower BMI [- 0.61 SDs (- 1.12,-0.09)]. Conditional growth modelling revealed significant sex-divergence in weight-gain at birth-3 m, 6-9 m and 4-5 years.ConclusionsSevere NVP was associated with late preterm delivery, and both mild-moderate and severe NVP associated with sex-dependent differences in early childhood growth. Boys whose mothers had NVP were taller and heavier from birth with faster growth in the first year, whereas, girls had poorer weight gain and were lighter by 48 m. As even milder severities of NVP could have long-term impact on offspring growth, further research is needed to determine mechanisms involved and implications on future health.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT01174875 .

Dataset Information

Mother-offspring distances reflect sex differences in fine-scale genetic structure of eastern grey kangaroos.

Publications

Mother-offspring distances reflect sex differences in fine-scale genetic structure of eastern grey kangaroos.

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