Mandrill mothers associate with infants who look like their own offspring using phenotype matching
Behavioral discrimination of kin is a key process structuring social relationships in animals. In this study, we provide evidence for discrimination towards non-kin by third-parties through a mechanism of phenotype matching. In mandrills, we recently demonstrated increased facial resemblance among p...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2022-11-01
|
| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/79417 |
| _version_ | 1798018632928722944 |
|---|---|
| author | Marie JE Charpentier Clémence Poirotte Berta Roura-Torres Paul Amblard-Rambert Eric Willaume Peter M Kappeler François Rousset Julien P Renoult |
| author_facet | Marie JE Charpentier Clémence Poirotte Berta Roura-Torres Paul Amblard-Rambert Eric Willaume Peter M Kappeler François Rousset Julien P Renoult |
| author_sort | Marie JE Charpentier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Behavioral discrimination of kin is a key process structuring social relationships in animals. In this study, we provide evidence for discrimination towards non-kin by third-parties through a mechanism of phenotype matching. In mandrills, we recently demonstrated increased facial resemblance among paternally related juvenile and adult females indicating adaptive opportunities for paternal kin recognition. Here, we hypothesize that mandrill mothers use offspring’s facial resemblance with other infants to guide offspring’s social opportunities towards similar-looking ones. Using deep learning for face recognition in 80 wild mandrill infants, we first show that infants sired by the same father resemble each other the most, independently of their age, sex or maternal origin, extending previous results to the youngest age class. Using long-term behavioral observations on association patterns, and controlling for matrilineal origin, maternal relatedness and infant age and sex, we then show, as predicted, that mothers are spatially closer to infants that resemble their own offspring more, and that this maternal behavior leads to similar-looking infants being spatially associated. We then discuss the different scenarios explaining this result, arguing that an adaptive maternal behavior is a likely explanation. In support of this mechanism and using theoretical modeling, we finally describe a plausible evolutionary process whereby mothers gain fitness benefits by promoting nepotism among paternally related infants. This mechanism, that we call ‘second-order kin selection’, may extend beyond mother-infant interactions and has the potential to explain cooperative behaviors among non-kin in other social species, including humans. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T16:27:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f410247f0bbc4b408317212cf81ff936 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T16:27:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-f410247f0bbc4b408317212cf81ff9362022-12-22T04:14:09ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2022-11-011110.7554/eLife.79417Mandrill mothers associate with infants who look like their own offspring using phenotype matchingMarie JE Charpentier0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6530-5874Clémence Poirotte1Berta Roura-Torres2Paul Amblard-Rambert3Eric Willaume4Peter M Kappeler5François Rousset6Julien P Renoult7ISEM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, FranceBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute of Primate Research, Göttingen, GermanyBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute of Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany; Projet Mandrillus, SODEPAL, Bakoumba, GabonProjet Mandrillus, SODEPAL, Bakoumba, GabonSODEPAL-COMILOG, Bakoumba, GabonBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute of Primate Research, Göttingen, GermanyISEM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, FranceCEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, FranceBehavioral discrimination of kin is a key process structuring social relationships in animals. In this study, we provide evidence for discrimination towards non-kin by third-parties through a mechanism of phenotype matching. In mandrills, we recently demonstrated increased facial resemblance among paternally related juvenile and adult females indicating adaptive opportunities for paternal kin recognition. Here, we hypothesize that mandrill mothers use offspring’s facial resemblance with other infants to guide offspring’s social opportunities towards similar-looking ones. Using deep learning for face recognition in 80 wild mandrill infants, we first show that infants sired by the same father resemble each other the most, independently of their age, sex or maternal origin, extending previous results to the youngest age class. Using long-term behavioral observations on association patterns, and controlling for matrilineal origin, maternal relatedness and infant age and sex, we then show, as predicted, that mothers are spatially closer to infants that resemble their own offspring more, and that this maternal behavior leads to similar-looking infants being spatially associated. We then discuss the different scenarios explaining this result, arguing that an adaptive maternal behavior is a likely explanation. In support of this mechanism and using theoretical modeling, we finally describe a plausible evolutionary process whereby mothers gain fitness benefits by promoting nepotism among paternally related infants. This mechanism, that we call ‘second-order kin selection’, may extend beyond mother-infant interactions and has the potential to explain cooperative behaviors among non-kin in other social species, including humans.https://elifesciences.org/articles/79417primateAfrican monkeymandrillus sphinx |
| spellingShingle | Marie JE Charpentier Clémence Poirotte Berta Roura-Torres Paul Amblard-Rambert Eric Willaume Peter M Kappeler François Rousset Julien P Renoult Mandrill mothers associate with infants who look like their own offspring using phenotype matching eLife primate African monkey mandrillus sphinx |
| title | Mandrill mothers associate with infants who look like their own offspring using phenotype matching |
| title_full | Mandrill mothers associate with infants who look like their own offspring using phenotype matching |
| title_fullStr | Mandrill mothers associate with infants who look like their own offspring using phenotype matching |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mandrill mothers associate with infants who look like their own offspring using phenotype matching |
| title_short | Mandrill mothers associate with infants who look like their own offspring using phenotype matching |
| title_sort | mandrill mothers associate with infants who look like their own offspring using phenotype matching |
| topic | primate African monkey mandrillus sphinx |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/79417 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mariejecharpentier mandrillmothersassociatewithinfantswholookliketheirownoffspringusingphenotypematching AT clemencepoirotte mandrillmothersassociatewithinfantswholookliketheirownoffspringusingphenotypematching AT bertarouratorres mandrillmothersassociatewithinfantswholookliketheirownoffspringusingphenotypematching AT paulamblardrambert mandrillmothersassociatewithinfantswholookliketheirownoffspringusingphenotypematching AT ericwillaume mandrillmothersassociatewithinfantswholookliketheirownoffspringusingphenotypematching AT petermkappeler mandrillmothersassociatewithinfantswholookliketheirownoffspringusingphenotypematching AT francoisrousset mandrillmothersassociatewithinfantswholookliketheirownoffspringusingphenotypematching AT julienprenoult mandrillmothersassociatewithinfantswholookliketheirownoffspringusingphenotypematching |