Cost of dispersal in a social mammal : body mass loss and increased stress

dc.contributor.authorMaag, Nino
dc.contributor.authorCozzi, Gabriele
dc.contributor.authorBateman, Andrew
dc.contributor.authorHeistermann, Michael
dc.contributor.authorGanswindt, Andre
dc.contributor.authorManser, Marta B.
dc.contributor.authorClutton-Brock, Tim H.
dc.contributor.authorOzgul, Arpat
dc.date.accessioned2019-06-20T09:38:24Z
dc.date.available2019-06-20T09:38:24Z
dc.date.issued2019-02
dc.description.abstractDispersal is a key process influencing the dynamics of socially and spatially structured populations. Dispersal success is determined by the state of individuals at emigration and the costs incurred after emigration. However, quantification of such costs is often difficult, due to logistical constraints of following wide-ranging individuals. We investigated the effects of dispersal on individual body mass and stress hormone levels in a cooperative breeder, the meerkat (Suricata suricatta). We measured body mass and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations from 95 dispersing females in 65 coalitions through the entire dispersal process. Females that successfully settled lost body mass, while females that did not settle but returned to their natal group after a short period of time did not. Furthermore, dispersing females had higher fGCM levels than resident females, and this was especially pronounced during the later stages of dispersal. By adding information on the transient stage of dispersal and by comparing dispersers that successfully settled to dispersers that returned to their natal group, we expand on previous studies focusing on the earlier stages of dispersal. We propose that body mass and stress hormone levels are good indicators to investigate dispersal costs, as these traits often play an important role in mediating the effects of the environment on other life-history events and individual fitness.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentMammal Research Instituteen_ZA
dc.description.librarianhj2019en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipAnalyses in this study and data collection at the Kalahari Meerkat Project (KMP) on dispersers were funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation Grant (CR32I3_159743) to A.O., and data collection on resident individuals and maintenance of facilities at the Kalahari Research Centre (KRC) were funded by the ERC Advanced Grants (294494 and 742808) to T.C.-B. and by the University of Zurich.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspben_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMaag N, Cozzi G, Bateman A, Heistermann M, Ganswindt A, Manser M, Clutton-Brock T, Ozgul A. 2019 Cost of dispersal in a social mammal: body mass loss and increased stress. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286: 20190033. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0033.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0962-8452 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1471-2954 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1098/rspb.2019.0033
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/70254
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherThe Royal Societyen_ZA
dc.rights© 2019 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.en_ZA
dc.subjectCostsen_ZA
dc.subjectSocial mammalen_ZA
dc.subjectBody mass lossen_ZA
dc.subjectStress hormonesen_ZA
dc.subjectMeerkat (Suricata suricatta)en_ZA
dc.subjectLife historyen_ZA
dc.subjectIndividual traiten_ZA
dc.subjectGlucocorticoid metabolitesen_ZA
dc.subjectDispersal stageen_ZA
dc.titleCost of dispersal in a social mammal : body mass loss and increased stressen_ZA
dc.typePostprint Articleen_ZA

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