Familiarity with adults,but not relatedness,affects the growth of juvenile red-backed salamanders (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Plethodon cinereus</Emphasis>) |
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Authors: | Eric B Liebgold Paul R Cabe |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400328, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA;(2) Department of Biology, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA, USA |
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Abstract: | The relative roles of kinship and familiarity in affecting an individual’s growth and fitness are not easy to disentangle.
Not only is an individual more likely to have prior behavioral interactions with conspecifics in close proximity, it may also
be related (in terms of kinship) to those nearby conspecifics. While some studies have inferred that kin discrimination affects
fitness correlates, other studies found that familiarity alone can reduce aggressive interactions, thus increasing fitness.
These studies have all focused on intra-age class pairs or groups. However, many animals interact with conspecifics from different
cohorts. In many populations, adults of Plethodon cinereus territorially defend rocks and logs that retain moisture and food resources. We investigated whether juveniles of P. cinereus grew more in the presence of adults that were relatives or familiar. We collected pairs of juveniles and adults found under
the same cover objects in the forest (familiar) and pairs of juveniles and adults found under different cover objects, approximately
10 m apart (unfamiliar). We determined parentage and relatedness of the adult–juvenile pairs and then placed these pairs in
semi-natural mesocosms for 17 days. We found that juveniles housed with familiar adults had significantly greater increases
in mass and snout–vent length than juveniles housed with unfamiliar adults in 2006 but not in 2007. Relatedness had no effect
on growth. In addition, juveniles cohabitating with adults were not more likely to be their offspring. At least under certain
environmental conditions, familiarity with adults, independent of relatedness or parentage, increased the growth of juvenile
salamanders. |
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Keywords: | Familiarity Juveniles Salamander Relatedness Territoriality |
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