A Molecular Genetic Analysis of Kinship and Cooperation in African Lions

Authors

• Craig Packer, University of Minnesota - Minneapolis
• Dennis A. Gilbert, W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn.
• A. E. Pusey, University of Minnesota - Minneapolis
• Stephen J. O'Brien, National Cancer Institute at FrederickFollow

ORCID

0000-0001-7353-8301

ResearcherID

N-1726-2015

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Nature

ISSN

0028-0836

Publication Date

6-13-1991

Abstract

African lions live in complex social groups and show extensive cooperative behaviour. Here we describe a new application of DNA fingerprinting that unequivocally demonstrates the kinship structure of lion 'prides': female companions are always closely related, male companions are either closely related or unrelated, and mating partners are usually unrelated. The variability in relatedness among male coalition partners provides an important opportunity to test for the effects of kinship on cooperative behaviour. Paternity analysis reveals that male reproductive success becomes increasingly skewed as coalition size increases, and the tendency to form coalitions with non-relatives drops sharply with increasing coalition size. Thus males only act as non-reproductive 'helpers' in coalitions composed of close relatives.

Volume

351

Issue

6327

First Page

562

Last Page

565

Comments

©1991 Nature Publishing Group

NSUWorks Citation

Packer, Craig; Dennis A. Gilbert; A. E. Pusey; and Stephen J. O'Brien. 1991. "A Molecular Genetic Analysis of Kinship and Cooperation in African Lions." Nature 351, (6327): 562-565. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cnso_bio_facarticles/293