| dc.description.abstract | Inbreeding depression refers to a decrease in
fitness components in the offspring of closely related sexual
pairs. Given the disadvantages of inbreeding depression, it
is of interest to study the mechanisms involved in its
avoidance, particularly in social insects. In termites, colonies
are founded by dispersing individuals. Two types of
mechanisms may account for inbreeding avoidance: indirect
mechanisms that occur before the dispersing individuals
come into contact (sex-biased production at colony level,
sex-biased emergence timing, dispersal, and sex-biased
dispersal), and an active mechanism (kin recognition) that
occurs when dispersing individuals come into contact. We
have used ecological, behavioral and genetic approaches to
study the mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance along the
complete process of colony foundation by Neotermes
chilensis, i.e., from the production of dispersing individuals
in the colony to the production of siblings by the newly
formed reproductive pair. This is the first report to address
both indirect and active mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance
in the same study, in the same termite species, and through the complete process of colony foundation. The
results show that dispersal is the main indirect mechanism
of inbreeding avoidance and that kin recognition is unlikely
as an active mechanism of inbreeding avoidance. | |
