Contributions of genetic and non-genetic sources to variation in cooperative behaviour in a cooperative mammal

The evolution of cooperative behaviour is a major area of research among
evolutionary biologists and behavioural ecologists, yet there are few
estimates of its heritability or of its evolutionary potential and
long-term studies of identifiable individuals are required to disentangle
genetic and non-genetic components of cooperative behaviour. Here we use
long-term data on over 1800 individually recognisable wild meerkats
(Suricata suricatta) collected over 30 years and a multi-generational
genetic pedigree to partition phenotypic variation in three cooperative
behaviours (babysitting, pup feeding and sentinel behaviour) into
individual, additive genetic and other sources, and to assess their
repeatability and heritability. In addition to strong effects of sex, age
and dominance status, we found significant repeatability in individual
contributions to all three types of cooperative behaviour both within and
across breeding seasons. Like most other studies of the heritability of
social behaviour, we found that the heritability of cooperative behaviour
was low. However, our analysis suggests that a substantial component of
the repeatable individual differences in cooperative behaviour that we
observed was a consequence of additive genetic variation. Our results
consequently indicate that cooperative behaviour can respond to selection,
and suggest scope for further exploration of the genetic basis of social
behaviour.