Exploration and social environment affect inbreeding avoidance in a small mammal

Individual exploration types are based on the cognitive speed-accuracy trade-off, which suggests that higher speed of information acquisition is done by sacrificing information quality. In a mating context, fast exploration could thus increase the probability of finding mates at the cost of mating with kin or suboptimal partners. We tested this hypothesis by studying male mate choice patterns in a species with a scramble competition mating system. We used genotyping, localisation by radio-collar, trapping, and repeated exploration measures from a long-term study on wild Eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus). We predicted that, according to the speed-accuracy trade-off hypothesis, slower-thorough explorers should be choosier than faster-superficial ones, and thus avoid inbreeding. We found that slower males reproduced more often with less related females, but only on one site where variance in relatedness and female density were high. Males showed no preference for their mates’ exploration..., , , # Exploration and social environment affect inbreeding avoidance in a small mammal

This dataset was collected on a wild population of eastern chipmunks in the mounts Sutton area, Québec, Canada. The study system consists of 3 separate rectangular sites with transects marked with permanently fixed stakes at 20 m intervals, and Longworth traps set at 40 m intervals. Data on site 1 was collected from 2006 to 2009, and data on sites 2 and 3 was collected from 2012 to 2018. Sites were trapped from May to September. Each chipmunk was uniquely marked with ear tags and a PIT tag.

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