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 type. Our results suggest that superficial exploration
decreases male choosiness and increases the risk of inbreeding, but only
under decreased mate search costs due to high variance in relatedness
among mates (at high density). Our findings reveal exploration-related,
among-individual variance in inbreeding, highlighting the complexity of
mate choice, and showing that many aspects of an individual’s life
contribute to animal decision-making.