Pair bonds, reproductive success and rise of alternate mating strategies in a social carnivore.

Monogamy is commonly observed across a wide variety of species and taxa and arises when young are altricial, parental investment in young is high, and mate monopolization is generally not possible. In such species, pairs may bond for multiple breeding seasons while successfully rearing young. Individuals, however, may attempt to bypass the dominant mating strategy particularly when breeding opportunities are limited. Currently, we do not know how pair bond duration affects the efficacy of alternative mating strategies in populations with a monogamous mating system. Additionally, inferences about pair bond effects on reproductive success (i.e., both clutch size and recruitment) are largely limited to long-lived birds and little is known about effects on mammalian cooperative breeders. I used genetic sampling and pedigrees to examine the effects of pair bond duration on reproductive success (i.e., litter size, recruitment) and mating strategies in a population of gray wolves (Canis lupus)...

单配偶制（monogamy）广泛分布于各类物种类群之中，其演化形成通常需满足三个条件：幼崽为晚成雏（altricial）、亲本对幼崽的投入水平较高，且一般难以实现配偶独占。在此类物种的种群中，配对双方可在成功抚育幼崽的前提下，维持多个繁殖季的配偶联结（pair bond）。然而，当繁殖机会有限时，个体往往会尝试突破这一主流交配策略。

目前，学界尚未明确在单配偶制交配系统的种群中，配偶联结时长会对替代性交配策略的有效性产生何种影响。此外，现有关于配偶联结对繁殖成功率（即窝卵数与种群补充率）的推论，大多仅局限于长寿鸟类，针对哺乳动物合作繁育者的相关影响研究仍十分匮乏。

本研究通过遗传采样与谱系分析，在灰狼（Canis lupus）种群中探究了配偶联结时长对繁殖成功率（即窝仔数与种群补充率）以及交配策略的影响。