Social bonds between unrelated females increase reproductive success in feral horses

摘要: In many mammals, females form close social bonds with members of their group, usually between kin. Studies and fitness benefits have not been investigated outside primates, are confounded by the relatedness individuals in primate groups. Bonds may arise from kin selection inclusive rather than through direct association. However, female equids live long-term groups unrelated members. We present 4 years behavioral data, which demonstrate that integration increases both foal birth rates survival, independent maternal habitat quality, group type, dominance status, age. Also, we show such reduces harassment males. Consequently, has strong consequences nonrelatives, suggesting can evolve based on these alone. Our results support recent studies highlighting importance maintaining cooperative behavior, while controlling for confounding influence kinship.