Intra-Familial Dispersion Patterns in White-Footed Mice, Peromyscus leucopus

Spatial relationships of white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) dams and their offspring and of littermates post-weaning were determined to evaluate if their dispersion was sufficient to prevent inbreeding. Mothers tended to leave their first nest site and establish another nest site within or nea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 1985-01, Vol.17 (4), p.381-384
Main Authors: Wolff, Jerry O., Katharine I. Lundy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal ethology
Biological and medical sciences
Daughters
Female animals
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Inbreeding
Male animals
Mammalia
Mice
Peromyscus leucopus
Population ecology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Reproduction
Siblings
Social behavior
Vertebrata
Young animals
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Summary:Spatial relationships of white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) dams and their offspring and of littermates post-weaning were determined to evaluate if their dispersion was sufficient to prevent inbreeding. Mothers tended to leave their first nest site and establish another nest site within or near their original home range. Daughters inherited part of the maternal home range but sons dispersed. During the following breeding season, sons were not in proximity to their mothers or sisters. Daughters, however, frequently attained sexual maturity and bred within the home range of males that could have been their fathers. Differential dispersal of male and female juveniles reduces the probability of mother-son and brother-sister matings, but there is no obvious dispersal-related mechanism to prevent father-daughter matings.
ISSN:0340-5443
1432-0762
DOI:10.1007/BF00293216