Dispersal, philopatry, and genetic relatedness in a social carnivore: comparing males and females

A balance must be maintained between the proportion of individuals dispersing and the proportion remaining philopatric such that inbreeding and resource competition are minimized. Yet the relative importance of dispersal and philopatric behaviour is uncertain, especially for species with complex social systems. We examine the influence of dispersal on genetic relationships of a white-nosed coati (Nasua narica: Procyonidae) population from Panama. Field studies of the coati indicate a social system in which all females are highly philopatric and live in bands while all adult males become solitary at maturity, but do not disperse from the home range of their natal band. Based on analyses of multilocus DNA fingerprints, we confirm that female philopatry is the rule, long-distance dispersal is rare, and that relatedness between most bands is low. However, some new bands result from fission events and these bands retain relatively high relatedness to one another for several years. Adult males inhabiting the home range of a band are closely related to band members. In contrast, males and band members whose ranges do not overlap are unrelated or only slightly related. Adult males are also more closely related to other males whose home ranges they overlap extensively than to males whose home ranges they overlap only slightly. These results indicate that males initially disperse from their natal bands to reduce resource competition and not to avoid inbreeding. Inbreeding avoidance, if it occurs, results from more extensive range movements by males during the mating season.