Life History Correlates of Fitness in Cynomys ludovicianus

生物学家长期以来一直认为，个体避免极端近亲交配，是为了减少近亲交配衰退产生遗传劣势后代的可能性。对这一观点的支持很少，因为只有人类和某些植物才有来自同一物种的明确证据，证明可以避免极端近亲繁殖和近亲繁殖衰退。生活在南达科他州自然条件下的黑尾草原犬通过四种不同的机制避免了极端的近亲繁殖，但来自19只近亲繁殖后代的初步证据表明，不存在近亲繁殖衰退。提出了进一步研究野生草原犬明显缺乏近亲繁殖抑制的研究。在这个物种中，几乎同时观察到了杀婴和公共哺乳。类似的集体哺乳只在少数哺乳动物物种中观察到，以前从未在生活在自然条件下的啮齿动物中观察到。建议进一步研究草原犬从未遂杀婴到公共护理的转变。

Biologists have long argued that individuals avoid extreme inbreeding in order to reduce the probability of producing genetically inferior offspring through inbreeding depression. Support for this argument is scarce, since only for humans and certain plants is there unequivocal evidence from the same species for both the avoidance of extreme inbreeding and inbreeding depression. Black-tailed prairie dogs living under natural conditions in South Dakota avoid extreme inbreeding by four different mechanisms, but preliminary evidence from 19 inbred litters indicates that there is no inbreeding depression. Research to further investigate the apparent lack of inbreeding depression among wild prairie dogs is proposed. Infanticide as well as communal nursing has been observed nearly simultaneously in this species. Similar communal nursing has been observed in only a handful of mammalian species, and never before in a rodent living under natural conditions. Research to further investigate the shift from attempted infanticide to communal nursing in prairie dogs is proposed.