Life History Correlates of Fitness in Cynomys ludovicianus

生物学家长期以来一直认为，个体避免极端近亲繁殖，是为了减少因近亲繁殖抑制而产生遗传劣势后代的可能性。支持这一论点的证据很少，因为只有对人类和某些植物来说，同一物种才有明确的证据表明它们既避免了极端的近亲繁殖，也避免了近亲繁殖的衰退。生活在南达科他州自然条件下的黑尾草原土拨鼠通过四种不同的机制避免了极端的近亲繁殖，但从19窝近亲繁殖的幼崽的初步证据表明，没有近亲繁殖的萧条。建议进一步研究野生草原土拨鼠明显缺乏近交抑制。在这个物种中，杀婴和集体哺育几乎同时发生。类似的集体护理只在少数哺乳动物物种中被观察到，在自然条件下生活的啮齿动物中从未出现过。进一步研究草原土拨鼠从企图杀婴到集体护理的转变。

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.