The roles of relatedness and reproductive success in complex social systems of dolphins

关于遗传关联和繁殖成功在哺乳动物社会行为中的作用的理论大多局限于灵长类和食肉动物。在一个宽吻海豚种群(西澳的鲨鱼湾)内共存的替代策略为此类调查提供了前所未有的机会。男性联盟？复杂性在人类之外是无与伦比的，可能需要新的理论。一些雌性血统显示出工具的使用--在人类之外很少见，在海洋物种中几乎是未知的。我们的行为和遗传数据库具有海洋哺乳动物的特殊大小、详细信息和持续时间，如果在已知个体的后代达到可以采样的阶段时继续下去，将是最有价值的。

Theories of the role of genetic relatedness and reproductive success in mammalian social behaviour have mostly been restricted to primates and carnivores. Coexisting alternative strategies within one population of bottlenose dolphins (Shark Bay WA) offer unprecedented opportunities for such investigations. The male alliances? complexity is unparalleled outside humans, and may require new theory. Some female lineages show tool-use - rare outside humans, and virtually unknown in marine species. Our behavioural and genetic database has exceptional size, detail and duration for marine mammals, and is most valuable if continued while known individuals' offspring reach a stage where they can be sampled.