Social Structure of Pilot Whales Revealed by Analytical DNA Profiling
- 30 April 1993
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 260 (5108), 670-672
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.8480176
Abstract
Long-finned pilot whales swim in large, extremely cohesive social groups known as pods. Molecular typing revealed that pod members form a single extended family. Mature males neither disperse from nor mate within their natal pods, a situation unusual for mammals. Such behavior could be explained in terms of inclusive fitness benefits gained by adult males helping the large number of female relatives with which they swim.Keywords
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