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Thorley, Jack 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8426-610X, Bensch, Hanna M, Finn, Kyle, Clutton-Brock, Tim and Zöttl, Markus
(2023)
Damaraland mole-rats do not rely on helpers for reproduction or survival.
Evolution Letters, 7 (4).
pp. 203-215.
ISSN 2056-3744
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Abstract
In eusocial invertebrates and obligate cooperative breeders, successful reproduction is dependent on assistance from non-breeding group members. Although naked (Heterocephalus glaber) and Damaraland mole-rats (Fukomys damarensis) are often described as eusocial and their groups are suggested to resemble those of eusocial insects more closely than groups of any other vertebrate, the extent to which breeding individuals benefit from the assistance of non-breeding group members is unclear. Here we show that, in wild Damaraland mole-rats, prospective female breeders usually disperse and settle alone in new burrow systems where they show high survival rates and remain in good body condition—often for several years—before being joined by males. In contrast to many obligate cooperative vertebrates, pairs reproduced successfully without non-breeding helpers, and the breeding success of experimentally formed pairs was similar to that of larger, established groups. Though larger breeding groups recruited slightly more pups than smaller groups, adult survival was independent of group size and group size had mixed effects on the growth of non-breeders. Our results suggest that Damaraland mole-rats do not need groups to survive and that cooperative breeding in the species is not obligate as pairs can—and frequently do—reproduce without the assistance of helpers. While re-emphasizing the importance of ecological constraints on dispersal in social mole-rats, the mixed effects of group size in our study suggest that indirect benefits accrued through cooperative behavior may have played a less prominent role in the evolution of mole-rat group-living than previously thought.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | Data availability: All data and code are available online (https://github.com/JThor1990/DMR_GroupSizeEffects). |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | cooperative breeding,family living,helper effects,philopatry,sociality,ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics,genetics ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1105 |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Sep 2026 10:40 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Sep 2026 10:40 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/104534 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/evlett/qrad023 |
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