The role of genetic relatedness among social mates in a cooperative breeder

Breeding with relatives can have severe fitness consequences, so avoiding these costs is often evolutionarily favored. There are a number of mechanisms that reduce the likelihood of mating with relatives, including avoiding relatives as mates (through sex-biased dispersal and mate choice) and delayed sexual maturity in the presence of relatives. Here, we examine these mechanisms in Neolamprologus pulcher, a group-living cichlid fish that …