RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Social groups buffer maternal loss in mountain gorillas
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.09.01.276956
DO 10.1101/2020.09.01.276956
A1 Robin E Morrison
A1 Winnie Eckardt
A1 Fernando Colchero
A1 Veronica Vecellio
A1 Tara S Stoinski
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/01/2020.09.01.276956.abstract
AB Mothers are crucial for mammals’ survival before nutritional independence, but many social mammals reside with their mothers long after. In these species the social adversity caused by maternal loss later in life can dramatically reduce fitness. However, in some human populations these negative consequences appear to be overcome by care from other group members. We investigated the consequences of maternal loss in mountain gorillas and found no discernible fitness costs to maternal loss through survival, age at first birth or survival of first offspring through infancy. Social network analysis revealed that maternal loss led to strengthened relationships with other group members, particularly the dominant male and age-mates. In contrast to most social mammals, where maternal loss causes considerable social adversity, in mountain gorillas, as in certain human populations, this may be buffered by relationships within cohesive social groups, breaking the link between maternal loss, increased social adversity and decreased fitness.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.