Meeting Abstract
In cooperatively breeding societies, non-breeding individuals help rear offspring (e.g. provisioning), however variation in helping behavior exists among individuals. One hypothesis to explain this variation, kin selection, indicates that individuals are more likely to help when they are more closely related to the brood (e.g. full siblings). Thus, an important mechanism to generate helpers is for offspring of one breeding attempt to remain with their natal group and help rear subsequent breeding attempts of their parents. Therefore, whether an individual disperses or remains natal likely has significant ramifications on the fitness of that group and may have implications regarding the evolution of cooperative breeding in general. Here, using the cooperatively breeding chestnut crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps), we compared DNA methylation of hatchlings that remained natal following development (n= 6) and those that ultimately dispersed following development (n= 3). We used epiRADseq to generate 148,881 unique fragments. A principle components analysis of these fragments showed that DNA methylation patterns differ between reproductive strategies (i.e. dispersing or remaining natal). These results indicate that although DNA methylation is variable among individuals, clear patterns emerge consistent with behavioral strategies. Further, DNA methylation patterns at hatching are predictive of future behavioral traits.
