DOI: 10.5061/dryad.ncjsxkt1m
title: Exploration and social environment affect inbreeding avoidance in a small mammal

description: Individual exploration types are based on the cognitive speed-accuracy
 trade-off, which suggests that higher speed of information acquisition is
 done by sacrificing information quality. In a mating context, fast
 exploration could thus increase the probability of finding mates at the
 cost of mating with kin or suboptimal partners. We tested this hypothesis
 by studying male mate choice patterns in a species with a scramble
 competition mating system. We used genotyping, localisation by
 radio-collar, trapping, and repeated exploration measures from a long-term
 study on wild Eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus). We predicted that,
 according to the speed-accuracy trade-off hypothesis, slower-thorough
 explorers should be choosier than faster-superficial ones, and thus avoid
 inbreeding. We found that slower males reproduced more often with less
 related females, but only on one site where variance in relatedness and
 female density were high. Males showed no preference for their mates’
 exploration type. Our results suggest that superficial exploration
 decreases male choosiness and increases the risk of inbreeding, but only
 under decreased mate search costs due to high variance in relatedness
 among mates (at high density). Our findings reveal exploration-related,
 among-individual variance in inbreeding, highlighting the complexity of
 mate choice, and showing that many aspects of an individual’s life
 contribute to animal decision-making.
description: # Exploration and social environment affect inbreeding avoidance in a
 small mammal This dataset
 was collected on a wild population of eastern chipmunks in the mounts
 Sutton area, Québec, Canada. The study system consists of 3 separate
 rectangular sites with transects marked with permanently fixed stakes at
 20 m intervals, and Longworth traps set at 40 m intervals. Data on site 1
 was collected from 2006 to 2009, and data on sites 2 and 3 was collected
 from 2012 to 2018. Sites were trapped from May to September. Each chipmunk
 was uniquely marked with ear tags and a PIT tag. For more information,
 please see the original article. ## Description of the data and file
 structure | Column | Description | | ----------------------- |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | year | Year that the data was collected. | | site | Site on which the individuals were located, among 3 separate sites. | | id.male | Unique identifier for the male. | | id.year.male | Combination of the id of the male and the year the data was collected. | | id.female | Unique identifier for the female. | | id.year.female | Combination of the id of the female and the year the data was collected. | | reproduction | Binomial variable. Wether the male-female couple produced at least one offspring this year. 0 if they did not, 1 if they did. | | distance | Distance between the burrow centers of both individuals, in meters. | | exploration.blup.male | BLUP of the exploration value of the male, measured by an Open-field test. Value is standardized. | | exploration.blup.female | BLUP of the exploration value of the female, measured by an Open-field test. Value is standardized. | | relatedness | Relatedness between the male and female, calculated from genotyping of both individuals. Value is standardized. | | female.density | Density of females in the mate search area of the male. Value is standardized. | | border.effect | Distance between the burrow of the male and the center of the grid, in meters. | | max.search.distance | Distance between the male and the farthest female with which he sired an offspring that year, in meters. | | season | Whether the mating season was during spring or summer. |