Social structure of pilot whales revealed by analytical DNA profiling.
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 8480176.
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Abstract
Long-finned pilot whales swim in large, extremely cohesive social groups known as pods. Molecular typing revealed that pod members form a single extended family. Mature males neither disperse from nor mate within their natal pods, a situation unusual for mammals. Such behavior could be explained in terms of inclusive fitness benefits gained by adult males helping the large number of female relatives with which they swim.
Medical subject headings
- DNA, Satellite
- Social Behavior
- Whales