IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Dobson, F.S.; Jones, W.T. | |
| Multiple causes of dispersal | |
| 1985 The American Naturalist (126): 855-858 | |
Recent interest in the evolution of the dispersal patterns of terrestrial vertebrates has emphasized functional explanations that invoke the influence of inbreeding avoidance, competition for mates, and competition for environmental resources. Studies of dispersal usually address two questions: why do individuals disperse, and why are dispersers often predominantly of one sex and age class? Direct evidence for the competitive hypotheses comes from behavioral interactions among individuals. Such evidence from primates, zebras, and wild dogs led Moor and Ali to conclude that "the major cause of natal dispersal and transfer among mammals in competition...and the inbreeding hypothesis is both inadequate and unnecessary to explain general dispersal patterns". We disagree with these conclusions. Rather than attributing dispersal patterns to one cause, we contend that there may be multiple causes. Further, a broader view of the evicence among mammals indicates that CFM and CFR do not explain all dispersal patterns and that IA cannot be ruled out as a possible factor in some cases. |
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