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Experimental evidence of inbreeding avoidance in the hermaphroditic snail Physa acuta

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Abstract

Inbreeding depression should select for inbreeding avoidance behaviours. Here we test this hypothesis in two populations of the simultaneous hermaphroditic freshwater snail Physa acuta. We recorded the copulatory behaviour of 288 pairs of sib-mates, non-kin mates from the same population, or non-kin mates from two different populations. We find that kin discriminatory behaviours exist in this species, exclusively expressed by individuals playing the female role. We discuss the relevance of our finding in the context of the evolution of recognition systems and the consequences of such a behaviour in natural populations.

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  1. Virginie Ravigné

    Present address: UMR ECOBIOP, INRA, Quartier Ibarron, 64310, Saint Pée sur Nivelle, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Biology Building, Dorigny, 1015, Switzerland

    Benoît Facon, Virginie Ravigné & Jérôme Goudet

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  1. Benoît Facon
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  2. Virginie Ravigné
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  3. Jérôme Goudet
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Correspondence to Benoît Facon.

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Facon, B., Ravigné, V. & Goudet, J. Experimental evidence of inbreeding avoidance in the hermaphroditic snail Physa acuta . Evol Ecol 20, 395–406 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-006-0009-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-006-0009-9

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