Abstract Movement of individuals, or their genes, can influence eco-evolutionary processes in structured populations. We have limited understanding of the extent to which spatial behavior varies among groups and individuals within populations. Here, we use genetic pedigree reconstruction in a long-term study of European badgers (Meles meles) to characterize the extent of extra-group paternity, occurring as a consequence of breeding excursions, and to test hypothesized drivers of variation at multiple levels. We jointly estimate parentage and paternity distance (PD; distance between a cub’s natal and its father’s social group), and test whether population density and sex ratio influence mean annual PD. We also model cub-level PD and extra-group paternity (EGP) to test for variation among social groups and parental individuals. Mean PD varied among years but was not explained by population density or sex ratio. However, cub-level analysis shows strong effects of social group, and parental identities, with some parental individuals being consistently more likely to produce cubs with extra-group partners. Group effects were partially explained by local sex ratio. There was also a strong negative correlation between maternal and paternal social group effects on cub paternity distance, indicating source-sink dynamics. Our analyses of paternity distance and EGP indicate variation in extra-group mating at multiple levels—among years, social groups and individuals. The latter in particular is a phenomenon seldom documented and suggests that gene flow among groups may be disproportionately mediated by a nonrandom subset of adults, emphasizing the importance of the individual in driving eco-evolutionary dynamics.

中文翻译：

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社会性哺乳动物群体外亲子关系的个体变异和源库群体动态

摘要 个体或其基因的运动可以影响结构化群体的生态进化过程。我们对人群中群体和个体之间空间行为差异的程度了解有限。在这里，我们在欧洲獾（Meles meles）的长期研究中使用遗传谱系重建来表征因繁殖偏差而发生的群体外亲子关系的程度，并在多个层面上测试假设的变异驱动因素。我们共同估计亲子关系和亲子关系距离（PD；幼崽出生时与其父亲的社会群体之间的距离），并测试人口密度和性别比是否影响年平均PD。我们还对幼崽级别的 PD 和族外亲子关系 (EGP) 进行建模，以测试社会群体和父母个体之间的差异。平均 PD 因年份而异，但不能用人口密度或性别比来解释。然而，幼崽层面的分析显示，社会群体和父母身份的强烈影响，一些父母个体始终更有可能与群体外的伙伴生下幼崽。当地性别比例可以部分解释群体效应。母系和父系社会群体对幼崽父系距离的影响也存在很强的负相关性，这表明源库动态。我们对亲子距离和 EGP 的分析表明，群体外交配在多个层面（年份、社会群体和个人）存在差异。尤其是后者是一种很少被记录的现象，表明群体之间的基因流动可能不成比例地由非随机的成年人子集介导，强调了个体在驱动生态进化动态方面的重要性。