While the importance of kin discrimination, that is, kin recognition and subsequent differential treatment of kin and nonkin, is well established for kin-directed cooperation or altruism, the role of kin discrimination in the context of kin competition and kin avoidance is largely unexplored. Theory predicts that individuals avoiding competition with kin should be favored by natural selection due to indirect fitness benefits. Using an experimental approach, we investigated whether the presence of same-sex kin affects avoidance and explorative behavior in subadult Pelvicachromis taeniatus, a West African cichlid fish with strong intrasexual competition in both sexes. Pelvicachromis taeniatus is capable of recognizing kin using phenotype matching and shows kin discrimination in diverse contexts. When exposed to a same-sex conspecific, both males and females tended to interact less with the related opponent. Moreover, individuals explored a novel environment faster after exposure to kin than to nonkin. This effect was more pronounced in females. Individuals avoiding the proximity of same-sex relatives may reduce kin competition over resources such as mating partners or food.

中文翻译：

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同性亲属的存在促进了亚成鱼慈鲷的探索行为

虽然亲属歧视的重要性（即亲属识别以及对亲属和非亲属的区别对待）对于以亲属为导向的合作或利他主义已得到充分确立，但在亲属竞争和避免亲属背景下，亲属歧视的作用尚未得到充分探讨。理论预测，由于间接适应性好处，自然选择应避免与亲属竞争的个人。使用实验方法，我们调查了同性亲属的存在是否会影响亚成年猫（Pelvicachromis taeniatus）的回避和探索行为，后者是西非丽鱼科鱼类，在两性中都有强烈的内部竞争。紫花苜蓿能够使用表型匹配来识别亲属，并在多种情况下显示亲属歧视。当暴露于同性的同种动物中时，雄性和雌性都倾向于较少地与相关对手互动。而且，与亲属相比，接触亲属后，人们探索新环境的速度更快。这种作用在女性中更为明显。避免同性亲戚接近的个人可能会减少亲属对诸如配偶伴侣或食物之类的资源的竞争。