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The animal gut commonly contains a large reservoir of symbiotic microbes. Although these microbes have obvious functions in digestion and immune defence, gut microbes can also affect behaviour. Here, we explore whether gut microbiota has a role in kin recognition. We assessed whether relatedness, familiarity and food eaten during development altered copulation investment in three species of Drosophila with diverse ecologies. We found that a monandrous species exhibited true kin recognition, whereas familiarity determined kin recognition in a species living in dense aggregations. Finally, in a food generalist species, food eaten during development masked kin recognition. The effect of food type on copulation duration, in addition to the removal of this effect via antibiotic treatment, suggests the influence of bacteria associated with the gut. Our results provide the first evidence that varied ecologically determined mechanisms of kin recognition occur in Drosophila, and that gut bacteria are likely to have a key role in these mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kin recognition, defined as the ability to differentiate genetically related from unrelated individuals, plays a key role in a range of biological processes, from mate choice to altruistic behaviours, but kin-based altruism may be overridden by competition for resources. We explored kin recognition in a gregarious parasitoid wasp, Goniozus legneri, in which adult female–female contests for hosts occur. Contest behaviour was less aggressive when competitors were more closely related and also when females had developed on the same host (in nature, broodmates will almost always be siblings). Goniozus legneri appears to be the only parasitoid species utilizing both genetically based (phenotype matching) and environmentally based (familiarity) mechanisms of phenotypic kin discrimination. While perceived resource value affects aggression in Goniozus, resource competition did not completely override kin recognition effects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The animal gut contains a large reservoir of symbionts. Whilst these microbes have obvious physiological functions in, for example, digestion and immune defence, they can also affect their host's behavior. Increasing evidence suggests that gut microbiota alters the scent of an individual, thereby affecting mate choice and kin recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]