Hazel J. Nichols

Banded mongooses discriminate relatedness and MHC diversity in unfamiliar conspecifics

This study shows banded mongooses use odor cues to assess MHC diversity and genetic relatedness in unfamiliar conspecifics, showing more interest in less MHC diverse and less related individuals.

Sex-dependent influence of major histocompatibility complex diversity on fitness in a social mammal

The paper examines how MHC diversity affects fitness differently in male and female banded mongooses, finding higher diversity increases male fitness but decreases female fitness.

Fitness incentives to male fighters undermine fighting performance in intergroup contests

The paper examines how personal fitness incentives in wild banded mongooses affect intergroup conflict outcomes, finding that winning fights does not always translate to higher paternity success.

Strategic use of male alternative reproductive tactics in cooperatively breeding banded mongoose groups

The paper investigates sneaky pesterer reproductive tactics in banded mongooses, finding they are rarely used as a stepping stone but instead as a backup strategy with lower reproductive success.

Characterization of both major histocompatibility complex classes in a wild social mammal: the banded mongoose

This study characterizes MHC class I and II diversity in banded mongooses using high-throughput sequencing, finding higher allelic diversity in MHC-I and evidence of selection acting differently on exons 2 and 3.

Reproductive restraint to avoid the costs of reproductive conflict in a cooperatively breeding mammal

The paper examines how male banded mongooses adjust reproductive activity to avoid costs of reproductive conflict, finding that older males have higher paternity and younger males face survival costs.

Early sexual dimorphism in the developing gut microbiome of northern elephant seals

This study examines early sexual dimorphism in the gut microbiome of northern elephant seal pups during a six-week post-weaning period, finding significant sex-based differences in microbial diversity and composition.