Inbreeding reduces fitness of seed beetles under thermal stress.

Human-induced environmental change can influence populations both at the global level through climatic warming and at the local level through habitat fragmentation. As populations become more isolated, they can suffer from high levels of inbreeding, which contributes to a reduction in fitness, termed inbreeding depression. However, it is still unclear if this increase in homozygosity also results in a corresponding increase in sensitivity to stressful conditions, which could intensify the already detrimental effects of environmental warming.

Kin but less than kind: within-group male relatedness does not increase female fitness in seed beetles.

Theory maintains within-group male relatedness can mediate sexual conflict by reducing male-male competition and collateral harm to females. We tested whether male relatedness can lessen female harm in the seed beetle . Male relatedness did not influence female lifetime reproductive success or individual fitness across two different ecologically relevant scenarios of mating competition.