= Elisabeth Spinelli de Oliveira
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Elisabeth Spinelli de Oliveira is a researcher in the <physiology> and <animal behaviour> of rodents. Her University of São Paulo research profile places these questions in a comparative and evolutionary context and identifies her contribution to the field study of <Cavia aperea> coauthored with <Matthias Asher> and <Norbert Sachser>.<Elisabeth Spinelli de Oliveira research profile at the University of São Paulo>[Área de Pesquisa and Principais produções, including the Cavia aperea paper]{ref}
That study brought together observations of space use, social interactions and genetic relationships in a natural population. <Wildlife radio telemetry> supplied location evidence, direct observations recorded interactions, and <DNA profiling> addressed parentage. This combination matters because sharing a <home range> and producing offspring together are distinct biological relationships.<Social System and Spatial Organization of Wild Guinea Pigs (Cavia aperea) in a Natural Population by Matthias Asher and others>[Printed page 788, author affiliation and Abstract]{ref}
A simplified genetic example illustrates the distinction between excluding and identifying a parent. Consider one <diploid> marker obeying ordinary <Mendelian segregation>, with no <mutation> or measurement error. If a mother's <genotype> is $10/12$ and her offspring's is $10/14$, the paternal contribution must be <allele> $14$. A candidate male with <genotype> $12/16$ is incompatible at that marker, while one with $14/18$ is compatible. Compatibility alone does not identify him uniquely: another unsampled male might also carry <allele> $14$. Multiple informative markers, adequate sampling and an explicit treatment of errors are needed to make stronger parentage inferences. These invented <genotypes> illustrate the logic of inheritance, not the assay or data reported in the field study.
The broader lesson is that social proximity, observed behavior and inherited variation can provide complementary evidence. A spatial association may suggest which animals to investigate, but it cannot substitute for genetic evidence of parentage. Conversely, genetic compatibility alone does not describe the daily interactions through which a social group is maintained.
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