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Kerr NZ, Morris WF, Walters JR. Inclusive Fitness May Explain Some but Not All Benefits Derived from Helping Behavior in a Cooperatively Breeding Bird. Am Nat 2024; 203:393-410. [PMID: 38358814 DOI: 10.1086/728670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
AbstractIn cooperative breeding systems, inclusive fitness theory predicts that nonbreeding helpers more closely related to the breeders should be more willing to provide costly alloparental care and thus have more impact on breeder fitness. In the red-cockaded woodpecker (Dryobates borealis), most helpers are the breeders' earlier offspring, but helpers do vary within groups in both relatedness to the breeders (some even being unrelated) and sex, and it can be difficult to parse their separate impacts on breeder fitness. Moreover, most support for inclusive fitness theory has been positive associations between relatedness and behavior rather than actual fitness consequences. We used functional linear models to evaluate the per capita effects of helpers of different relatedness on eight breeder fitness components measured for up to 41 years at three sites. In support of inclusive fitness theory, helpers more related to the breeding pair made greater contributions to six fitness components. However, male helpers made equal contributions to increasing prefledging survival regardless of relatedness. These findings suggest that both inclusive fitness benefits and other direct benefits may underlie helping behaviors in the red-cockaded woodpecker. Our results also demonstrate the application of an underused statistical approach to disentangle a complex ecological phenomenon.
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2
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Kreider JJ, Kramer BH, Komdeur J, Pen I. The evolution of ageing in cooperative breeders. Evol Lett 2022; 6:450-459. [PMID: 36579168 PMCID: PMC9783459 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Cooperatively breeding animals live longer than their solitary counterparts. This has been suggested for birds, mole rats, and social insects. A common explanation for these long lifespans is that cooperative breeding evolves more readily in long-lived species because lower mortality reduces the rate of territory turnover and thus leads to a limitation of breeding territories. Here, we reverse this argument and show that-rather than being a cause for its evolution-long lifespans are an evolutionary consequence of cooperative breeding. In evolutionary individual-based simulations, we show that natural selection favors a delayed onset of senescence in cooperative breeders, relative to solitary breeders, because cooperative breeders have a delayed age of first reproduction as helpers wait in a reproductive queue to obtain breeder status. Especially long lifespans evolve in cooperative breeders in which queue positions depend on the helpers' age rank among the helpers within the breeding territory. Furthermore, we show that lower genetic relatedness among group members leads to the evolution of longer lifespans. This is because selection against higher mortality is weaker when mortality reduces competition for breeding between relatives. Our results link the evolutionary theory of ageing with kin selection theory, demonstrating that the evolution of ageing in cooperative breeders is driven by the timing of reproduction and kin structure within breeding territories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan J. Kreider
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9747 AGThe Netherlands,Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
| | - Boris H. Kramer
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
| | - Ido Pen
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9747 AGThe Netherlands
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3
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Sparks AM, Hammers M, Komdeur J, Burke T, Richardson DS, Dugdale HL. Sex-dependent effects of parental age on offspring fitness in a cooperatively breeding bird. Evol Lett 2022; 6:438-449. [PMID: 36579166 PMCID: PMC9783413 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Parental age can have considerable effects on offspring phenotypes and health. However, intergenerational effects may also have longer term effects on offspring fitness. Few studies have investigated parental age effects on offspring fitness in natural populations while also testing for sex- and environment-specific effects. Further, longitudinal parental age effects may be masked by population-level processes such as the selective disappearance of poor-quality individuals. Here, we used multigenerational data collected on individually marked Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) to investigate the impact of maternal and paternal age on offspring life span and lifetime reproductive success. We found negative effects of maternal age on female offspring life span and lifetime reproductive success, which were driven by within-mother effects. There was no difference in annual reproductive output of females born to older versus younger mothers, suggesting that the differences in offspring lifetime reproductive success were driven by effects on offspring life span. In contrast, there was no association between paternal age and female offspring life span or either maternal or paternal age and male offspring life span. Lifetime reproductive success, but not annual reproductive success, of male offspring increased with maternal age, but this was driven by between-mother effects. No paternal age effects were found on female offspring lifetime reproductive success but there was a positive between-father effect on male offspring lifetime reproductive success. We did not find strong evidence for environment-dependent parental age effects. Our study provides evidence for parental age effects on the lifetime fitness of offspring and shows that such effects can be sex dependent. These results add to the growing literature indicating the importance of intergenerational effects on long-term offspring performance and highlight that these effects can be an important driver of variation in longevity and fitness in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M. Sparks
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of BiologyUniversity of LeedsLeedsLS2 9JTUnited Kingdom,School of BiosciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldS10 2TNUnited Kingdom
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9712 CPThe Netherlands,Aeres University of Applied SciencesAlmere1325 WBThe Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9712 CPThe Netherlands
| | - Terry Burke
- School of BiosciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldS10 2TNUnited Kingdom
| | - David S. Richardson
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwichNR4 7TJUnited Kingdom,Nature SeychellesMahéRepublic of Seychelles
| | - Hannah L. Dugdale
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of BiologyUniversity of LeedsLeedsLS2 9JTUnited Kingdom,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9712 CPThe Netherlands
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4
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Brown TJ, Dugdale HL, Hammers M, Komdeur J, Richardson DS. Seychelles warblers with silver spoons: Juvenile body mass is a lifelong predictor of annual survival, but not annual reproduction or senescence. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9049. [PMID: 35813920 PMCID: PMC9251861 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The environment experienced during development, and its impact on intrinsic condition, can have lasting outcomes for individual phenotypes and could contribute to variation in adult senescence trajectories. However, the nature of this relationship in wild populations remains uncertain, owing to the difficulties in summarizing natal conditions and in long‐term monitoring of individuals from free‐roaming long‐lived species. Utilizing a closely monitored, closed population of Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis), we determine whether juvenile body mass is associated with natal socioenvironmental factors, specific genetic traits linked to fitness in this system, survival to adulthood, and senescence‐related traits. Juveniles born in seasons with higher food availability and into smaller natal groups (i.e., fewer competitors) were heavier. In contrast, there were no associations between juvenile body mass and genetic traits. Furthermore, size‐corrected mass—but not separate measures of natal food availability, group size, or genetic traits—was positively associated with survival to adulthood, suggesting juvenile body mass is indicative of natal condition. Heavier juveniles had greater body mass and had higher rates of annual survival as adults, independent of age. In contrast, there was no association between juvenile mass and adult telomere length attrition (a measure of somatic stress) nor annual reproduction. These results indicate that juvenile body mass, while not associated with senescence trajectories, can influence the likelihood of surviving to old age, potentially due to silver‐spoon effects. This study shows that measures of intrinsic condition in juveniles can provide important insights into the long‐term fitness of individuals in wild populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J. Brown
- School of Biological Sciences University of East Anglia Norwich UK
| | - Hannah L. Dugdale
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - David S. Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences University of East Anglia Norwich UK
- Nature Seychelles Victoria, Mahé Seychelles
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5
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van de Crommenacker J, Hammers M, Dugdale HL, Burke TA, Komdeur J, Richardson DS. Early‐life conditions impact juvenile telomere length, but do not predict later life‐history strategies or fitness in a wild vertebrate. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8971. [PMID: 35784039 PMCID: PMC9207752 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Janske van de Crommenacker
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES) University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES) University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Hannah L. Dugdale
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES) University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
- Faculty of Biological Sciences School of Biology University of Leeds Leeds UK
| | - Terry A. Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES) University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - David S. Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences University of East Anglia Norfolk UK
- Nature Seychelles Roche Caiman Mahé Seychelles
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Ma L, Versteegh MA, Hammers M, Komdeur J. Sex-specific influence of communal breeding experience on parenting performance and fitness in a burying beetle. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211179. [PMID: 35223054 PMCID: PMC8847889 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Communal breeding, wherein multiple conspecifics live and reproduce together, may generate short-term benefits in terms of defence and reproduction. However, its carry-over effects remain unclear. We experimentally tested the effects of communal breeding on parental care and reproduction in burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides), which use carcasses as breeding resources and provide parental care to offspring. We subjected individuals to communal or non-communal breeding (i.e. pair breeding) during their first breeding event and to non-communal breeding during their second breeding event. We measured the parental care of individuals and of groups and the reproductive success of groups during both breeding events. In communal groups, large individuals became dominant and largely monopolized the carcass, whereas small individuals (i.e. subordinates) had restricted access to the carcass. At the first breeding event, large males in communal groups spent more time providing care than large males in non-communal groups, whereas such an effect was not observed for large females and small individuals. Reproductive successes were similar in communal and non-communal groups, indicating no short-term benefits of communal breeding in terms of reproduction. Compared with males from non-communal groups, males originating from communal groups produced a larger size of brood during their second breeding event, whereas such an effect was not observed for females. Our results demonstrate the sex-specific effects of communal breeding experience on parenting performance and fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Ma
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Maaike A. Versteegh
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
- Aeres University of Applied Sciences, Arboretum West 98, 1325 WB Almere, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
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Worsley SF, Davies CS, Mannarelli ME, Hutchings MI, Komdeur J, Burke T, Dugdale HL, Richardson DS. Gut microbiome composition, not alpha diversity, is associated with survival in a natural vertebrate population. Anim Microbiome 2021; 3:84. [PMID: 34930493 PMCID: PMC8685825 DOI: 10.1186/s42523-021-00149-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The vertebrate gut microbiome (GM) can vary substantially across individuals within the same natural population. Although there is evidence linking the GM to health in captive animals, very little is known about the consequences of GM variation for host fitness in the wild. Here, we explore the relationship between faecal microbiome diversity, body condition, and survival using data from the long-term study of a discrete natural population of the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) on Cousin Island. To our knowledge, this is the first time that GM differences associated with survival have been fully characterised for a natural vertebrate species, across multiple age groups and breeding seasons. RESULTS We identified substantial variation in GM community structure among sampled individuals, which was partially explained by breeding season (5% of the variance), and host age class (up to 1% of the variance). We also identified significant differences in GM community membership between adult birds that survived, versus those that had died by the following breeding season. Individuals that died carried increased abundances of taxa that are known to be opportunistic pathogens, including several ASVs in the genus Mycobacterium. However, there was no association between GM alpha diversity (the diversity of bacterial taxa within a sample) and survival to the next breeding season, or with individual body condition. Additionally, we found no association between GM community membership and individual body condition. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that components of the vertebrate GM can be associated with host fitness in the wild. However, further research is needed to establish whether changes in bacterial abundance contribute to, or are only correlated with, differential survival; this will add to our understanding of the importance of the GM in the evolution of host species living in natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah F Worsley
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK.
| | - Charli S Davies
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Maria-Elena Mannarelli
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Matthew I Hutchings
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK.
- Nature Seychelles, Roche Caiman, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles.
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8
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Busana M, Childs DZ, Burke TA, Komdeur J, Richardson DS, Dugdale HL. Population level consequences of facultatively cooperative behaviour in a stochastic environment. J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:224-240. [PMID: 34704272 PMCID: PMC9299144 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The social environment in which individuals live affects their fitness and in turn population dynamics as a whole. Birds with facultative cooperative breeding can live in social groups with dominants, subordinate helpers that assist with the breeding of others, and subordinate non-helpers. Helping behaviour benefits dominants through increased reproductive rates and reduced extrinsic mortality, such that cooperative breeding might have evolved in response to unpredictable, harsh conditions affecting reproduction and/or survival of the dominants. Additionally, there may be different costs and benefits to both helpers and non-helpers, depending on the time-scale. For example, early-life costs might be compensated by later-life benefits. These differential effects are rarely analysed in the same study. We examined whether helping behaviour affects population persistence in a stochastic environment and whether there are direct fitness consequences of different life-history tactics adopted by helpers and non-helpers. We parameterised a matrix population model describing the population dynamics of female Seychelles warblers Acrocephalus sechellensis, birds that display facultative cooperative breeding. The stochastic density-dependent model is defined by a (st)age structure that includes life-history differences between helpers and non-helpers and thus can estimate the demographic mechanisms of direct benefits of helping behaviour. We found that population dynamics are strongly influenced by stochastic variation in the reproductive rates of the dominants, that helping behaviour promotes population persistence and that there are only early-life differences in the direct fitness of helpers and non-helpers. Through a matrix population model, we captured multiple demographic rates simultaneously and analysed their relative importance in determining population dynamics of these cooperative breeders. Disentangling early-life versus lifetime effects of individual tactics sheds new light on the costs and benefits of helping behaviour. For example, the finding that helpers and non-helpers have similar lifetime reproductive outputs and that differences in reproductive values between the two life-history tactics arise only in early life suggests that overall, helpers and non-helpers have a similar balance of costs and benefits when analysing direct benefits. We recommend analysing the consequence of different life-history tactics, during both early life and over the lifetime, as analyses of these different time frames may produce conflicting results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Busana
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Terrence A Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East-Anglia, Norfolk, UK.,Nature Seychelles, Mahè, Republic of Seychelles
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.,School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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9
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Brown AM, Wood EM, Capilla-Lasheras P, Harrison XA, Young AJ. Longitudinal evidence that older parents produce offspring with longer telomeres in a wild social bird. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20210409. [PMID: 34665991 PMCID: PMC8526163 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
As telomere length (TL) often predicts survival and lifespan, there is considerable interest in the origins of inter-individual variation in TL. Cross-generational effects of parental age on offspring TL are thought to be a key source of variation, but the rarity of longitudinal studies that examine the telomeres of successive offspring born throughout the lives of parents leaves such effects poorly understood. Here, we exploit TL measures of successive offspring produced throughout the long breeding tenures of parents in wild white-browed sparrow weaver (Plocepasser mahali) societies, to isolate the effects of within-parent changes in age on offspring TLs. Our analyses reveal the first evidence to date of a positive within-parent effect of advancing age on offspring TL: as individual parents age, they produce offspring with longer telomeres (a modest effect that persists into offspring adulthood). We consider the potential for pre- and post-natal mechanisms to explain our findings. As telomere attrition predicts offspring survival to adulthood in this species, this positive parental age effect could impact parent and offspring fitness if it arose via differential telomere attrition during offspring development. Our findings support the view that cross-generational effects of parental age can be a source of inter-individual variation in TL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antony M. Brown
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Emma M. Wood
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Pablo Capilla-Lasheras
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Xavier A. Harrison
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Andrew J. Young
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES) University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Long Ma
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES) University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
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