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García-Ruiz I, Taborsky M. Nepotism mediates enforced cooperation in asymmetric negotiations. iScience 2024; 27:110334. [PMID: 39100926 PMCID: PMC11295936 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024] Open
Abstract
In cooperative societies, group members typically exchange different commodities among each other, which involves an incessant negotiation process. How is the conflict of fitness interests resolved in this continual bargaining process between unequal partners, so that maintaining the cooperative interaction is the best option for all parties involved? Theory predicts that relatedness between group members may alleviate the conflict of fitness interests, thereby promoting the evolution of cooperation. To evaluate the relative importance of relatedness and direct fitness effects in the negotiation process, we experimentally manipulated both the relatedness and mutual behavioral responses of dominant breeders and subordinate helpers in the cooperatively breeding cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher. Results show that coercion by breeders is crucial for the performance of alloparental egg care by helpers, but that kinship significantly decreases the need for coercion as predicted by theory. This illustrates the relative importance of kinship and enforcement in the bargaining process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene García-Ruiz
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Michael Taborsky
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Institute for Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin), 14193 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467 Konstanz, Germany
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2
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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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3
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Teunissen N, Fan M, Roast MJ, Hidalgo Aranzamendi N, Kingma SA, Peters A. Best of both worlds? Helpers in a cooperative fairy-wren assist most to breeding pairs that comprise a potential mate and a relative. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:231342. [PMID: 38026024 PMCID: PMC10646452 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231342] [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: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
In cooperative breeders, individuals forego independent reproduction and help others raise offspring. Helping is proposed to be driven by indirect benefits from raising relatives, and/or direct benefits from raising additional recruits or helping itself. We propose that consideration of social context is also important, in particular the characteristics of the breeding pair: helping may also serve to lighten the workload of-or maintain social bonds with-breeders (e.g. kin, potential mates) who in turn can offer benefits to helpers (e.g. prolonged nepotism, future mating, future production of relatives). Here, we test this hypothesis, while controlling for potential direct and indirect benefits from raising offspring, in purple-crowned fairy-wrens (Malurus coronatus) exhibiting variation in social group composition, and thus, breeder value. We show that helper provisioning rates to the nest were explained by characteristics of breeders that helpers assisted, rather than benefits from raising offspring. The presence of at least one related breeder was a prerequisite to help, but helpers provisioned most if assisting a relative and potential mate. Neglecting to take group composition into account would have led to misinterpretation of our results. A comprehensive understanding of the evolution of cooperative breeding hence requires nuanced consideration of social context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niki Teunissen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marie Fan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michael J. Roast
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Sjouke A. Kingma
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
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4
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Zöttl M, Schreier T, Taborsky M. Coercion promotes alloparental care in cooperative breeders. Behav Ecol 2023; 34:363-372. [PMID: 37192918 PMCID: PMC10183202 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Members of social groups may negotiate among each other about the exchange of goods and services. If this involves asymmetries between interacting partners, for instance in condition, power, or expected payoffs, coercion may be involved in the bargain. Cooperative breeders are excellent models to study such interactions, because asymmetries are inherent in the relationship between dominant breeders and subordinate helpers. Currently it is unclear whether punishment is used to enforce costly cooperation in such systems. Here we investigated experimentally in the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher whether alloparental brood care provided by subordinates is contingent on enforcement by dominant breeders. We manipulated first the brood care behavior of a subordinate group member and then the possibility of the dominant breeders to punish idle helpers. When subordinates were prevented from providing brood care, breeders increased their attacks on them, which triggered increased alloparental brood care by helpers as soon as this was again possible. In contrast, when the possibility to punish helpers was prevented, energetically costly alloparental brood care did not increase. Our results confirm predictions of the pay-to-stay mechanism causing alloparental care in this species and they suggest more generally that coercion can play an important role in the control of cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Zöttl
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Tanja Schreier
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Michael Taborsky
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, D-78467 Konstanz, Germany
- Institute for Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg) Berlin, D-14193 Berlin, Germany
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5
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Sheldon EL, Eastwood JR, Teunissen N, Roast MJ, Aranzamendi NH, Fan M, Louise Hall M, Kingma SA, Verhulst S, Peters A. Telomere dynamics in the first year of life, but not later in life, predict lifespan in a wild bird. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6008-6017. [PMID: 34850488 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres are protective, nucleoprotein structures at the end of chromosomes that have been associated with lifespan across taxa. However, the extent to which these associations can be attributed to absolute length vs. the rate of telomere shortening prior to sampling remains unresolved. In a longitudinal study, we examined the relationship between lifespan, telomere length and the rate of telomere shortening in wild, purple-crowned fairy-wrens (Malurus coronatus coronatus). To this end, we measured telomere length using quantitative polymerase chain reaction in the blood of 59 individuals sampled as nestlings and 4-14 months thereafter, and in 141 known-age individuals sampled on average three times across adulthood. We applied within-subject centring analyses to simultaneously test for associations between lifespan and average telomere length and telomere shortening. We reveal that the rate of telomere shortening and to a lesser extent telomere length in the first year of life independently predicted lifespan, with individuals with faster shortening rates and/or shorter telomeres living less long. In contrast, in adulthood neither telomere shortening nor telomere length predicted lifespan, despite a considerably larger data set. Our results suggest that telomere length measured very early in life (during development) and longitudinal assessments of telomere shortening during the first year of life constitute more useful biomarkers of total life expectancy than either telomere length measured after development, or telomere shortening later in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Niki Teunissen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic, Australia
| | | | | | - Marie Fan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic, Australia
| | - Michelle Louise Hall
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany.,Bush Heritage Australia, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Sjouke Anne Kingma
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic, Australia.,Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
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6
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Nolazco S, Delhey K, Fan M, Hall ML, Kingma SA, Roast MJ, Teunissen N, Peters A. Which plumage patches provide information about condition and success in a female fairy-wren? Behav Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that female ornaments can commonly act as signals. However, how signaling functions might be affected by the tendency for reduced ornament elaboration in relation to males is less well-understood. We address this in mutually ornamented purple-crowned fairy-wrens. We investigated putatively ornamental (tail, ear coverts, crown) and non-ornamental (throat, back) plumage patches in females and compared our findings to previous studies in males. Both sexes have brown backs, buff-white throats, and turquoise-blue tails (bluer in males), while ear coverts are rufous in females and black in males. Both sexes also have a seasonal crown (slate-gray in females, black-and-purple in males). Dominant (breeder) females expressed more complete and grayer (more ornamented) crowns, although variation in coloration should not be discriminable by individuals. Unexpectedly, subordinates showed more colorful (saturated) rufous ear coverts, which should be discriminable. Condition-dependence was only evident for crown completeness (% slate-gray cover). Females with more reddish-brown backs were more reproductively successful. Variation in plumage characteristics did not explain differential allocation by mates or chances of gaining dominance. Our outcomes were not entirely consistent with findings in males. The most notable disparity was for the crown, a signal used in male-male competition that in females seems to be expressed as an incomplete version of the male crown that is not associated with fitness benefits. Our study shows that in a species, multiple traits can vary in their information content and that female ornaments can sometimes be less informative than in males, even those that are produced seasonally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Nolazco
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University , 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800 , Australia
| | - Kaspar Delhey
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University , 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800 , Australia
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology , Seewiesen , Germany
| | - Marie Fan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University , 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800 , Australia
| | - Michelle L Hall
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology , Seewiesen , Germany
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia , 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, Western Australia 6009 , Australia
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology , Seewiesen , Germany
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research , De Elst 1, 6708 WD Wageningen , The Netherlands
| | - Michael J Roast
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University , 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800 , Australia
| | - Niki Teunissen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University , 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800 , Australia
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University , 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800 , Australia
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology , Seewiesen , Germany
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7
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García-Ruiz I, Taborsky M. Group augmentation on trial: helpers in small groups enhance antipredator defence of eggs. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220170. [PMID: 36196551 PMCID: PMC9533001 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Mechanisms selecting for the evolution of cooperative breeding are hotly debated. While kin selection theory has been the central paradigm to explain the seemingly altruistic behaviour of non-reproducing helpers, it is increasingly recognized that direct fitness benefits may be highly relevant. The group augmentation hypothesis proposes that alloparental care may evolve to enhance group size when larger groups yield increased survival and/or reproductive success. However, there is a lack of empirical tests. Here we use the cooperatively breeding cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher, in which group size predicts survival and group stability, to test this hypothesis experimentally by prompting two cooperative tasks: defence against an egg predator and digging out sand from the breeding shelter. We controlled for alternative mechanisms such as kin selection, load lightening and coercion. As predicted by the group augmentation hypothesis, helpers increased defence against an egg predator in small compared with large groups. This difference was only evident in large helpers owing to size-specific task specialization. Furthermore, helpers showed more digging effort in the breeding chamber compared with alternative personal shelters, indicating that digging is an altruistic service to the dominant breeders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene García-Ruiz
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Michael Taborsky
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, D-78467 Konstanz, Germany
- Institute for Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg) Berlin, D-14193 Berlin, Germany
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8
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Cousseau L, Van de Loock D, Apfelbeck B, Githiru M, Matthysen E, Lens L. Kin do not always help: testing multiple hypotheses on nest feeding in a cooperatively breeding bird. Behav Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
In cooperatively breeding species, group members may derive multiple benefits from helping to raise other individuals’ offspring, yet not all individuals do so. In this study, we tested predictions from the “kin selection”, “pay-to-stay”, “group augmentation” and “skills” hypotheses, to explain why group members feed nestlings of breeding placid greenbuls (Phyllastrephus placidus). In our study population, about 70% of the breeding pairs were accompanied by subordinates, and in 60% of these cases at least one subordinate helped in provisioning nestlings. In total, 80% of the subordinates were related to one or both breeders. In accordance with the “kin selection” hypothesis, and contrary to the “pay-to-stay” hypothesis, all the helpers were first-order kin of the breeding female (although relatedness to the breeding male did not explain variation in helping) and the presence of helpers was associated with increased survival of the breeding pair. However, the propensity to help varied among group members, as 46% of group members related to the breeding female did not feed nestlings. Younger helpers fed offspring more often than older ones, supporting the “skills” and “group augmentation” hypotheses. However, support for the “group augmentation” hypothesis was mixed since subordinate sex and group size did not explain additional variation in helping propensity and effort. We argue that in addition to indirect and direct benefits, also the costs of helping as well as other types of helping aside from provisioning must be considered to better understand variation in helping behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence Cousseau
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University , K. L. Ledeganckstraat, Ghent , Belgium
| | - Dries Van de Loock
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University , K. L. Ledeganckstraat, Ghent , Belgium
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, Universiteitsplein , Wilrijk , Belgium
- Department of Zoology, National Museums of Kenya , Nairobi , Kenya
| | - Beate Apfelbeck
- Department of Zoology, National Museums of Kenya , Nairobi , Kenya
- Evolutionary Zoology Group, Biosciences, University of Salzburg , Hellbrunnerstr., Salzburg , Austria
| | - Mwangi Githiru
- Department of Zoology, National Museums of Kenya , Nairobi , Kenya
- Wildlife Works , Voi , Kenya
| | - Erik Matthysen
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, Universiteitsplein , Wilrijk , Belgium
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University , K. L. Ledeganckstraat, Ghent , Belgium
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9
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García-Ruiz I, Quiñones A, Taborsky M. The evolution of cooperative breeding by direct and indirect fitness effects. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabl7853. [PMID: 35622922 PMCID: PMC9140977 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl7853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of cooperative breeding has been traditionally attributed to the effect of kin selection. While there is increasing empirical evidence that direct fitness benefits are relevant, the relative importance of alternative selection mechanisms is largely obscure. Here, we model the coevolution of the cornerstones of cooperative breeding, delayed dispersal, and alloparental care, across different ecological scenarios while allowing individuals to adjust philopatry and helping levels. Our results suggest that (i) direct fitness benefits from grouping are the main driver for the evolution of philopatry; (ii) kin selection is mainly responsible for the emergence of alloparental care, but group augmentation can be a sufficient promoter in harsh environments; (iii) the coevolution of philopatry and alloparental care is subject to positive feedback; and (iv) age-dependent dispersal is triggered by both group benefits and relatedness. Model predictions are supported by empirical data and provide good opportunities for comparative analyses and experimental tests of causality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene García-Ruiz
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Andrés Quiñones
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Michael Taborsky
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
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10
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Teunissen N, Peters A. Predator suppression by a toxic invader does not cascade to prey due to predation by alternate predators. Biol Invasions 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-022-02808-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
AbstractInvasive species often have catastrophic direct effects on native species through increased competition and predation. Less well understood are indirect, cascading effects across trophic levels. To reveal trophic disruptions caused by invasive species, it is necessary to document interactions between species at different trophic levels and across guilds. Here, we take this approach to quantify the impact of the invasion of cane toads at a riparian site in the Kimberley, northwest Australia. These toads are toxic to many native vertebrate predators and following toad arrival we observed the expected severe population decline in monitor lizards. Contrary to expectations however, this did not facilitate species in the next trophic level down: the abundance of their reptilian prey, as well as nest success of a songbird whose nests were predominantly depredated by monitor lizards, remained unchanged. Instead, detailed observations suggest a change in the suite of nest predators, with monitor lizards being replaced by other—mainly avian—predators, possibly reflecting their release from competitors that are more efficient nest predators. Hence, our findings highlight complex indirect effects of an invasive species across trophic levels and indicate that trophic cascades can go undetected when failing to include direct observations on predator–prey interactions.
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11
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Li Z, Da X, Lu X. Complementary interactions between indirect and direct fitness in a cooperatively breeding bird. Curr Zool 2022; 69:76-81. [PMID: 36974150 PMCID: PMC10039178 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Altruism is difficult to explain evolutionarily and to understand it, there is a need to quantify the benefits and costs to altruists. Hamilton's theory of kin selection argues that altruism can persist if the costs to altruists are offset by indirect fitness payoffs from helping related recipients. Nevertheless, helping non-kin is also common and in such situations the costs must be compensated for by direct benefits. While previous researchers tended to evaluate the indirect and direct fitness in isolation, we expect that they have a complementary interaction where altruists are associated with recipients of different relatedness within a population. The prediction is tested with 12 years of data on lifetime reproductive success for a cooperatively breeding bird, Tibetan ground tits Pseudopodoces humilis. Helpers who helped distantly related recipients gained significantly lower indirect benefits than those who helped closely related recipients, but the opposite was true for direct fitness, thereby making these helpers have an equal inclusive fitness. Helping efforts were independent of helpers' relatedness to recipients, but those helping distantly related recipients were more likely to inherit the resident territory, which could be responsible for their high direct reproductive success. Our findings provide an explanatory model for the widespread coexistence of altruists and recipients with varying relatedness within a single population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhibing Li
- Institute for Advanced Studies,Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xinwei Da
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xin Lu
- Institute for Advanced Studies,Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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12
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Josi D, Heg D, Takeyama T, Bonfils D, Konovalov DA, Frommen JG, Kohda M, Taborsky M. Age- and sex-dependent variation in relatedness corresponds to reproductive skew, territory inheritance, and workload in cooperatively breeding cichlids. Evolution 2021; 75:2881-2897. [PMID: 34555177 PMCID: PMC9298395 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Kin selection plays a major role in the evolution of cooperative systems. However, many social species exhibit complex within-group relatedness structures, where kin selection alone cannot explain the occurrence of cooperative behavior. Understanding such social structures is crucial to elucidate the evolution and maintenance of multi-layered cooperative societies. In lamprologine cichlids, intragroup relatedness seems to correlate positively with reproductive skew, suggesting that in this clade dominants tend to provide reproductive concessions to unrelated subordinates to secure their participation in brood care. We investigate how patterns of within-group relatedness covary with direct and indirect fitness benefits of cooperation in a highly social vertebrate, the cooperatively breeding, polygynous lamprologine cichlid Neolamprologus savoryi. Behavioral and genetic data from 43 groups containing 578 individuals show that groups are socially and genetically structured into subgroups. About 17% of group members were unrelated immigrants, and average relatedness between breeders and brood care helpers declined with helper age due to group membership dynamics. Hence the relative importance of direct and indirect fitness benefits of cooperation depends on helper age. Our findings highlight how both direct and indirect fitness benefits of cooperation and group membership can select for cooperative behavior in societies comprising complex social and relatedness structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario Josi
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BernHinterkappelenSwitzerland
- Conservation, Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour Research Group, Ecology and Environment Research Centre, Department of Natural SciencesManchester Metropolitan UniversityManchesterUK
| | - Dik Heg
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BernHinterkappelenSwitzerland
- CTU BernUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland
| | - Tomohiro Takeyama
- Department of Biosphere‐Geosphere ScienceOkayama University of ScienceOkayamaJapan
- Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of ScienceOsaka City UniversityOsakaJapan
| | - Danielle Bonfils
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BernHinterkappelenSwitzerland
| | | | - Joachim G. Frommen
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BernHinterkappelenSwitzerland
- Conservation, Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour Research Group, Ecology and Environment Research Centre, Department of Natural SciencesManchester Metropolitan UniversityManchesterUK
| | - Masanori Kohda
- Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of ScienceOsaka City UniversityOsakaJapan
| | - Michael Taborsky
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BernHinterkappelenSwitzerland
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13
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Riehl C. Evolutionary origins of cooperative and communal breeding: Lessons from the crotophagine cuckoos. Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christina Riehl
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University Princeton NJ USA
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14
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerald G. Carter
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
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15
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Teunissen N, Kingma SA, Fan M, Roast MJ, Peters A. Context-dependent social benefits drive cooperative predator defense in a bird. Curr Biol 2021; 31:4120-4126.e4. [PMID: 34302740 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the major evolutionary transition from solitary individuals to complex societies is hampered by incomplete insight into the drivers of living in cooperative groups.1-3 This may be because the benefits of sociality can derive from group living itself (e.g., dilution of predation risk),4,5 or depend on social context (e.g., kin or potential mates represent beneficial group members).6-8 Cooperative breeders, where non-breeding subordinates assist breeders, have provided important insights into the drivers of cooperation, but comprehensive assessment of diverse potential benefits has been hindered by a prevailing focus on benefits deriving from raising offspring.9-11 We propose a novel paradigm to tease apart different benefits by comparing cooperative responses to predators threatening dependent young and adult group members according to their value for the responding individual. Applying this approach in purple-crowned fairy-wrens, Malurus coronatus, we show that non-breeding subordinates are more responsive to nest predators-a threat to offspring-when their probability of inheriting a breeding position is greater-irrespective of group size, relatedness to offspring, or opportunity to showcase individual quality to potential mates. This suggests that offspring defense is modulated according to the benefits of raising future helpers. Conversely, when predators pose a threat to adults, responsiveness depends on social context: subordinates respond more often when kin or potential mates are under threat, or when group members are associated with mutualistic social bonds, indirect genetic benefits, and future reproductive benefits.9,12,13 Our results demonstrate that direct and kin-selected benefits of sociality are context dependent, and highlight the importance of predation risk in driving complex sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niki Teunissen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen 6708 WD, the Netherlands
| | - Marie Fan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Michael J Roast
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
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16
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Roast MJ, Aranzamendi NH, Fan M, Teunissen N, Hall MD, Peters A. Fitness outcomes in relation to individual variation in constitutive innate immune function. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201997. [PMID: 33143586 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Although crucial for host survival when facing persistent parasite pressure, costly immune functions will inevitably compete for resources with other energetically expensive traits such as reproduction. Optimizing, but not necessarily maximizing, immune function might therefore provide net benefit to overall host fitness. Evidence for associations between fitness and immune function is relatively rare, limiting our potential to understand ultimate fitness costs of immune investment. Here, we assess how measures of constitutive immune function (haptoglobin, natural antibodies, complement activity) relate to subsequent fitness outcomes (survival, reproductive success, dominance acquisition) in a wild passerine (Malurus coronatus). Surprisingly, survival probability was not positively linearly predicted by any immune index. Instead, both low and high values of complement activity (quadratic effect) were associated with higher survival, suggesting that different immune investment strategies might reflect a dynamic disease environment. Positive linear relationships between immune indices and reproductive success suggest that individual heterogeneity overrides potential resource reallocation trade-offs within individuals. Controlling for body condition (size-adjusted body mass) and chronic stress (heterophil-lymphocyte ratio) did not alter our findings in a sample subset with available data. Overall, our results suggest that constitutive immune components have limited net costs for fitness and that variation in immune maintenance relates to individual differences more closely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Roast
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | | | - Marie Fan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Niki Teunissen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Matthew D Hall
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
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17
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Nest defence and offspring provisioning in a cooperative bird: individual subordinates vary in total contribution, but no division of tasks among breeders and subordinates. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02877-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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18
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Teunissen N, Kingma SA, Peters A. Predator defense is shaped by risk, brood value and social group benefits in a cooperative breeder. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractPredation is a major cause of mortality and nest failure in birds. Cooperative predator defense can enhance nest success and adult survival but, because it is inherently risky, dynamic risk assessment theory predicts that individuals modify defense behavior according to the risk posed by the predator. Parental investment theory, on the other hand, predicts that reproductive payoffs (brood value) determine investment in nest defense. We propose that, in cooperative breeders, fitness benefits deriving from the survival of other group members may additionally influence defense behavior (social group benefits theory). We tested predictions of these theories in the cooperatively breeding purple-crowned fairy-wren, Malurus coronatus, where brood value is higher for breeders, but social group benefits more important for helpers. We recorded experimentally induced individual defense behaviors in response to predator models presented near nests, representing differing levels of threat to nests and adults. As predicted, 1) individuals engaged in less risky defenses when encountering a more dangerous predator (dynamic risk assessment theory); 2) individuals defended older broods more often, and breeders defended more than helpers (parental investment theory); and 3) helpers were more likely to respond to a predator of adults (social group benefits theory). Our findings highlight that predator defense in cooperative breeders is complex, shaped by the combination of immediate risk and multiple benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niki Teunissen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Schlossallee, Radolfzell, Germany
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19
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Nolazco S, Hall ML, Kingma SA, Delhey K, Peters A. No evidence for an adaptive role of early molt into breeding plumage in a female fairy wren. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The evolution of ornaments as sexually selected signals is well understood in males, but female ornamentation remains understudied. Fairy wrens offer an excellent model system, given their complex social structure and mating systems, and the diversity of female ornamentation. We investigated whether early molt into ornamental breeding plumage plays an adaptive role in females of the monogamous purple-crowned fairy wren Malurus coronatus, the only fairy wren known to have female seasonal plumage. Using 6 years of monitoring, we found that the timing of female molt was similar to males, but there was no evidence for assortative mating. Like males (previous study), older and dominant individuals acquired their breeding plumage earlier; however, in contrast to males, early molt did not seem to be costly since unfavorable environmental conditions or previous reproductive effort did not delay molt. Early female molt was not associated with any indicator of reproductive quality nor did it attract additional offspring care by their partners. We also found no association between early molt and the likelihood of acquiring a dominant (breeding) position or with the presence or proximity to same-sex rivals. Our study results, which are similar to previous findings in conspecific males, suggest that directional selection for early molt might be relaxed in this species, in contrast to other genetically polygamous fairy wrens in which early molt predicts extrapair mating success in males. However, the finding that molt timing is status dependent raises the possibility that other attributes of the ornament may fulfill an adaptive function in females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Nolazco
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michelle L Hall
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, WD Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Kaspar Delhey
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
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20
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Eastwood JR, Hall ML, Teunissen N, Kingma SA, Hidalgo Aranzamendi N, Fan M, Roast M, Verhulst S, Peters A. Early-life telomere length predicts lifespan and lifetime reproductive success in a wild bird. Mol Ecol 2019; 28:1127-1137. [PMID: 30592345 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Revised: 11/26/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Poor conditions during early development can initiate trade-offs that favour current survival at the expense of somatic maintenance and subsequently, future reproduction. However, the mechanisms that link early and late life-history are largely unknown. Recently it has been suggested that telomeres, the nucleoprotein structures at the terminal end of chromosomes, could link early-life conditions to lifespan and fitness. In wild purple-crowned fairy-wrens, we combined measurements of nestling telomere length (TL) with detailed life-history data to investigate whether early-life TL predicts fitness prospects. Our study differs from previous studies in the completeness of our fitness estimates in a highly philopatric population. The association between TL and survival was age-dependent with early-life TL having a positive effect on lifespan only among individuals that survived their first year. Early-life TL was not associated with the probability or age of gaining a breeding position. Interestingly, early-life TL was positively related to breeding duration, contribution to population growth and lifetime reproductive success because of their association with lifespan. Thus, early-life TL, which reflects growth, accumulated early-life stress and inherited TL, predicted fitness in birds that reached adulthood but not noticeably among fledglings. These findings suggest that a lack of investment in somatic maintenance during development particularly affects late life performance. This study demonstrates that factors in early-life are related to fitness prospects through lifespan, and suggests that the study of telomeres may provide insight into the underlying physiological mechanisms linking early- and late-life performance and trade-offs across a lifetime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin R Eastwood
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michelle L Hall
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Niki Teunissen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany.,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Marie Fan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michael Roast
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
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21
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Hidalgo Aranzamendi N, Hall ML, Kingma SA, van de Pol M, Peters A. Rapid plastic breeding response to rain matches peak prey abundance in a tropical savanna bird. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:1799-1811. [PMID: 31407349 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Revised: 06/03/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Changes in climate are shifting the timing of life cycle events in the natural world. Compared to northern temperate areas, these effects are relatively poorly understood in tropical and southern regions, where there is limited information on how timing of breeding and food availability are affected by climatic factors, and where patterns of breeding activity are more unpredictable within and between years. Combining a new statistical modelling approach with 5 years of continuous individual-based monitoring of a monsoonal tropical insectivorous bird, we quantified (a) the proximate climatic drivers at two trophic levels: timing of breeding and abundance of arthropod prey; (b) the effect of climate variation on reproductive output and (c) the role of individual plasticity. Rainfall was identified as the main determinant of phenology at both trophic levels. Throughout the year, likelihood of egg laying increased very rapidly in response to even small amounts of rain during the preceding 0-3 weeks. Adult body mass and male sperm storage also increased rapidly after rain, suggesting high breeding preparedness. Additionally, females were flexible, since they were more likely to nest whether their previous attempt was longer ago and unsuccessful. Arthropod abundance also increased after rainfall, but more slowly, with a peak around 10 weeks. Therefore, the peak food availability coincided with the presence of dependent fledglings. Fitness benefits of nesting after more rain appeared to be linked to offspring quantity rather than quality: nest attempts following higher rainfall produced larger clutches, but showed no improvement in nestling mass or relative fledging success. The response of clutch size to rainfall was plastic, since repeated sampling showed that individual females laid larger clutches after more rain, possibly mediated by improved body mass. Rapid, individually flexible breeding in response to rainfall and slower increase in arthropod abundance also as a response to rainfall, might buffer insectivorous species living in tropical seasonal environments from climate change-induced phenological trophic mismatches.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michelle L Hall
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany.,School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany.,Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn van de Pol
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.,Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany
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22
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Rosenbaum S, Gettler LT. With a little help from her friends (and family) part I: the ecology and evolution of non-maternal care in mammals. Physiol Behav 2019; 193:1-11. [PMID: 29933836 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2017] [Revised: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
In the class Mammalia, most young are cared for exclusively by their mothers. In species where mothers receive help, however, non-maternal caregivers may play a crucial role in development and life history trajectories. In turn, recipients of such care may have important impacts on caregivers of all types. In Part I of this overview, we briefly review the evolutionary barriers to widespread non-maternal care in mammals, and explain why the exceptions are of particular theoretical importance. We also summarize the current understanding of the selective forces leading to non-maternal care, and the taxa and types of caretakers amongst which it occurs. Finally, we argue for a fresh look at the categorization schemes that have traditionally been used to separate various types of mammalian non-maternal caregivers. This two-part introduction is aimed at scientists from multiple disciplines who study diverse organismal systems. It draws from the social and biological sciences literatures to provide an overview of this special issue of Physiology and Behavior's suite of methodological offerings and theoretical underpinnings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States; Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States; The Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States
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23
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Roast MJ, Aulsebrook AE, Fan M, Hidalgo Aranzamendi N, Teunissen N, Peters A. Short-Term Climate Variation Drives Baseline Innate Immune Function and Stress in a Tropical Bird: A Reactive Scope Perspective. Physiol Biochem Zool 2019; 92:140-151. [PMID: 30689489 DOI: 10.1086/702310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Investment in immune function can be costly, and life-history theory predicts trade-offs between immune function and other physiological demands. Environmental heterogeneity may constrain or change the optimal strategy and thereby alter baseline immune function (possibly mediated by stress responses). We tested several hypotheses relating variation in climatic, ecological, and social environments to chronic stress and levels of baseline innate immunity in a wild, cooperatively breeding bird, the purple-crowned fairy-wren (Malurus coronatus coronatus). From samples collected biannually over 5 yr, we quantified three indexes of constitutive innate immune function (haptoglobin/PIT54, natural antibodies, complement activity) and one index of chronic stress (heterophil-lymphocyte ratio; <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>n</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>513</mml:mn><mml:mtext>-</mml:mtext><mml:mn>647</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math> ). Using an information-theoretic and multimodel inference statistical approach, we found that habitat quality and social group size did not affect any immune index, despite hypothesized links to resource abundance and parasite pressure. Rather, short-term variation in temperature and rainfall was related to immune function, while overall differences between seasons were small or absent, despite substantial seasonal variation in climate. Contrary to our expectation, we found no evidence that physiological stress mediated any effects of short-term climatic variables on immune indexes, and alternative mechanisms may be involved. Our results may be interpreted from the perspective of reactive scope models, whereby predictive homeostasis maintains standing immune function relative to long-term demands, while short-term environmental change, being less predictable, has a greater influence on baseline immune function.
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24
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Teunissen N, Kingma SA, Hall ML, Hidalgo Aranzamendi N, Komdeur J, Peters A. More than kin: subordinates foster strong bonds with relatives and potential mates in a social bird. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Niki Teunissen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Michelle L Hall
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
| | | | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
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25
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Downing PA, Griffin AS, Cornwallis CK. Sex differences in helping effort reveal the effect of future reproduction on cooperative behaviour in birds. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20181164. [PMID: 30135160 PMCID: PMC6125912 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolution of helping behaviour in species that breed cooperatively in family groups is typically attributed to kin selection alone. However, in many species, helpers go on to inherit breeding positions in their natal groups, but the extent to which this contributes to selection for helping is unclear as the future reproductive success of helpers is often unknown. To quantify the role of future reproduction in the evolution of helping, we compared the helping effort of female and male retained offspring across cooperative birds. The kin selected benefits of helping are equivalent between female and male helpers-they are equally related to the younger siblings they help raise-but the future reproductive benefits of helping differ because of sex differences in the likelihood of breeding in the natal group. We found that the sex which is more likely to breed in its natal group invests more in helping, suggesting that in addition to kin selection, helping in family groups is shaped by future reproduction.
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26
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Barati A, Andrew RL, Gorrell JC, Etezadifar F, McDonald PG. Genetic relatedness and sex predict helper provisioning effort in the cooperatively breeding noisy miner. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Barati
- Avian Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Zoology, University of New England, Elm Av., Armidale, NSW, Australia
- Department of Environment, Malayer University, Arak road, Malayer, Iran
| | - Rose L Andrew
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, The University of New England, Elm Av., Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Farzaneh Etezadifar
- Avian Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Zoology, University of New England, Elm Av., Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - Paul G McDonald
- Avian Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Zoology, University of New England, Elm Av., Armidale, NSW, Australia
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27
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Fan M, Teunissen N, Hall ML, Hidalgo Aranzamendi N, Kingma SA, Roast M, Delhey K, Peters A. From ornament to armament or loss of function? Breeding plumage acquisition in a genetically monogamous bird. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1274-1285. [PMID: 29943467 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2017] [Accepted: 05/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of conspicuous male traits is thought to be driven by female mate choice or male-male competition. These two mechanisms are often viewed as distinct processes, with most studies focusing on female choice. However, both mechanisms of sexual selection can act simultaneously on the same trait (i.e., dual function) and/or interact in a synergistic or conflicting way. Dual-function traits are commonly assumed to originate through male-male competition before being used in female choice; yet, most studies focusing on such traits could not determine the direction of change, lacking phylogenetic information. We investigated the role of conspicuous male seasonal plumage in male-male competitive interactions in the purple-crowned fairy-wren Malurus coronatus, a cooperatively breeding bird. Male breeding plumage in most Malurus species is selected by female choice through extra-pair mate choice, but unlike its congeners, M. coronatus is genetically monogamous, and females do not seem to choose males based on breeding plumage acquisition. Our study shows that, within groups, subordinate males that were older, and therefore higher-ranked in the queue for breeder position inheritance, produced a more complete breeding plumage. In line with this, subordinate males that were older and/or displayed a more complete breeding plumage were more successful in competitively acquiring a breeder position. A role as a signal of competitive ability was experimentally confirmed by presenting models of males: in breeding colours, these received more aggression from resident breeder males than in nonbreeding colours, but elicited limited response from females, consistent with competitors in breeding plumage being perceived as a bigger threat to the breeder male. The role of the conspicuous breeding plumage in mediating male-male interactions might account for its presence in this genetically monogamous species. As phylogenetic reconstructions suggest a past female choice function in M. coronatus, this could represent a sexual trait that shifted functions, or a dual-function trait that lost one function. These evolutionary scenarios imply that intra- and intersexual functions of ornaments may be gained or lost independently and offer new perspectives in understanding the complex dynamics of sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Fan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic., Australia
| | - Niki Teunissen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic., Australia
| | - Michelle L Hall
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.,Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
| | | | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany.,Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Roast
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic., Australia
| | - Kaspar Delhey
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic., Australia.,Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic., Australia.,Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
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28
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Kingma SA. Direct benefits explain interspecific variation in helping behaviour among cooperatively breeding birds. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1094. [PMID: 29061969 PMCID: PMC5653647 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01299-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2017] [Accepted: 09/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Kin selection theory provides one important explanation for seemingly altruistic helping behaviour by non-breeding subordinates in cooperative breeding animals. However, it cannot explain why helpers in many species provide energetically costly care to unrelated offspring. Here, I use comparative analyses to show that direct fitness benefits of helping others, associated with future opportunities to breed in the resident territory, are responsible for the widespread variation in helping effort (offspring food provisioning) and kin discrimination across cooperatively breeding birds. In species where prospects of territory inheritance are larger, subordinates provide more help, and, unlike subordinates that cannot inherit a territory, do not preferentially direct care towards related offspring. Thus, while kin selection can underlie helping behaviour in some species, direct benefits are much more important than currently recognised and explain why unrelated individuals provide substantial help in many bird species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjouke A Kingma
- Behavioural & Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, P. O. Box 11103, Groningen, 9700 CC, The Netherlands.
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29
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Fan M, Hall ML, Kingma SA, Mandeltort LM, Hidalgo Aranzamendi N, Delhey K, Peters A. No fitness benefits of early molt in a fairy-wren: relaxed sexual selection under genetic monogamy? Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Marie Fan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia,
| | - Michelle L Hall
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia,
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Schlossallee 2, D-78315 Radolfzell, Germany, and
| | - Sjouke A Kingma
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Schlossallee 2, D-78315 Radolfzell, Germany, and
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700CC Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Lisa M Mandeltort
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia,
| | - Nataly Hidalgo Aranzamendi
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia,
| | - Kaspar Delhey
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia,
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Schlossallee 2, D-78315 Radolfzell, Germany, and
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia,
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Schlossallee 2, D-78315 Radolfzell, Germany, and
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30
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Kingma SA, Bebbington K, Hammers M, Richardson DS, Komdeur J. Delayed dispersal and the costs and benefits of different routes to independent breeding in a cooperatively breeding bird. Evolution 2016; 70:2595-2610. [PMID: 27641712 PMCID: PMC5132126 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2016] [Revised: 09/02/2016] [Accepted: 09/11/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Why sexually mature individuals stay in groups as nonreproductive subordinates is central to the evolution of sociality and cooperative breeding. To understand such delayed dispersal, its costs and benefits need to be compared with those of permanently leaving to float through the population. However, comprehensive comparisons, especially regarding differences in future breeding opportunities, are rare. Moreover, extraterritorial prospecting by philopatric individuals has generally been ignored, even though the factors underlying this route to independent breeding may differ from those of strict philopatry or floating. We use a comprehensive predictive framework to explore how various costs, benefits and intrinsic, environmental and social factors explain philopatry, prospecting, and floating in Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis). Not only floaters more likely obtained an independent breeding position before the next season than strictly philopatric individuals, but also suffered higher mortality. Prospecting yielded similar benefits to floating but lower mortality costs, suggesting that it is overall more beneficial than floating and strict philopatry. While prospecting is probably individual‐driven, although limited by resource availability, floating likely results from eviction by unrelated breeders. Such differences in proximate and ultimate factors underlying each route to independent breeding highlight the need for simultaneous consideration when studying the evolution of delayed dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjouke A Kingma
- Behavioural & Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9700CC, Groningen, The Netherlands. .,Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom.
| | - Kat Bebbington
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Behavioural & Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9700CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - David S Richardson
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom.,Nature Seychelles, Mahé, Seychelles
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural & Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9700CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
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31
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Hidalgo Aranzamendi N, Hall ML, Kingma SA, Sunnucks P, Peters A. Incest avoidance, extrapair paternity, and territory quality drive divorce in a year-round territorial bird. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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32
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Griesser M, Suzuki TN. Occasional cooperative breeding in birds and the robustness of comparative analyses concerning the evolution of cooperative breeding. ZOOLOGICAL LETTERS 2016; 2:7. [PMID: 27026827 PMCID: PMC4810505 DOI: 10.1186/s40851-016-0041-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2015] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Cooperative breeding is a widespread and intense form of cooperation, in which individuals help raise offspring that are not their own. This behaviour is particularly well studied in birds, using both long-term and comparative studies that have provided insights into the evolution of reproductive altruism. In most cooperatively breeding species, helpers are offspring that remain with their parents beyond independency and help in the raising of younger siblings. However, many cooperatively breeding species are poorly studied, and in 152 species, this behaviour only has been observed infrequently (i.e., occasional cooperative breeding). Here we argue that the parental care mode of these 152 species needs to be treated with caution, as factors associated with occasional cooperative breeding may differ from those associated with "regular" cooperative breeding. In most cooperatively breeding species, helpers provide alloparental care at the nests of their parents or close relatives; however, only in one occasionally cooperatively breeding species do offspring remain into the next breeding season with their parents. Accordingly, different factors are likely to be associated with regular and occasional cooperative breeding. The latter behaviour resembles interspecific feeding (i.e., individuals feed offspring of another species), which occurs when birds lose their brood and begin feeding at a nearby nest, or when birds mistakenly feed at another nest. Thus, we advise researchers to exclude occasional cooperative breeders in comparative analyses until their status is clarified, or to categorize them separately or according to the typically observed parental care mode. This approach will increase the robustness of comparative analyses and thereby improve our understanding of factors that drive the evolution of cooperative breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Griesser
- />Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- />Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Toshitaka N. Suzuki
- />Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Kanagawa, Japan
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33
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Warrington MH, Rollins LA, Russell AF, Griffith SC. Sequential polyandry through divorce and re-pairing in a cooperatively breeding bird reduces helper-offspring relatedness. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-015-1944-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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34
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Hoss SK, Deutschman DH, Booth W, Clark RW. Post-birth separation affects the affiliative behaviour of kin in a pitviper with maternal attendance. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shannon K. Hoss
- Department of Biology; San Diego State University; 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego CA 92182 USA
| | - Douglas H. Deutschman
- Department of Biology; San Diego State University; 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego CA 92182 USA
| | - Warren Booth
- Department of Biological Sciences; The University of Tulsa; 315 Oliphant Hall Tulsa OK 74104 USA
- The Copperhead Institute; PO Box 6755 Spartanburg SC 29304 USA
| | - Rulon W. Clark
- Department of Biology; San Diego State University; 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego CA 92182 USA
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35
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Kingma SA, Santema P, Taborsky M, Komdeur J. Group augmentation and the evolution of cooperation. Trends Ecol Evol 2014; 29:476-84. [PMID: 24996259 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2013] [Revised: 05/02/2014] [Accepted: 05/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The group augmentation (GA) hypothesis states that if helpers in cooperatively breeding animals raise the reproductive success of the group, the benefits of living in a resulting larger group--improved survival or future reproductive success--favour the evolution of seemingly altruistic helping behaviour. The applicability of the GA hypothesis remains debatable, however, partly owing to the lack of a clear conceptual framework and a shortage of appropriate empirical studies. We conceptualise here the GA hypothesis and illustrate that benefits of GA can accrue via different evolutionary mechanisms that relate closely to well-supported general concepts of group living and cooperation. These benefits reflect several plausible explanations for the evolutionary maintenance of helping behaviour in cooperatively breeding animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjouke A Kingma
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK; Behavioural Ecology and Self-Organization Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany.
| | - Peter Santema
- Behavioural Ecology and Self-Organization Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Michael Taborsky
- Department of Behavioral Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural Ecology and Self-Organization Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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36
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Alloparenting in humans: fitness consequences of aunts and uncles on survival in historical Finland. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/art126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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37
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Brouwer L, van de Pol M, Cockburn A. The role of social environment on parental care: offspring benefit more from the presence of female than male helpers. J Anim Ecol 2013; 83:491-503. [PMID: 24128295 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2013] [Accepted: 09/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Investment in offspring depends on the costs and benefits to the carer, which can vary with sex and social status. Investment also depends on the effort of others by allowing for compensation (load-lightening), with biparental care studies showing that this depends on the state and type of the other carer. By contrast, studies on cooperative breeders have solely focussed on the effects of group size rather than its composition (i.e. social environment). Here we propose and provide the first test of the 'Social Environment' hypothesis, that is, how the characteristics (here the sex) of other helpers present in the group affect parental care and how this in turn affects offspring fitness in cooperatively breeding red-winged fairy-wrens (Malurus elegans). Breeders provisioned nestlings at a higher rate than helpers, but there was no sex difference in provisioning rate. Compensation to increasing group size varied little with sex and status, but strongly depended on social environment. All group members reduced their provisioning rates in response to an increasing number of male (load-lightening), but not female helpers (additive care). As a result, nestlings received more food and grew faster in the presence of female helpers. The increased nestling growth did convey a fitness advantage due to a higher post-fledging survival to adulthood. Our study provides the first evidence that parental care can depend on social environment. This could be an important overlooked aspect to explain variation in parental care in cooperative breeders in general and in particular the enormous variation between the sexes, which we reveal in a literature overview.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyanne Brouwer
- Department of Evolution, Ecology & Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia
| | - Martijn van de Pol
- Department of Evolution, Ecology & Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.,Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Andrew Cockburn
- Department of Evolution, Ecology & Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia
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38
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Kingma SA, Hall ML, Peters A. Breeding synchronization facilitates extrapair mating for inbreeding avoidance. Behav Ecol 2013. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/art078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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39
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Hall ML, Kingma SA, Peters A. Male songbird indicates body size with low-pitched advertising songs. PLoS One 2013; 8:e56717. [PMID: 23437221 PMCID: PMC3577745 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2012] [Accepted: 01/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Body size is a key sexually selected trait in many animal species. If size imposes a physical limit on the production of loud low-frequency sounds, then low-pitched vocalisations could act as reliable signals of body size. However, the central prediction of this hypothesis – that the pitch of vocalisations decreases with size among competing individuals – has limited support in songbirds. One reason could be that only the lowest-frequency components of vocalisations are constrained, and this may go unnoticed when vocal ranges are large. Additionally, the constraint may only be apparent in contexts when individuals are indeed advertising their size. Here we explicitly consider signal diversity and performance limits to demonstrate that body size limits song frequency in an advertising context in a songbird. We show that in purple-crowned fairy-wrens, Malurus coronatus coronatus, larger males sing lower-pitched low-frequency advertising songs. The lower frequency bound of all advertising song types also has a significant negative relationship with body size. However, the average frequency of all their advertising songs is unrelated to body size. This comparison of different approaches to the analysis demonstrates how a negative relationship between body size and song frequency can be obscured by failing to consider signal design and the concept of performance limits. Since these considerations will be important in any complex communication system, our results imply that body size constraints on low-frequency vocalisations could be more widespread than is currently recognised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle L Hall
- Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany.
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40
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Griesser M, Schneider NA, Collis MA, Overs A, Guppy M, Guppy S, Takeuchi N, Collins P, Peters A, Hall ML. Causes of ring-related leg injuries in birds - evidence and recommendations from four field studies. PLoS One 2012; 7:e51891. [PMID: 23300574 PMCID: PMC3530577 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2012] [Accepted: 11/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the main techniques for recognizing individuals in avian field research is marking birds with plastic and metal leg rings. However, in some species individuals may react negatively to rings, causing leg injuries and, in extreme cases, the loss of a foot or limb. Here, we report problems that arise from ringing and illustrate solutions based on field data from Brown Thornbills (Acanthiza pusilla) (2 populations), Siberian Jays (Perisoreus infaustus) and Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens (Malurus coronatus). We encountered three problems caused by plastic rings: inflammations triggered by material accumulating under the ring (Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens), contact inflammations as a consequence of plastic rings touching the foot or tibio-tarsal joint (Brown Thornbills), and toes or the foot getting trapped in partly unwrapped flat-band colour rings (Siberian Jays). Metal rings caused two problems: the edges of aluminium rings bent inwards if mounted on top of each other (Brown Thornbills), and too small a ring size led to inflammation (Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens). We overcame these problems by changing the ringing technique (using different ring types or larger rings), or using different adhesive. Additionally, we developed and tested a novel, simple technique of gluing plastic rings onto metal rings in Brown Thornbills. A review of studies reporting ring injuries (N = 23) showed that small birds (<55 g body weight) are more prone to leg infections while larger birds (>35 g) tend to get rings stuck over their feet. We give methodological advice on how these problems can be avoided, and suggest a ringing hazard index to compare the impact of ringing in terms of injury on different bird species. Finally, to facilitate improvements in ringing techniques, we encourage online deposition of information regarding ringing injuries of birds at a website hosted by the European Union for Bird Ringing (EURING).
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Griesser
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Bern, Bern,
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41
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Browning LE, Patrick SC, Rollins LA, Griffith SC, Russell AF. Kin selection, not group augmentation, predicts helping in an obligate cooperatively breeding bird. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:3861-9. [PMID: 22787025 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Kin selection theory has been the central model for understanding the evolution of cooperative breeding, where non-breeders help bear the cost of rearing young. Recently, the dominance of this idea has been questioned; particularly in obligate cooperative breeders where breeding without help is uncommon and seldom successful. In such systems, the direct benefits gained through augmenting current group size have been hypothesized to provide a tractable alternative (or addition) to kin selection. However, clear empirical tests of the opposing predictions are lacking. Here, we provide convincing evidence to suggest that kin selection and not group augmentation accounts for decisions of whether, where and how often to help in an obligate cooperative breeder, the chestnut-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps). We found no evidence that group members base helping decisions on the size of breeding units available in their social group, despite both correlational and experimental data showing substantial variation in the degree to which helpers affect productivity in units of different size. By contrast, 98 per cent of group members with kin present helped, 100 per cent directed their care towards the most related brood in the social group, and those rearing half/full-sibs helped approximately three times harder than those rearing less/non-related broods. We conclude that kin selection plays a central role in the maintenance of cooperative breeding in this species, despite the apparent importance of living in large groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- L E Browning
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
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42
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Nichols HJ, Amos W, Bell MB, Mwanguhya F, Kyabulima S, Cant MA. Food availability shapes patterns of helping effort in a cooperative mongoose. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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43
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Sperm storage reflects within- and extra-pair mating opportunities in a cooperatively breeding bird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1363-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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44
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Liedtke J, Fromhage L. When should cuckolded males care for extra-pair offspring? Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:2877-82. [PMID: 22438493 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In socially monogamous species with bi-parental care, males suffer reduced reproductive success if their mate engages in extra-pair copulations (EPCs). One might therefore expect that males should refuse to care for a brood if they can detect that an EPC has occurred. Here, we use a game-theory model to study male brood care in the face of EPCs in a cooperatively breeding species in which offspring help to raise their (half-) siblings in their parents' next breeding attempt. We show that under certain conditions males are selected to care even for broods completely unrelated to themselves. This counterintuitive result arises through a form of pseudo-reciprocity, whereby surviving extra-pair offspring, when helping to rear their younger half-siblings, can more than compensate for the cost incurred by the male that raised them. We argue that similar effects may not be limited to cooperative breeders, but may arise in various contexts in which cooperation between (half-) siblings occurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jannis Liedtke
- Zoological Institute, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
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45
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Bruintjes R, Bonfils D, Heg D, Taborsky M. Paternity of subordinates raises cooperative effort in cichlids. PLoS One 2011; 6:e25673. [PMID: 22022428 PMCID: PMC3192049 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0025673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2011] [Accepted: 09/09/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In cooperative breeders, subordinates generally help a dominant breeding pair to raise offspring. Parentage studies have shown that in several species subordinates can participate in reproduction. This suggests an important role of direct fitness benefits for cooperation, particularly where groups contain unrelated subordinates. In this situation parentage should influence levels of cooperation. Here we combine parentage analyses and detailed behavioural observations in the field to study whether in the highly social cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher subordinates participate in reproduction and if so, whether and how this affects their cooperative care, controlling for the effect of kinship. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We show that: (i) male subordinates gained paternity in 27.8% of all clutches and (ii) if they participated in reproduction, they sired on average 11.8% of young. Subordinate males sharing in reproduction showed more defence against experimentally presented egg predators compared to subordinates not participating in reproduction, and they tended to stay closer to the breeding shelter. No effects of relatedness between subordinates and dominants (to mid-parent, dominant female or dominant male) were detected on parentage and on helping behaviour. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE This is the first evidence in a cooperatively breeding fish species that the helping effort of male subordinates may depend on obtained paternity, which stresses the need to consider direct fitness benefits in evolutionary studies of helping behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rick Bruintjes
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Hinterkappelen, Switzerland.
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