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Potticary AL, Belk MC, Creighton JC, Ito M, Kilner R, Komdeur J, Royle NJ, Rubenstein DR, Schrader M, Shen S, Sikes DS, Smiseth PT, Smith R, Steiger S, Trumbo ST, Moore AJ. Revisiting the ecology and evolution of burying beetle behavior (Staphylinidae: Silphinae). Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e70175. [PMID: 39170054 PMCID: PMC11336061 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2024] [Revised: 07/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Investigating fundamental processes in biology requires the ability to ground broad questions in species-specific natural history. This is particularly true in the study of behavior because an organism's experience of the environment will influence the expression of behavior and the opportunity for selection. Here, we provide a review of the natural history and behavior of burying beetles of the genus Nicrophorus to provide the groundwork for comparative work that showcases their remarkable behavioral and ecological diversity. Burying beetles have long fascinated scientists because of their well-developed parenting behavior, exhibiting extended post-hatching care of offspring that varies extensively within and across taxa. Despite the burgeoning success of burying beetles as a model system for the study of behavioral evolution, there has not been a review of their behavior, ecology, and evolution in over 25 years. To address this gap, we leverage a developing community of researchers who have contributed to a detailed knowledge of burying beetles to highlight the utility of Nicrophorus for investigating the causes and consequences of social and behavioral evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahva L. Potticary
- Department of BiologyNorthern Michigan UniversityMarquetteMichiganUSA
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of GeorgiaAthensGeorgiaUSA
| | - Mark C. Belk
- Department of BiologyBrigham Young UniversityProvoUtahUSA
| | - J. Curtis Creighton
- Department of Biological SciencesPurdue University NorthwestHammondIndianaUSA
| | - Minobu Ito
- Department of Environmental ScienceToho UniversityFunabashiChibaJapan
| | | | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Nick J. Royle
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Faculty of Environment, Science & the EconomyUniversity of ExeterCornwallUK
| | - Dustin R. Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental BiologyColumbia UniversityNew York CityNew YorkUSA
| | - Matthew Schrader
- Department of BiologySewanee, The University of the SouthSewaneeTennesseeUSA
| | | | - Derek S. Sikes
- University of Alaska Museum and Department of Biology and WildlifeUniversity of Alaska FairbanksFairbanksAlaskaUSA
| | - Per T. Smiseth
- Institute of Ecology and EvolutionThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Rosemary Smith
- Department of Biological SciencesIdaho State UniversityPocatelloIdahoUSA
- Rocky Mountain Biological LaboratoryCrested ButteColoradoUSA
| | - Sandra Steiger
- Department of Evolutionary Animal EcologyUniversity of BayreuthBayreuthGermany
| | - Stephen T. Trumbo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ConnecticutWaterburyConnecticutUSA
| | - Allen J. Moore
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of GeorgiaAthensGeorgiaUSA
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Richardson J, Dobson S, Ford LE, Smiseth PT. Adjustment of egg laying by both hosts and intraspecific brood parasites in a beetle. Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jon Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences Institute of Evolutionary Biology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Sarah Dobson
- School of Biological Sciences Institute of Evolutionary Biology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Lucy E. Ford
- School of Biological Sciences Institute of Evolutionary Biology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Per T. Smiseth
- School of Biological Sciences Institute of Evolutionary Biology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
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3
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Richardson J, Ross J, Smiseth PT. Food deprivation affects egg laying and maternal care but not offspring performance in a beetle. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Individuals vary with respect to their nutritional state and such variation is an important determinant of the amount of resources individuals allocate toward reproductive functions. Currently, we have a relatively poor understanding of the downstream consequences of food deprivation on different traits associated with reproduction. Here, we address this gap by investigating how food deprivation affected different traits across the breeding cycle in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides; a species that breeds on carcasses of small vertebrates serving as food for both parents and offspring. We found that food-deprived females took longer to start egg laying than control females, which may allow them more time to feed from the carcass. There was no difference between food-deprived and control females in the number, size, laying pattern, or hatching success of eggs, suggesting that this delay allowed females to compensate for their poor initial state. However, food-deprived females spent less time providing care, suggesting that this compensation was incomplete. Finally, we found no evidence for negative effects of food deprivation on the offspring’s growth or survival, which is surprising given that food-deprived females took longer to initiate egg laying and provided less care to their offspring. Our results highlight that food deprivation can have complex effects on parental and offspring traits, and suggest that females face a trade-off between the benefits of mitigating downstream consequences of nutritional stress and the costs associated with delaying the start of reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Richardson
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jennifer Ross
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Per T Smiseth
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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4
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Ivimey-Cook E, Moorad J. Disentangling Pre- and Postnatal Maternal Age Effects on Offspring Performance in an Insect with Elaborate Maternal Care. Am Nat 2018; 192:564-576. [PMID: 30332586 DOI: 10.1086/699654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Maternal effect senescence has attracted much recent scientific interest. However, the age-related effects of pre- and postnatal maternal age are often conflated, as these naturally originate from the same individual. Additionally, many maternal effect senescence studies fail to account for potential biases associated with selective disappearance. Here we use a cross-fostered laboratory population of a burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides, to examine both the effects of female pre- and postnatal maternal age on offspring life-history traits and the postcare outcomes of mothers while accounting for selective disappearance of postnatal caregivers. Neither pre- nor postnatal maternal age affected offspring longevity or larval weight at hatching, and postnatal age had no effect on postcare maternal outcomes except to confirm the presence of actuarial senescence. There was weak evidence for concave relationships between two larval traits (dispersal weight and survival) and the age of egg producers. Selective disappearance of caregivers had no clear effect on any of the measured offspring traits. Contrary to predictions from evolutionary theory, maternal effect senescence and reproductive effort increases do not always manifest, and current theory may be insufficient to account for the true diversity of aging patterns relating to maternal care.
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Jarrett BJM, Rebar D, Haynes HB, Leaf MR, Halliwell C, Kemp R, Kilner RM. Adaptive evolution of synchronous egg-hatching in compensation for the loss of parental care. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20181452. [PMID: 30158310 PMCID: PMC6125895 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Interactions among siblings are finely balanced between rivalry and cooperation, but the factors that tip the balance towards cooperation are incompletely understood. Previous observations of insect species suggest that (i) sibling cooperation is more likely when siblings hatch at the same time, and (ii) this is more common when parents provide little to no care. In this paper, we tested these ideas experimentally with the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides Burying beetles convert the body of a small dead vertebrate into an edible nest for their larvae, and provision and guard their young after hatching. In our first experiment, we simulated synchronous or asynchronous hatching by adding larvae at different intervals to the carrion-breeding resource. We found that 'synchronously' hatched broods survived better than 'asynchronously' hatched broods, probably because 'synchronous hatching' generated larger teams of larvae, that together worked more effectively to penetrate the carrion nest and feed upon it. In our second experiment, we measured the synchronicity of hatching in experimental populations that had evolved for 22 generations without any post-hatching care, and control populations that had evolved in parallel with post-hatching care. We found that larvae were more likely to hatch earlier, and at the same time as their broodmates, in the experimental populations that evolved without post-hatching care. We suggest that synchronous hatching enables offspring to help each other when parents are not present to provide care. However, we also suggest that greater levels of cooperation among siblings cannot compensate fully for the loss of parental care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin J M Jarrett
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Darren Rebar
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- Department of Biological Sciences, Emporia State University, Emporia, KS 66801, USA
| | - Hannah B Haynes
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Miranda R Leaf
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Chay Halliwell
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Rachel Kemp
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Rebecca M Kilner
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
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6
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Ford LE, Henderson KJ, Smiseth PT. Differential effects of offspring and maternal inbreeding on egg laying and offspring performance in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:1047-1057. [PMID: 29676514 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2017] [Revised: 03/30/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We investigate the effect of offspring and maternal inbreeding on maternal and offspring traits associated with early offspring fitness in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. We conducted two experiments. In the first experiment, we manipulated maternal inbreeding only (keeping offspring outbred) by generating mothers that were outbred, moderately inbred or highly inbred. Meanwhile, in the second experiment, we manipulated offspring inbreeding only (keeping females outbred) by generating offspring that were outbred, moderately inbred or highly inbred. In both experiments, we monitored subsequent effects on breeding success (number of larvae), maternal traits (clutch size, delay until laying, laying skew, laying spread and egg size) and offspring traits (hatching success, larval survival, duration of larval development and average larval mass). Maternal inbreeding reduced breeding success, and this effect was mediated through lower hatching success and greater larval mortality. Furthermore, inbred mothers produced clutches where egg laying was less skewed towards the early part of laying than outbred females. This reduction in the skew in egg laying is beneficial for larval survival, suggesting that inbred females adjusted their laying patterns facultatively, thereby partially compensating for the detrimental effects of maternal inbreeding on offspring. Finally, we found evidence of a nonlinear effect of offspring inbreeding coefficient on number of larvae dispersing. Offspring inbreeding affected larval survival and larval development time but also unexpectedly affected maternal traits (clutch size and delay until laying), suggesting that females adjust clutch size and the delay until laying in response to being related to their mate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy E Ford
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Kirsten J Henderson
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Per T Smiseth
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Botterill-James T, Ford L, While GM, Smiseth PT. Resource availability, but not polyandry, influences sibling conflict in a burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Ford LE, Smiseth PT. Asynchronous hatching in a nonavian species: a test of the hurry-up hypothesis. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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Ford LE, Smiseth PT. Asynchronous hatching provides females with a means for increasing male care but incurs a cost by reducing offspring fitness. J Evol Biol 2015; 29:428-37. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Revised: 11/13/2015] [Accepted: 11/16/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L. E. Ford
- School of Biological Sciences; Institute of Evolutionary Biology; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh UK
| | - P. T. Smiseth
- School of Biological Sciences; Institute of Evolutionary Biology; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh UK
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10
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Takata M, Hayashi S, Thomas CE, Koyama S, Satoh T, Fugo H. Asynchronous hatching in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus quadripunctatus, maxmizes parental fitness. J Evol Biol 2014; 27:1830-6. [PMID: 24898472 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2014] [Revised: 04/14/2014] [Accepted: 05/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Life history theory predicts that natural selection favours parents who balance investment across offspring to maximize fitness. Theoretical studies have shown that the optimal level of parental investment from the offspring's perspective exceeds that of its parents, and the disparity between the two generates evolutionary conflict for the allocation of parental investment. In various species, the offspring hatch asynchronously. The age hierarchy of the offspring usually establishes competitive asymmetries within the brood and determines the allocation of parental investment among offspring. However, it is not clear whether the allocation of parental investment determined by hatching pattern is optimal for parent or offspring. Here, we manipulated the hatching pattern of the burying beetle Nicrophorus quadripunctatus to demonstrate the influence of hatching pattern on the allocation of parental investment. We found that the total weight of a brood was largest in the group that mimicked the natural hatching pattern, with the offspring skewed towards early hatchers. This increases parental fitness. However, hatching patterns with more later hatchers had heavier individual offspring weights, which increases offspring fitness, but this hatching pattern is not observed in the wild. Thus, our study suggests that the natural hatching pattern optimizes parental fitness, rather than offspring fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Takata
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan
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11
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Hopwood PE, Moore AJ, Royle NJ. Effects of resource variation during early life and adult social environment on contest outcomes in burying beetles: a context-dependent silver spoon strategy? Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20133102. [PMID: 24789890 PMCID: PMC4024278 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.3102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Good early nutritional conditions may confer a lasting fitness advantage over individuals suffering poor early conditions (a ‘silver spoon’ effect). Alternatively, if early conditions predict the likely adult environment, adaptive plastic responses might maximize individual performance when developmental and adult conditions match (environmental-matching effect). Here, we test for silver spoon and environmental-matching effects by manipulating the early nutritional environment of Nicrophorus vespilloides burying beetles. We manipulated nutrition during two specific early developmental windows: the larval environment and the post-eclosion environment. We then tested contest success in relation to variation in adult social environmental quality experienced (defined according to whether contest opponents were smaller (good environment) or larger (poor environment) than the focal individual). Variation in the larval environment influenced adult body size but not contest success per se for a given adult social environment experienced (an ‘indirect’ silver spoon effect). Variation in post-eclosion environment affected contest success dependent on the quality of the adult environment experienced (a context-dependent ‘direct’ silver spoon effect). By contrast, there was no evidence for environmental-matching. The results demonstrate the importance of social environmental context in determining how variation in nutrition in early life affects success as an adult.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul E Hopwood
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, , Cornwall Campus, Penryn TR10 9EZ, UK, Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, , Athens, GA 30602, USA
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12
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Engel KC, von Hoermann C, Eggert AK, Müller JK, Steiger S. When males stop having sex: adaptive insect mating tactics during parental care. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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13
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Steiger S. Bigger mothers are better mothers: disentangling size-related prenatal and postnatal maternal effects. Proc Biol Sci 2013; 280:20131225. [PMID: 23843390 PMCID: PMC3730594 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite a vast literature on the factors controlling adult size, few studies have investigated how maternal size affects offspring size independent of direct genetic effects, thereby separating prenatal from postnatal influences. I used a novel experimental design that combined a cross-fostering approach with phenotypic manipulation of maternal body size that allowed me to disentangle prenatal and postnatal maternal effects. Using the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides as model organism, I found that a mother's body size affected egg size as well as the quality of postnatal maternal care, with larger mothers producing larger eggs and raising larger offspring than smaller females. However, with respect to the relative importance of prenatal and postnatal maternal effects on offspring growth, only the postnatal effects were important in determining offspring body size. Thus, prenatal effects can be offset by the quality of postnatal maternal care. This finding has implications for the coevolution of prenatal and postnatal maternal effects as they arise as a consequence of maternal body size. In general, my study provides evidence that there can be transgenerational phenotypic plasticity, with maternal size determining offspring size leading to a resemblance between mothers and their offspring above and beyond any direct genetic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Steiger
- Institute of Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm, , Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89069 Ulm, Germany.
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14
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Takata M, Koyama S, Satoh T, Fugo H. Asynchronous hatching and brood reduction by filial cannibalism in the burying beetle Nicrophorus quadripunctatus. J ETHOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-013-0373-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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15
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Laboratory observation of siblicide with hatching asynchrony in an insect with parental provisioning. J ETHOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-010-0208-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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16
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While GM, Wapstra E. Effects of basking opportunity on birthing asynchrony in a viviparous lizard. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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17
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Smiseth PT, Morgan K. Asynchronous hatching in burying beetles: a test of the peak load reduction hypothesis. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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