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69 results for “cooperative breeders”
Coordination of care by breeders and helpers in the cooperatively breeding long-tailed tit, Aegithalos caudatus
<p><span>In species with biparental and cooperative brood care, multiple carers cooperate by contributing costly investment to raise a shared brood. However, shared benefits and individual costs also give rise to conflict among carers over investment. Coordination of provisioning visits has been hypothesized to facilitate the resolution of this conflict, preventing exploitation, and ensuring collective investment in the shared brood. We used a 26-year study of long-tailed tits, <em>Aegithalos caudatus</em>, a facultative cooperative breeder, to investigate whether care by parents and helpers is coordinated, whether there are consistent differences in coordination between individuals and reproductive roles, and whether coordination varies with helper relatedness to breeders. Coordination takes the form of turn-taking (alternation) or feeding within a short time interval of another carer (synchrony), and both behaviors were observed to occur more than expected by chance, i.e. 'active' coordination. First, we found that active alternation decreased with group size while active synchrony occurred at all group sizes. Secondly, we show that alternation was repeatable between observations at the same nest, while synchrony was repeatable between observations of the same individual. Active synchrony varied with reproductive status, with helpers synchronizing visits more than breeders, although active alternation did not vary with reproductive status. Finally, we found no significant effect of relatedness on either alternation or synchrony exhibited by helpers. In conclusion, we demonstrate active coordination of provisioning by carers and conclude that coordination is a socially plastic behavior depending on reproductive status and the number of carers raising the brood.</span></p>
Coordination of care by breeders and helpers in the cooperatively breeding long-tailed tit, Aegithalos caudatus
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Data from: Drivers of variation in egg size in a cooperative breeder with a redirected helping system
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Complex effects of helper relatedness on female extra-pair reproduction in a cooperative breeder
<p>In cooperatively-breeding species, the presence of male helpers in a group often reduces the breeding female's fidelity to her social partner, possibly because there is more than one potential sire in the group. Using a long-term study of cooperatively-breeding superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) and records of paternity in 1936 broods, we show that the effect of helpers on rates of extra-pair paternity varied according to the helpers' relatedness to the breeding female. The presence of unrelated male helpers in a group increased average rates of extra-pair paternity, from 57% for groups with no unrelated helpers, to 74% with one unrelated helper, to 86% with 2+ unrelated helpers. However, this increase was due in equal part to helpers within the group and males in other groups achieving increased paternity. In contrast, helpers who were sons of the breeding female did not gain paternity, nor did they affect the level of extra-group paternity (which occurred at rates of 60%, 58%, 61% in the presence of 0, 1, 2+ helper-sons respectively). There was no evidence of effects of helpers' relatedness to the female on nest productivity or nestling performance. Because the presence of helpers per se did not elevate extra-pair reproduction rates, our results undermine the 'constrained female hypothesis' explanation for an increase in extra-pair paternity with helper number in cooperative breeders. However, they indicate that dominant males are disadvantaged by breeding in 'cooperative' groups. The reasons why the presence of unrelated helpers, but not of helper-sons, results in higher rates of extra-group reproduction are not clear.</p>
Data from: Dispersal decreases survival but increases reproductive opportunities for subordinates in a cooperative breeder
<p>In most socially structured populations, the formation of new groups depends on the survival and reproduction of dispersing individuals. Quantifying vital rates in dispersers, however, is difficult due to logistic challenges of following wide-ranging animals. Here, using data from free-ranging meerkats (<i>Suricata suricatta</i>), we estimated survival and reproduction of dispersing and established resident females. Meerkat groups consist of a dominant pair and several subordinate helpers. Female helpers are evicted from their resident groups by the dominant female, allowing her to monopolize reproduction, and evicted females may form small dispersing coalitions. As in established resident groups, one female is behaviourally dominant in parties of dispersing females.</p> <p>We compared the survival, birth, and recruitment rates of dominant and subordinate females in dispersing coalitions to those of dominant and subordinate females in resident groups. We further compared the frequencies of different mortality causes (e.g., predation, disease) between dispersers and residents. For dispersers, we assessed if survival rates varied with dispersal distance and between transience and settlement stages of dispersal.</p> <p>During dispersal and the first four months after new group formation, survival is lower for all females compared to established resident groups. At the same time, subordinates in disperser groups have higher birth rates than those in established groups, which rarely breed successfully. This may partly offset the survival costs of dispersal to subordinate females. Further studies of dispersal based on direct observation of dispersing animals are needed to explore the costs and benefits of dispersal in species with contrasting breeding systems.</p>
Staging to join non-kin groups in a classical cooperative breeder, the Florida scrub-jay
<p>1. Why unrelated members form groups in animal societies remains a pertinent topic in evolutionary biology because benefits for group members often are not obvious. We studied subordinates that disperse to join unrelated social groups in the Florida scrub-jay Aphelocoma coerulescens, a cooperative breeding species mainly composed of kin-based groups. 2. We evaluated potential adaptive benefits of dispersing to become an unrelated helper (staging) versus remaining home and dispersing only to pair and breed (direct dispersal) to understand why non-kin-based groups form. 3. Using 35 years of demographic data, we quantified life history aspects of staging individuals and tested associations between social and ecological factors on the natal and staging territories. We compared fitness outcomes between dispersal strategies by analyzing survival, breeding recruitment, and direct reproductive output. We tested for sexual asymmetry potentially driven by differences in territory acquisition patterns and female-biased dispersal for this species. 4. Of birds that reached one-year-old, 28% staged at a non-natal territory before breeding or disappearing. Staging dispersers departed at younger ages and moved greater distances than direct dispersers. When looking at proximate factors on the natal territory associated with staging, males left groups with many same-sex helpers, while females often left when their father disappeared. For both sexes, staging individuals more likely came from high-quality territories and joined groups with fewer same-sex helpers than in their natal group. While staging and direct dispersers did not differ in survival or likelihood of becoming a breeder, staging males became breeders later and had lower lifetime reproductive success than direct dispersers. 5. In Florida scrub-jays, staging appears to be an alternative strategy for female helpers, but a best-of-a-bad-situation for males. This sexual asymmetry is consistent with males having more options than females to achieve higher reproductive success by breeding near home. Tradeoffs in cost-benefits of departing natal territory and joining unrelated groups as a helper seem to best explain alternative dispersal patterns, with optimal social queues primarily driving the benefits. This research highlights plasticity in dispersal behavior in response to social and environmental conditions and offers new perspective in our understanding of non-kin-based social groups.</p>
Stress axis programming generates long-term effects on cognitive abilities in a cooperative breeder
<p><span>The ability to flexibly adjust behaviour to social and non-social challenges is important for successfully navigating variable environments. Social competence, i.e., adaptive behavioural flexibility in the social domain, allows individuals to optimize their expression of social behaviour. Behavioural flexibility outside the social domain aids in coping with ecological challenges. However, it is unknown if social and non-social behavioural flexibility share common underlying cognitive mechanisms. Support for such shared mechanism would be provided if the same neural mechanisms in the brain affected social and non-social behavioural flexibility similarly. We used individuals of the cooperatively-breeding fish <em>Neolamprologus pulcher</em> that had undergone early-life programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis by exposure to (i) cortisol, (ii) the glucocorticoid-receptor antagonist mifepristone or (iii) control treatments, and where effects of stress-axis programming on social flexibility occurred. One year after the treatments, adults learned a colour-discrimination task, and subsequently, a reversal-learning task testing for behavioural flexibility. Early-life mifepristone treatment only marginally affected learning performance, whereas cortisol treatment significantly reduced behavioural flexibility. Thus, early-life cortisol treatment reduced both social and non-social behavioural flexibility, suggesting a shared cognitive basis of behavioural flexibility. Further our findings imply that early-life stress programming affects the ability of organisms to flexibly cope with environmental stressors.</span></p>
Does sentinel presence improve foraging success? A study in a cooperative breeder
<p>In various cooperative breeding species, a group member often sentinels from a prominent position that enables early detection of approaching predators and then utters alarm calls to which the other group members react immediately. We tested in the cooperatively breeding Arabian babbler (<em>Argya squamiceps</em>), whether in the presence of a sentinel the other group members forage for longer or more effectively. In natural observations, at different distances from the shelter and in different group sizes, we found no effect of sentinel presence on foraging time. Likewise, in a giving-up density (GUD) experiment with artificial food patches containing mealworms at each of three different distances from the shelter, fewer mealworms were consumed further from the shelter, irrespective of whether a sentinel was present or not during foraging. While foragers react to a sentinel's alarm calls when a predator approaches, our findings indicate that Arabian babbler foragers do not improve their foraging efficiency due to the sentinel's presence. Combined with previous studies on the Arabian babbler, these findings reinforce the conclusion that in this species the sentinel is 'selfish' and benefits from early detection of predators. These results contrast with those from other cooperative breeders in which sentinels utter calming calls and foraging efficiency increases when sentinels are present. We, therefore, suggest that similar sentinel behaviour may serve different sentinel systems and functions in different cooperative breeders.</p>
Experimental vacancies do not induce settlement despite habitat saturation in a cooperative breeder
<p><span>The paradox of cooperative breeding whereby individuals assist others instead of reproducing independently is generally explained through ecological constraints, but experimental evidence is scant. Here we performed the crucial test of the role of habitat saturation through experimental creation of vacancies and find that despite abundant presence of potential mates, subordinates are reluctant to disperse into suitable vacant habitat where conspecifics are absent. We argue that sudden disappearance of multiple group members might indicate a heightened risk of predation. Thereby the results of this study are consistent with the 'perceptual trap' hypothesis: the avoidance of habitats because cues do not accurately reflect their quality. Interestingly, this hypothesis can also explain previous findings, which were widely interpreted as evidence for ecological constraints as a driver of cooperative breeding. Our results can have considerable implications for conservation as it means that opportunities for colonization might go unexploited.</span></p>
Data for: Kinship, dear enemies, and costly combat: The effects of relatedness on territorial overlap and aggression in a cooperative breeder
<p>Many species maintain territories, but the degree of overlap between territories and the level of aggression displayed in territorial conflicts can vary widely, even within species. Greater territorial overlap may occur when neighbouring territory holders are close relatives. Animals may also differentiate neighbours from strangers, with more-familiar neighbours eliciting less-aggressive responses during territorial conflicts (the "dear enemy" effect). However, research is lacking on how both kinship and overlap affect territorial conflicts, especially in group-living species.</p> <p>Here we investigate kinship, territorial overlap, and territorial conflict in a habituated wild population of group-living cooperatively breeding birds, the southern pied babbler <em>Turdoides bicolor</em>. We find that close kin neighbours are beneficial. Territories overlap more when neighbouring groups are close kin, and these larger overlaps with kin confer larger territories (an effect not seen for overlaps with unrelated groups). Overall, territorial conflict is costly, causing significant decreases in body mass, but conflicts with kin are shorter than those conducted with non-kin. Conflicts with more-familiar unrelated neighbours are also shorter, indicating these neighbours are "dear enemies". However, kinship modulates the "dear enemy" effect; even when kin are encountered less frequently, kin elicit less-aggressive responses, similar to the "dear enemy" effect. </p> <p>Kin selection appears to be a main influence on territorial behaviour in this species. Groups derive kin-selected benefits from decreased conflicts and maintain larger territories when overlapping with kin, though not when overlapping with non-kin. More generally, it is possible that kinship extends the "dear enemy" effect in animal societies.</p>
Experimental vacancies do not induce settlement despite habitat saturation in a cooperative breeder
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Data from: Within- and between-group dynamics in an obligate cooperative breeder
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Staging to join non-kin groups in a classical cooperative breeder, the Florida scrub-jay
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Intraspecific variation in group structure arises due to environmentally-mediated directional dispersal in a cooperative breeder
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Data from: Dispersal decreases survival but increases reproductive opportunities for subordinates in a cooperative breeder
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Does sentinel presence improve foraging success? A study in a cooperative breeder
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Complex effects of helper relatedness on female extra-pair reproduction in a cooperative breeder
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Stress axis programming generates long-term effects on cognitive abilities in a cooperative breeder
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Data for: Kinship, dear enemies, and costly combat: The effects of relatedness on territorial overlap and aggression in a cooperative breeder
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Experimental predator intrusions in a cooperative breeder reveal threat-dependent task partitioning
In cooperatively breeding species, non-breeding individuals provide alloparental care and help in territory maintenance and defence. Antipredator behaviours of subordinates can enhance offspring survival, which may provide direct and indirect fitness benefits to all group members. Helping abilities and involved costs and benefits, risks and outside options (e.g. breeding independently) usually diverge between group members, which calls for status-specific differentiated behavioural responses. Such role differentiation within groups may generate task-specific division of labour, as exemplified by eusocial animals. In vertebrates, little is known about such task differentiation among group members. We show how breeders and helpers of the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus savoryi partition predator defence depending on intruder type and the presence of dependent young. In the field, we experimentally simulated intrusions by different fish species posing a risk either specifically to eggs, young, or adults. We used intrusions by harmless algae-eaters as a control. Breeders defended most when dependent young were present, while helper investment hinged mainly on their body size and on the potential threat posed by the respective intruders. Breeders and helpers partitioned defence tasks primarily when dependent young were exposed to immediate risk, with breeders investing most in antipredator defence, while helpers increased guarding and care in the breeding chamber. Breeders' defence likely benefits helpers as well, as it was especially enhanced in the treatment where helpers were also at risk. These findings illustrate that in a highly social fish different group members exhibit fine-tuned behavioural responses in dependence of ecological and reproductive parameter variation.
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