Sturrock, N.J., Hatchwell, B.J. orcid.org/0000-0002-1039-4782, Firth, J.A. et al. (1 more author) (2022) Who to help? Helping decisions in a cooperatively breeding bird with redirected care. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 76 (6). 83. ISSN 0340-5443
Abstract
Cooperative breeding sometimes occurs when adult breeders form groups following natal dispersal and mating. In such cases, individuals typically face a choice of social partner with whom to cooperate. Selecting appropriate social partners is crucial to maximising the fitness payoffs from cooperation, but our understanding of the criteria guiding partner choice is limited. Here, we analyse helping decisions by long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus), which may redirect their care to assist breeders in raising offspring following the failure of their own nests. In this species, helpers prefer to help relatives at nearby nests, but it is unclear whether other criteria that may affect helper fitness also influence helping decisions. When choosing among broods of equivalent kinship, we found that helpers did not prefer those broods that offered the greatest indirect fitness returns. Further analyses revealed that helpers did not choose nests on the basis of brood size or age, but were more likely to help broods that were closer to their own failed nests and that were already being cared for by other helpers. Both effects likely reflect the limited choice available to helpers: although individuals breed close to relatives within kin neighbourhoods, a high rate of nest predation constrains helpers’ choice of broods. In other species where cooperatively breeding groups form after natal dispersal, a greater range of options may be available and here detailed analysis of group formation will be helpful for determining the decision rules that underpin partner choice and permit stable cooperation in the face of alternative options.
Significance statement
Cooperative breeding occurs most frequently when offspring delay dispersal from their natal site and help to care for their younger siblings. In some species, however, individuals first disperse and then come together as adults to cooperate in rearing young. In the latter case, multiple social partners may be available — what then determines which partner is helped? We studied partner choice in long-tailed tits, which may help to feed other broods if their own brood fails. When multiple related broods were available, individuals were more likely to help those close by but showed no preference for broods offering the greatest indirect fitness returns. One explanation for this result is that helping options for most individuals are limited by high levels of nest predation, favouring a simpler decision-making process based on identifying close relatives breeding in close proximity.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2022. Open Access: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
Keywords: | Altruism; Cooperation; Help; Long-tailed tit; Partner choice; Group formation |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL NE/I027118/1 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL NE/R001669/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 20 Jun 2022 15:21 |
Last Modified: | 10 Feb 2023 14:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s00265-022-03190-w |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:188192 |
Download
Filename: Sturrock2022_Article_WhoToHelpHelpingDecisionsInACo.pdf
Licence: CC-BY 4.0