L20 - Cooperative breeding

Question 1

What is Cooperative Breeding?

Answer 1

A social system where individuals provide care for offspring that are not their own at the cost of their own reproduction

Question 2

Give 5 cooperative breeder examples

Answer 2

Meerkats
Splendid fairy wren
Dwarf mongoose
Naked mole rats
Superb starling

Question 3

What are the percentages mammals, birds and fish cooperatively breed?

Answer 3

Birds - 3%
Mammals - 2%
Fish - 0.1%

Question 4

Describe cooperative breeding

Answer 4

Social groups with:
- breeding individuals (usually M + F)
- nonbreeding helpers (1 or more)
- Helpers care for young that are not their own but this occurs at the cost of their own reproduction
- Helpers can be related or unrelated to breeders

Question 5

What is the relationship between promiscuity and cooperative breeding? And what is the potential explanation?

Answer 5

Cooperative breeding is more common when promiscuity is low.
This could be because relatedness is higher, more reason to help

Question 6

What is a good predictor of cooperative breeding?

Answer 6

If helpers have little opportunity to breed by themselves

Question 7

What life history constraints can decrease the opportunity for helpers to breed themselves?

Answer 7

• delayed maturity
• low adult mortality
• no or limited dispersal
• low reproductive rate

Question 8

What ecological constraints can decrease the opportunity for helpers to breed themselves?

Answer 8

• shortage of territories
• shortage of mates
• high dispersal costs
• low success in breeding independently

Question 9

After introducing Seychelles warbler (type of bird) to a new island when did cooperative breeding begin?

Answer 9

Only after all the available territories were taken - habitat saturation

Question 10

What do helpers gain from cooperative breeding?

Answer 10

• indirect fitness benefits (by helping relatives)
• direct fitness benefits

Question 11

What determines the amount of help given by the helpers?

Answer 11

Relatedness

Question 12

Give 4 examples of direct fitness benefits for the helpers

Answer 12

• Benefits of group membership
• Gain breeding experience
• Territory or mate inheritance
• Participate in reproduction

Question 13

Give an example of helpers gaining breeding experience

Answer 13

In Seychelles warblers, helping experience enhanced breeding success in both sexes

Question 14

Give an example of helpers inheriting territory or mate

Answer 14

In clownfish, only helpers inherit territory or mate

Question 15

Helpers may attempt to breed depending on:

Answer 15

• levels of relatedness (is a helper related to the breeders?)
• competitive ability (how easily can a helper be evicted from a group?)
  -constrains on independent breeding (can a helper make it on their own?)

Question 16

What are the dynamics of reproduction explained by?

Answer 16

Reproductive skew models - models that describe how social dynamics can regulate helper reproduction in a group

Question 17

What is reproductive concessions?

Answer 17

Breeders offer incentives (reproduction) to helpers to stay in the social group

Question 18

When will helpers will refrain from breeding?

Answer 18

• only relatives are around (inbreeding avoidance)
• breeders inflict serious punishment for breeding

Question 19

How does cooperative breeding benefit the breeders?

Answer 19

Produce more offspring, sometimes when doing less work