Guppies in large groups cooperate more frequently in an experimental test of the group size paradox.

ABSTRACT: The volunteer's dilemma, in which a single individual is required to produce a public good, predicts that individuals in larger groups will cooperate less frequently. Mechanistically, this could result from trade-offs between costs associated with volunteering and costs incurred if the public good is not produced (nobody volunteers). During predator inspection, one major contributor to the cost of volunteering is likely increased probability of predation; however, a predator also poses a risk to all individuals if nobody inspects. We tested the prediction that guppies in larger groups will inspect a predator less than those in smaller groups. We also predicted that individuals in larger groups would perceive less threat from the predator stimulus because of the protective benefits of large

SUBMITTER: Padget RFB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10336388 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature