Ecological and demographic drivers of kin-directed cooperation in a social bird: Insights from a long-term study.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of sociality is one of the major evolutionary transitions in the history of life and a key step in this transition is the occurrence of kin associations. Yet, the question of what demographic processes and environmental factors generate kin-structured populations and drive kin-directed cooperation remains open. In this review, we synthesise 30 years of studies of the long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus, which has a kin-selected cooperative breeding system with redirected help: failed breeders may help to raise offspring of conspecifics, typically relatives, breeding nearby. We describe the use of ecological, demographic, genetic and behavioural approaches to reveal: (a) how kin-structured populations (here 'kin neighbourhoods') arise; (b) why the prevalence of cooperation var

SUBMITTER: Morinay J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11962233 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature