The balance between care and conflict may be key to understanding maternal aggression in canaries.

ABSTRACT: Parental care improves offspring quality and survival, thereby enhancing parental fitness. Yet, seemingly maladaptive parental behaviours such as directed aggression towards the offspring have been reported in a variety of species. While maternal aggression-defined as aggressive interactions from mothers to the offspring within the family context-may be a seemingly maladaptive behaviour, it could also be an adaptive strategy allowing optimal resource allocation for current and future reproduction in the face of evolutionary conflicts of interest. This study investigated associations between maternal aggression and altered offspring development in domestic canaries (Serinus canaria). Offspring exposed to maternal aggression showed reduced growth, while no differences in survival were observ

SUBMITTER: Garcia-Co C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12276284 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature