Aggressive monopolization of mobile carers by young of a cooperative breeder.

ABSTRACT: Competition between young of the same brood or litter is of particular interest in the fields of behavioural and evolutionary ecology, because the competing individuals are likely to be closely related, where evolutionary theory predicts a greater degree of cooperation. Studies of cooperative breeding species typically concentrate on who contributes care to rearing young, and assume a passive role of the young. Relatively, little attention has been devoted to considering how intralitter competition between young affects the distribution of care in cooperative breeders. In banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) groups, the majority of pups each form a stable exclusive one-to-one association with an adult group member (its 'escort') that is its principal care provider. This paper presents experiment

SUBMITTER: Gilchrist JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2603194 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature