Evolution of elaborate parental care: phenotypic and genetic correlations between parent and offspring traits.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of elaborate forms of parental care is an important topic in behavioral ecology, yet the factors shaping the evolution of complex suites of parental and offspring traits are poorly understood. Here, we use a multivariate quantitative genetic approach to study phenotypic and genetic correlations between parental and offspring traits in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. To this end, we recorded 2 prenatal traits (clutch size and egg size), 2 postnatal parental behaviors (direct care directed toward larvae and indirect care directed toward resource maintenance), 1 offspring behavior (begging), and 2 measures of breeding success (larval dispersal mass and number of dispersing larvae). Females breeding on larger carcasses provided less direct care but produced la

SUBMITTER: Andrews CP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5255903 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature