Rodent mothers increase vigilance behaviour when facing infanticide risk.

ABSTRACT: Infanticide, the killing of unrelated young, is widespread and frequently driven by sexual conflict. Especially in mammals with exclusive maternal care, infanticide by males is common and females suffer fitness costs. Recognizing infanticide risk and adjusting offspring protection accordingly should therefore be adaptive in female mammals. Using a small mammal (Myodes glareolus) in outdoor enclosures, we investigated whether lactating mothers adjust offspring protection, and potential mate search behaviour, in response to different infanticide risk levels. We presented the scent of the litter's sire or of a stranger male near the female's nest, and observed female nest presence and movement by radiotracking. While both scents simulated a mating opportunity, they represented lower (sire) an

SUBMITTER: Breedveld MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6700316 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature