Reproductive skew in cooperative breeding: Environmental variability, antagonistic selection, choice, and control.

ABSTRACT: A multitude of factors may determine reproductive skew among cooperative breeders. One explanation, derived from inclusive fitness theory, is that groups can partition reproduction such that subordinates do at least as well as noncooperative solitary individuals. The majority of recent data, however, fails to support this prediction; possibly because inclusive fitness models cannot easily incorporate multiple factors simultaneously to predict skew. Notable omissions are antagonistic selection (across generations, genes will be in both dominant and subordinate bodies), constraints on the number of sites suitable for successful reproduction, choice in which group an individual might join, and within-group control or suppression of competition. All of these factors and more are explored throu

SUBMITTER: Nonacs P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6787806 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature