Effects of food type and abundance on begging and sharing in Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus).

ABSTRACT: Begging for food, a conspicuous solicitation display, is common in a variety of taxa, and it has received extensive research attention in a parent-offspring context. Both theoretical models and empirical evidence suggest that offspring begging can be an honest signal of hunger or a mediator of competition between siblings. At a behavioural mechanistic level, begging for food can be a form of harassment aimed at persuading those in possession of food to share. Food sharing, defined as the transfer of a defendable food item from one individual to another, can vary considerably between species, age-classes and food type and abundance. We investigated the determinants of begging and food-sharing behaviours in Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus), a group-living species that common

SUBMITTER: Bowden-Parry M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7713600 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature