biostudies-literatureKhadraoui MKlingenstein-Simons Fellowship in NeuroscienceSloan Fellow in NeuroscienceInvestigator of the Howard Hughes Medical InstituteConsortium Scholarship of the University of GroningenNational Institutes of HealthSearle ScholarshipJunior Fellowship of the Simons Society of Fellowse0276052https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9576063biostudies-literatureUnknown17(10)Among species, parental behaviors vary in their magnitude, onset relative to reproduction, and sexual dimorphism. In deer mice (genus Peromyscus), while most species are promiscuous with low paternal care, monogamy and biparental care have evolved at least twice under different ecological conditions. Here, in a common laboratory setting, we monitored parental behaviors of males and females of two promiscuous (eastern deer mouse P. maniculatus and white-footed mouse P. leucopus) and two monogamous (oldfield mouse P. polionotus and California mouse P. californicus) species from before mating to after giving birth. In the promiscuous species, females showed parental behaviors largely after parturition, while males showed little parental care. In contrast, both sexes of monogamous species perfPloS onePost-mating parental behavior trajectories differ across four species of deer mice.PMC9576063HD084732 and HD106241Merritt JRKhadraoui MHoekstra HEBendesky AfalsePost-mating parental behavior trajectories differ across four species of deer mice.Among species, parental behaviors vary in their magnitude, onset relative to reproduction, and sexual dimorphism. In deer mice (genus Peromyscus), while most species are promiscuous with low paternal care, monogamy and biparental care have evolved at least twice under different ecological conditions. Here, in a common laboratory setting, we monitored parental behaviors of males and females of two promiscuous (eastern deer mouse P. maniculatus and white-footed mouse P. leucopus) and two monogamous (oldfield mouse P. polionotus and California mouse P. californicus) species from before mating to after giving birth. In the promiscuous species, females showed parental behaviors largely after parturition, while males showed little parental care. In contrast, both sexes of monogamous species perf2022-01-01T00:00:00Z20222025-04-27T03:40:41.889Z2025-04-06T18:53:48.388ZS-EPMC95760633625165510.1371/journal.pone.0276052