Alloparental behaviour and long-term costs of mothers tolerating other members of the group in a plurally breeding mammal

Animal Behaviour

Volumn 80, Issue 4, 2010, Pages 721-735

  Dugdale, Hannah L ^a,b   Ellwood, Stephen A ^a   Macdonald, David W ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Allonursing; Alloparental care; CERVUS; Communal breeding; Cooperative breeding; Helper; Lifetime reproductive success; Meles meles; Microsatellite; Plural breeding

Indexed keywords

ALLOPARENTAL CARE; COLONIAL BREEDING; COOPERATIVE BREEDING; EUSOCIALITY; FITNESS; GENETIC MARKER; LITTER SIZE; MUSTELID; POLYANDRY; POPULATION DENSITY; REPRODUCTIVE COST; REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS;

MAMMALIA; MELES MELES;

EID: 77956616029     PISSN: 00033472     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.07.011     Document Type: Article

References (69)

1. Brown J.L. Helping and Communal Breeding in Birds. Ecology and Evolution 1987, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
2. Buesching, C. D. 2000. The subcaudal gland of the European badger (Meles meles), chemistry and scent-marking behaviour. D.Phil. thesis, University of Oxford.
3. Buesching C.D., Waterhouse J.S., Macdonald D.W. Gas-chromatographic analyses of the subcaudal gland secretion of the European badger (Meles meles) Part I: chemical differences related to individual parameters. Journal of Chemical Ecology 2002, 28:41-56.
4. Buesching C.D., Stopka P., Macdonald D.W. The social function of allo-marking in the European badger (Meles meles). Behaviour 2003, 140:965-980.
5. Carpenter P.J., Pope L.C., Greig C., Dawson D.A., Rogers L.M., Erven K., Wilson G.J., Delahay R.J., Cheeseman C.L., Burke T. Mating system of the Eurasian badger, Meles meles, in a high density population. Molecular Ecology 2005, 14:273-284.
6. Clutton-Brock T.H., Russell A.F., Sharpe L.L., Brotherton P.N.M., McIlrath G.M., White S., Cameron E.Z. Effects of helpers on juvenile development and survival in meerkats. Science 2001, 293:2446-2449.
7. Cockburn A. Evolution of helping behavior in cooperatively breeding birds. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 1998, 29:141-177.
8. Cockburn A., Sims R.A., Osmond H.L., Green D.J., Double M.C., Mulder R.A. Can we measure the benefits of help in cooperatively breeding birds: the case of superb fairy-wrens Malurus cyaneus?. Journal of Animal Ecology 2008, 77:430-438.
9. Cox R., Stewart P.D., Macdonald D.W. The ectoparasites of the European badger, Meles meles, and the behavior of the host-specific flea, Paraceras melis. Journal of Insect Behavior 1999, 12:245-265.
10. Dugdale H.L., Macdonald D.W., Newman C. Offspring sex ratio variation in the European badger, Meles meles. Ecology 2003, 84:40-45.
11. Dugdale H.L., Macdonald D.W., Pope L.C., Burke T. Polygynandry, extra-group paternity and multiple-paternity litters in European badger (Meles meles) social groups. Molecular Ecology 2007, 16:5294-5306.
12. Dugdale H.L., Macdonald D.W., Pope L.C., Johnson P.J., Burke T. Reproductive skew and relatedness in social groups of European badgers, Meles meles. Molecular Ecology 2008, 17:1815-1827.
13. Dugdale H.L., Nouvellet P., Pope L.C., Burke T., Macdonald D.W. Fitness measures in selection analyses: sensitivity to the overall number of offspring produced in a lifetime. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 2010, 23:282-292.
14. Dumartin B., Ribes C., Souloumiac J., Charron G., Canivenc R. Experimental study of fetal growth in the European badger Meles meles L (in French). Mammalia 1989, 53:279-285.
15. Ebensperger L.A., Hurtado M.J., Leon C. An experimental examination of the consequences of communal versus solitary breeding on maternal condition and the early postnatal growth and survival of degu, Octodon degus, pups. Animal Behaviour 2007, 73:185-194.
16. Emlen S.T., Reeve H.K., Sherman P.W., Wrege P.H., Ratnieks F.L.W., Shellmanreeve J. Adaptive versus nonadaptive explanations of behavior: the case of alloparental helping. American Naturalist 1991, 138:259-270.
17. Fell R.J., Buesching C.A., Macdonald D.W. The social integration of European badger (Meles meles) cubs into their natal group. Behaviour 2006, 143:683-700.
18. Frantz A.C., Do Linh San E., Pope L.C., Burke T. Using genetic methods to investigate dispersal in two badger (Meles meles) populations with different ecological characteristics. Heredity 2010, 104:493-501.
19. Gelman A., Hill J. Data Analysis Using Regression and Multilevel/Hierarchical Models 2007, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
20. Gilchrist J.S. Reproductive success in a low skew, communal breeding mammal: the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 2006, 60:854-863.
21. Gilchrist J.S. Cooperative behaviour in cooperative breeders: costs, benefits, and communal breeding. Behavioural Processes 2007, 76:100-105.
22. Goodnight K.F., Queller D.C. Computer software for performing likelihood tests of pedigree relationship using genetic markers. Molecular Ecology 1999, 8:1231-1234.
23. Hamilton W.D. The genetical evolution of social behaviour. I. Journal of Theoretical Biology 1964, 7:1-16.
24. Hatchwell B.J., Russell A.F., MacColl A.D.C., Ross D.J., Fowlie M.K., McGowan A. Helpers increase long-term but not short-term productivity in cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits. Behavioral Ecology 2004, 15:1-10.
25. Hayes L.D. To nest communally or not to nest communally: a review of rodent communal nesting and nursing. Animal Behaviour 2000, 59:677-688.
26. Hewitt S., Macdonald D.W., Dugdale H.L. Context-dependent linear dominance hierarchies in social groups of European badgers Meles meles. Animal Behaviour 2009, 77:161-169.
27. Hodge S.J. Helpers benefit offspring in both the short and long-term in the cooperatively breeding banded mongoose. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 2005, 272:2479-2484.
28. Jamieson I.G., Craig J.L. Critique of helping behaviour in birds: a departure from functional explanations. Perspectives in Ethology. Vol. 7 1987, 79-98. Plenum, New York. P.P.G. Bateson, P.H. Klopfer (Eds.).
29. Jennions M.D., Macdonald D.W. Cooperative breeding in mammals. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 1994, 9:89-93.
30. Johnson D.D.P., Macdonald D.W., Dickman A.J. An analysis and review of models of the sociobiology of the Mustelidae. Mammal Review 2000, 30:171-196.
31. Kalinowski S.T., Taper M.L., Marshall T.C. Revising how the computer program CERVUS accommodates genotyping error increases success in paternity assignment. Molecular Ecology 2007, 16:1099-1106.
32. Kilshaw K., Newman C., Buesching C.D., Bunyan J., Macdonald D.W. Coordinated latrine use by European badgers, Meles meles: potential consequences for territory defense. Journal of Mammalogy 2009, 90:1188-1198.
33. Koenig W.D., Dickinson J.L. Ecology and Evolution of Cooperative Breeding in Birds 2004, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
34. Komdeur J. Experimental evidence for helping and hindering by previous offspring in the cooperative-breeding Seychelles warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 1994, 34:175-186.
35. König B. Cooperative care of young in mammals. Naturwissenschaften 1997, 84:95-104.
36. Lewis S.E., Pusey A.E. Factors influencing the occurrence of communal care in plural breeding mammals. Cooperative Breeding in Mammals 1997, 335-363. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. N.G. Solomon, J.A. French (Eds.).
37. Littell R.C., Milliken G.A., Stroup W.W., Wolfinger R.D., Schabenberger O. SAS for Mixed Models 2006, SAS Institute Inc, Cary, North Carolina. 2nd edn.
38. Macdonald D.W., Newman C. Population dynamics of badgers (Meles meles) in Oxfordshire, UK: numbers, density and cohort life histories, and a possible role of climate change in population growth. Journal of Zoology 2002, 256:121-138.
39. Macdonald D.W., Apps P.J., Carr G.M., Kerby G. Social dynamics, nursing coalitions and infanticide among farm cats, Felis catus. Advances in Ethology 1987, 28:1-64.
40. Macdonald D.W., Stewart P.D., Stopka P., Yamaguchi N. Measuring the dynamics of mammalian societies: an ecologist's guide to ethological methods. Research Techniques in Animal Ecology: Controversies and Consequences 2000, 332-388. Columbia University Press, New York. L. Boitani, T.K. Fuller (Eds.).
41. Macdonald D.W., Creel S., Mills M.G.L. Canid society. Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids 2004, 85-106. Oxford University Press, Oxford. D.W. Macdonald, C. Sillero-Zubiri (Eds.).
42. Macdonald D.W., Newman C., Buesching C.D., Johnson P.J. Male-biased movement in a high-density population of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles). Journal of Mammalogy 2008, 89:10777-11086.
43. Neal E., Cheeseman C. Badgers 1996, T & AD Poyser, London.
44. Osborne J. Notes on the use of data transformations. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation 2002, 8. http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp%3Fv%3D8%26n%3D6.
45. Pope L.C., Domingo-Roura X., Erven K., Burke T. Isolation by distance and gene flow in the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) at both a local and broad scale. Molecular Ecology 2006, 15:371-386.
46. Powell R.A., Fried J.J. Helping by juvenile pine voles (Microtus pinetorum), growth and survival of younger siblings, and the evolution of pine vole sociality. Behavioral Ecology 1992, 3:325-333.
47. Pusey A.E., Packer C. Non-offspring nursing in social carnivores: minimizing the costs. Behavioral Ecology 1994, 5:362-374.
48. Queller D.C., Goodnight K.F. Estimating relatedness using genetic-markers. Evolution 1989, 43:258-275.
49. Riedman M.L. The evolution of alloparental care and adoption in mammals and birds. Quarterly Review of Biology 1982, 57:405-435.
50. Roper T.J. The structure and function of badger setts. Journal of Zoology 1992, 227:691-694.
51. Roper T.J., Ostler J.R., Schmid T.K., Christian S.F. Sett use in European badgers Meles meles. Behaviour 2001, 138:173-187.
52. Russell A.F., Brotherton P.N.M., McIlrath G.M., Sharpe L.L., Clutton-Brock T.H. Breeding success in cooperative meerkats: effects of helper number and maternal state. Behavioral Ecology 2003, 14:486-492.
53. Russell A., Young A., Spong G., Jordan N., Clutton-Brock T. Helpers increase the reproductive potential of offspring in cooperative meerkats. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 2007, 274:513-520.
54. Russell A.F., Langmore N.E., Cockburn A., Astheimer L.B., Kilner R.M. Reduced egg investment can conceal helper effects in cooperatively breeding birds. Science 2007, 317:941-944.
55. Solomon N.G. Current indirect fitness benefits associated with philopatry in juvenile prairie voles. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 1991, 29:277-282.
56. Solomon N.G., Crist T.O. Estimates of reproductive success for group-living prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster, in high-density populations. Animal Behaviour 2008, 76:881-892.
57. Solomon N.G., French J.A. Cooperative Breeding in Mammals 1997, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
58. Stewart, P. D. 1997. The social behaviour of the European badger Meles meles. D.Phil. thesis, University of Oxford.
59. Stewart P.D., Macdonald D.W. Age, sex, and condition as predictors of moult and the efficacy of a novel fur-clip technique for individual marking of the European badger (Meles meles). Journal of Zoology 1997, 241:543-550.
60. Stewart P.D., Ellwood S.A., Macdonald D.W. Remote video-surveillance of wildlife: an introduction from experience with the European badger Meles meles. Mammal Review 1997, 27:185-204.
61. Stewart P.D., Bonesi L., Macdonald D.W. Individual differences in den maintenance effort in a communally dwelling mammal: the Eurasian badger. Animal Behaviour 1999, 57:153-161.
62. Thornton P.D., Newman C., Johnson P.J., Buesching C.D., Baker S.E., Slater D., Johnson D.D.P., Macdonald D.W. Preliminary comparison of four anaesthetic regimens in Eurasian badgers (Meles meles). Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia 2005, 32:40-47.
63. Wang J. Sibship reconstruction from genetic data with typing errors. Genetics 2004, 166:1963-1979.
64. West S.A., Griffin A.S., Gardner A. Social semantics: altruism, cooperation, mutualism, strong reciprocity and group selection. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 2007, 20:415-432.
65. Woodroffe R. Alloparental behaviour in the European badger. Animal Behaviour 1993, 46:413-415.
66. Woodroffe R. Body condition affects implantation date in the European badger, Meles meles. Journal of Zoology 1995, 236:183-188.
67. Woodroffe R., Macdonald D.W. Female/female competition in European badgers Meles meles: effects on breeding success. Journal of Animal Ecology 1995, 64:12-20.
68. Woodroffe R., Macdonald D.W. Helpers provide no detectable benefits in the European badger (Meles meles). Journal of Zoology 2000, 250:113-119.
69. Yamaguchi N., Dugdale H.L., Macdonald D.W. Female receptivity, embryonic diapause and superfoetation in the European badger (Meles meles): implications for the reproductive tactics of males and females. Quarterly Review of Biology 2006, 81:33-48.