Quality of Territory Previously Inhabited by Deposed Female Warblers Values of territory quality were derived from logistic regression analyses and normalized by log transformation. Ousted females that chose to become subordinates usually lived in territories of higher quality than those that chose to become floaters (Adapted from Richardson et al. 2007).
Conclusion
Cooperative breeding is driven by a variety of ecological factors, specific to the circumstances of the species in question. Some adult birds choose to become helpers in an effort to secure food and settling sites when resources are scarce. Others resort to helping behavior because their own personal attempts at reproduction have failed or they have lost their breeding status, and helping is the next best opportunity to pass on their genes, albeit indirectly. In each case, the cooperative breeding phenomenon appears to benefit either the helpers, the parents, or the chicks, creating a beneficial situation for the individuals involved.
Cooperative Breeder
Reason for Helping
Azure-Winged Magpie
Lack of available resources
Micronesian Kingfisher
Access to ideal nesting sites and food
Brown-Headed Nuthatch
Personal breeding failure
Seychelles Warbler (Grandparents)
Best opportunity to pass on genes
Why Cooperative Breeders Choose to Become Helpers
Discussion questions
Is cooperative breeding actually altruistic behavior? In what situations might it be entirely altruistic, and in what situations does the helper have an “ulterior motive”?
While many birds do engage in cooperative breeding, many do not. What are the conditions that likely differentiate these species in terms of environmental factors, predation risks, and breeding patterns?
Glossary
Altruism - helpful behavior that directly increases the fitness of the recipient at the expense of decreasing the fitness of the actor
Alloparent - offspring care-giver that is not a direct parent
Cooperative breeding - social system where individuals that are not the direct parents of the offspring play an active role in nurturing and caring for offspring
Direct fitness - genes are contributed to the next generation through personal reproduction, in the form of descendent offspring
Dominant pair - direct genetic parents of offspring
Floater - bird with no territory or permanent residence
Hamilton’s Rule - gene frequency should increase in interactions where
rB>C , where
r is the genetic relatedness of individuals,
B is reproductive benefit gained by the recipient, and
C represents the reproductive cost to the alloparent
Indirect fitness - genes are indirectly contributed to the next generation by helping non-directly related offspring in the form of relatives that would not have survived otherwise
Kin selection - form of natural selection that occurs when individuals alter their behavior to favorably affect genetically related individuals
Nondescendent kin - young progeny that are not direct offspring
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