Begging the question: are offspring solicitation behaviours signals of need?

Kilner, Rebecca M.; Johnstone, Rufus A.

doi:10.1016/s0169-5347(96)10061-6

Cited by 445 publications

(360 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Although it is becoming clear that begging intensity is a broadly accurate indicator of offspring need (Kilner & Johnstone 1997;Royle et al 2002;Wright & Leonard 2002), we lack an understanding of how factors other than the magnitude of a change in begging intensity influence changes in carer investment, and it is not clear how much variation in begging intensity is actually strategic adjustment by offspring in order to exploit variation in the way carers respond to begging. This study revealed that changes in begging rate by banded mongoose pups accurately indicated changes in short-term need; experimentally fed pups reduced and experimentally deprived pups increased their begging rates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The majority of research has focused on the relationship between begging intensity and the internal state of offspring (the 'honesty' of begging), with a current consensus that begging intensity is a broadly accurate indicator of offspring need (reviewed in Kilner & Johnstone 1997;Royle et al 2002;Wright & Leonard 2002). It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that numerous external factors influence the way that changes in state are expressed by changes in begging intensity (Kilner 1995;Kedar et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strategic adjustment of begging effort by banded mongoose pups

Bell

2008

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Variation in the intensity of conspicuous displays raises three basic questions: (i) the relationship between internal state and display intensity, (ii) the relationship between display intensity and receiver response, and (iii) the effect of variation in receiver responsiveness on signaller behaviour. Here, I investigate the interaction between pups and helpers in the communally breeding banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), where each pup forms an exclusive relationship with a single adult helper (termed its 'escort'). By experimentally manipulating pup need, I demonstrate that changes in begging rate correspond to changes in short-term need. The data then suggest that escorts in good condition may be more responsive to increased begging and that pups associating with them increase their begging more than do pups paired with escorts in poor condition. Escorts also appear more responsive to increased begging by female pups, and female pups increase their begging more than do male pups. These results suggest that banded mongoose pups may strategically adjust their investment in begging in relation to variation in the expected pay-off. I argue that such adjustment is likely to be a general phenomenon: wherever there is variation in responsiveness to signals, signallers will be selected to identify different categories of receiver and adjust their signals in order to maximize the pay-offs. Therefore, differences in signal intensity may be as much a product of context as an indication of variation in individual phenotypic or genotypic state.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic adjustment of begging effort by banded mongoose pups

Bell

2008

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…The ESD mechanism may be assessed by provisioning offspring experimentally with various levels of food (again, at least two) and measuring their begging levels. These experimental approaches have been widely used and are well established (Kilner & Johnstone 1997). New requirements for estimating equilibrium points for begging and provisioning following formulae (2.7) and (2.12) are that (i) both mechanisms are studied at the same stage of offspring rearing and over the same time-span; (ii) measurements of begging and provisioning are standardized before analysis; (iii) the data are analysed by using linear regression analysis instead of the more widespread analyses of variance or t-tests approaches (see Kilner et al (1999) for an example); and (iv) provisioning measured in the EDS experiment and manipulated in the ESD experiment, and begging level measured in the ESD experiment and manipulated in the EDS experiment, respectively, are in equal units.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating mechanisms and equilibria for offspring begging and parental provisioning

Kölliker

2003

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…In contrast to traditional quantitative genetics, which would estimate genetic variation in the level of parental resource provisioning and offspring begging, the behavioural reaction norm approach can be used to estimate genetic variation in the nature of parental and offspring response functions. Such information would be essential given that the expression of these behaviours is dynamic and depends critically on the behaviour of the other party (Kilner & Johnstone 1997;Budden & Wright 2001;Wright & Leonard 2002). The first step in this process would involve experimental assessment of the intercept, slope and shape of both parental and offspring reaction norms by measuring the begging of individual offspring under various levels of food deprivation, and the provisioning of individual parents under various levels of offspring begging (Kilner & Johnstone 1997;Budden & Wright 2001;Wright & Leonard 2002;Kölliker 2003).…”

Section: Applications Of the Behavioural Reaction Norm Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parent–offspring conflict and co-adaptation: behavioural ecology meets quantitative genetics

2008

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The evolution of the complex and dynamic behavioural interactions between caring parents and their dependent offspring is a major area of research in behavioural ecology and quantitative genetics. While behavioural ecologists examine the evolution of interactions between parents and offspring in the light of parent-offspring conflict and its resolution, quantitative geneticists explore the evolution of such interactions in the light of parent-offspring co-adaptation due to combined effects of parental and offspring behaviours on fitness. To date, there is little interaction or integration between these two fields. Here, we first review the merits and limitations of each of these two approaches and show that they provide important complementary insights into the evolution of strategies for offspring begging and parental resource provisioning. We then outline how central ideas from behavioural ecology and quantitative genetics can be combined within a framework based on the concept of behavioural reaction norms, which provides a common basis for behavioural ecologists and quantitative geneticists to study the evolution of parent-offspring interactions. Finally, we discuss how the behavioural reaction norm approach can be used to advance our understanding of parent-offspring conflict by combining information about the genetic basis of traits from quantitative genetics with key insights regarding the adaptive function and dynamic nature of parental and offspring behaviours from behavioural ecology.

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Begging the question: are offspring solicitation behaviours signals of need?

Cited by 445 publications

References 44 publications

Strategic adjustment of begging effort by banded mongoose pups

Strategic adjustment of begging effort by banded mongoose pups

Estimating mechanisms and equilibria for offspring begging and parental provisioning

Parent–offspring conflict and co-adaptation: behavioural ecology meets quantitative genetics

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