Helping by juvenile pine voles <i>(Microtus pinetorum)</i>, growth and survival of younger siblings, and the evolution of pine vole sociality

Powell, Roger A.; Fried, John J.

doi:10.1093/beheco/3.4.325

Cited by 85 publications

(47 citation statements)

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“…Helpers (subordinate males) provide dominants with immediate fitness benefits by increasing the juvenile survival during winter . Thus, the presence of helpers increased the current reproductive success as previously observed in other mammal species (Clutton-Brock et al, 2001;Powell and Fried, 1992;Russell et al, 2002;Solomon, 1991). However, the shape of the relationship between juvenile survival and number of helpers during winter indicated that the positive effects of additional helpers were not additive but decreased as the number of helpers increased.…”

Section: Fitness Consequences Of Helping Behavior For Breederssupporting

confidence: 67%

“…Multivariate and experimental studies proved that helpers might provide breeders with immediate fitness benefits by increasing current reproductive success. This is documented both in birds (Brown et al, 1982;Emlen and Wrege, 1991;Heinsohn, 1992;Koenig and Mumme, 1987;Mumme, 1992;Woolfenden and Fitzpatrick, 1984) and in mammals (Clutton-Brock et al, 2001;Powell and Fried, 1992;Russell et al, 2002;Solomon, 1991). Helpers may increase annual reproductive success of breeders by feeding young, by reducing predation, or by warming juveniles during hibernation (for reviews in birds and mammals, respectively, see Solomon and French, 1997;Stacey and Koenig, 1990).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Is there an optimal number of helpers in Alpine marmot family groups?

Allainé¹,

Theuriau²

2004

Behavioral Ecology

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The consequence of helping behavior on breeders fitness is still controversial. We used multivariate analyses to investigate for the effects of male and female subordinates on breeders' components of fitness in the Alpine marmot, Marmota marmota. We found that male and female subordinates, respectively, increased and decreased juvenile survival during winter. Thus, we give evidence that male subordinates should be considered as helpers, and that helpers provided breeders with immediate reproductive success gains, whereas subordinates females were costly. Helpers had no positive effects on female body condition, on persistence (future survival) of dominants, and on future reproduction (occurrence and size of a litter). Helpers thus did not provide breeders with delayed fitness benefits, and therfore, the load-lightening hypothesis was not supported. On the contrary, helpers had delayed fitness cost for dominant males and, consequently, for dominant females. Immediate benefits counterbalanced by delayed costs suggested an optimal number of helpers in the family group both from male and female perspectives. An optimality model well predicted the observed mean number of helpers in Alpine marmot family groups. Optimal numbers of helpers were slightly different for males and females, suggesting a potential conflict of interest between dominants. We finally discuss the possible mechanisms of helping that may explain the observed pattern in the Alpine marmot.

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Section: Fitness Consequences Of Helping Behavior For Breederssupporting

confidence: 67%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Is there an optimal number of helpers in Alpine marmot family groups?

Allainé¹,

Theuriau²

2004

Behavioral Ecology

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“…Alloparental care by older siblings of a litter conceived in postpartum estrus is common in rodents (Gilbert, Burgoon, Sullivan, & Adler, 1983;Ostermeyer & Elwood, 1984;Powell & Fried, 1992;Solomon, 1991) and, as Salo and French (1989) have proposed, may facilitate expression of parental behavior and thus affect reproductive success.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of experience on the parental responses of male Mongolian gerbils

Clark

Galef

2000

Dev. Psychobiol.

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We examined responses of adult male Mongolian gerbils to nest site and young during the hours preceding and days following birth of a litter. We found that (a) male attendance at the nest site was markedly reduced for several hours following the birth of pups; (b) this lack of contact by males with nest and pups did not result from active exclusion of males from the nest by their mates; (c) males lacking previous experience of pups, but not those familiar with pups, avoided contact with pups on the day of their birth; and (4) 3-day-old gerbil pups were attractive even to males encountering young for the first time.

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“…In addition, in the cichlid fish, Neolamprologus pulcher, females were found to lay smaller (not larger) eggs in groups of experimentally elevated size, and were not found to change clutch size (Taborsky et al 2007). Similarly, in mammals, few studies have reported the expected negative relationship between helper number and litter size, although they have also failed to report a positive relationship (Solomon 1991;Powell & Fried 1992;Salo & French 1989;Russell et al 2003a). Finally, increasing the numbers of helpers is generally associated with reductions (not increases) in the levels of maternal care during late reproductive phases in a range of species (Russell 2004).…”

Section: Predictions and Evidence For Maternal Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another option is to remove group members and compare the outcome (e.g. Brown et al 1982;Solomon 1991;Powell & Fried 1992), but here one should be cautious about interpreting the results of such experiments because they change group size as well as helper number (Cockburn 1998;Russell et al 2008).…”

Section: Maternal Effects As Confounds Of Fitness Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal effects in cooperative breeders: from hymenopterans to humans

Russell

Lummaa

2009

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

105

153

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The environment that an offspring experiences during its development can have lifelong consequences for its morphology, anatomy, physiology and behaviour that are strong enough to span generations. One aspect of an offspring's environment that can have particularly pronounced and long-lasting effects is that provided by its parent(s) (maternal effects). Some disciplines in biology have been quicker to appreciate maternal effects than others, and some organisms provide better model systems for understanding the causes and consequences of the maternal environment for ecology and evolution than others. One field in which maternal effects has been poorly represented, and yet is likely to represent a particularly fruitful area for research, is the field of cooperative breeding (i.e. systems where offspring are reared by carers in addition to parent(s)). Here, we attempt to illustrate the scope of cooperative breeding systems for maternal effects research and, conversely, highlight the importance of maternal effects research for understanding cooperative breeding systems. To this end, we first outline why mothers will commonly benefit from affecting the phenotype of their offspring in cooperative breeding systems, present potential strategies that mothers could employ in order to do so and offer predictions regarding the circumstances under which different types of maternal effects might be expected. Second, we highlight why a neglect of maternal strategies and the effects that they have on their offspring could lead to miscalculations of helper/worker fitness gains and a misunderstanding of the factors selecting for the evolution and maintenance of cooperative breeding. Finally, we introduce the possibility that maternal effects could have significant consequences for our understanding of both the evolutionary origins of cooperative breeding and the rise of social complexity in cooperative systems.

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Helping by juvenile pine voles (Microtus pinetorum), growth and survival of younger siblings, and the evolution of pine vole sociality

Cited by 85 publications

References 0 publications

Is there an optimal number of helpers in Alpine marmot family groups?

Is there an optimal number of helpers in Alpine marmot family groups?

Effects of experience on the parental responses of male Mongolian gerbils

Maternal effects in cooperative breeders: from hymenopterans to humans

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