Why Do Cuckolded Males Provide Paternal Care?
(2013) In PLoS Biology 11(3).- Abstract
- In most species, males do not abandon offspring or reduce paternal care when they are cuckolded by other males. This apparent lack of adjustment of paternal investment with the likelihood of paternity presents a potential challenge to our understanding of what drives selection for paternal care. In a comparative analysis across birds, fish, mammals, and insects we identify key factors that explain why cuckolded males in many species do not reduce paternal care. Specifically, we show that cuckolded males only reduce paternal investment if both the costs of caring are relatively high and there is a high risk of cuckoldry. Under these circumstances, selection is expected to favour males that reduce paternal effort in response to cuckoldry. In... (More)
- In most species, males do not abandon offspring or reduce paternal care when they are cuckolded by other males. This apparent lack of adjustment of paternal investment with the likelihood of paternity presents a potential challenge to our understanding of what drives selection for paternal care. In a comparative analysis across birds, fish, mammals, and insects we identify key factors that explain why cuckolded males in many species do not reduce paternal care. Specifically, we show that cuckolded males only reduce paternal investment if both the costs of caring are relatively high and there is a high risk of cuckoldry. Under these circumstances, selection is expected to favour males that reduce paternal effort in response to cuckoldry. In many species, however, these conditions are not satisfied and tolerant males have outcompeted males that abandon young. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3749189
- author
- Griffin, Ashleigh S. ; Alonzo, Suzanne H. and Cornwallis, Charlie LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2013
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- PLoS Biology
- volume
- 11
- issue
- 3
- article number
- e1001520
- publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000316794600020
- scopus:84875464282
- pmid:23555193
- ISSN
- 1545-7885
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001520
- project
- Social Evolution
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 8e51c1ec-53bf-4fc6-be41-d26b975f6e6a (old id 3749189)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 14:47:21
- date last changed
- 2024-04-25 03:24:01
@article{8e51c1ec-53bf-4fc6-be41-d26b975f6e6a,
abstract = {{In most species, males do not abandon offspring or reduce paternal care when they are cuckolded by other males. This apparent lack of adjustment of paternal investment with the likelihood of paternity presents a potential challenge to our understanding of what drives selection for paternal care. In a comparative analysis across birds, fish, mammals, and insects we identify key factors that explain why cuckolded males in many species do not reduce paternal care. Specifically, we show that cuckolded males only reduce paternal investment if both the costs of caring are relatively high and there is a high risk of cuckoldry. Under these circumstances, selection is expected to favour males that reduce paternal effort in response to cuckoldry. In many species, however, these conditions are not satisfied and tolerant males have outcompeted males that abandon young.}},
author = {{Griffin, Ashleigh S. and Alonzo, Suzanne H. and Cornwallis, Charlie}},
issn = {{1545-7885}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
publisher = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
series = {{PLoS Biology}},
title = {{Why Do Cuckolded Males Provide Paternal Care?}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001520}},
doi = {{10.1371/journal.pbio.1001520}},
volume = {{11}},
year = {{2013}},
}