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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Ecology, Monogamy, And The Evolution Of Animal Families, Jacqueline Rae Dillard
Ecology, Monogamy, And The Evolution Of Animal Families, Jacqueline Rae Dillard
Theses and Dissertations--Biology
Family-living has been recognized as a necessary prerequisite for the evolution of advanced cooperative societies, yet the evolutionary and ecological processes that drive the coupling of different forms of cooperation in family-based societies are still poorly understood. In my dissertation, I investigate the correlated evolution of parental care, monogamy, and cooperative breeding in a variety of family-based taxa. I explore the mating and social behavior of family-living beetles with incipient cooperation to better understand the factors driving these social traits. Specifically, I evaluate different causes of extra-pair mating in socially monogamous beetles, the potential benefits that young adult offspring may …
The Causes And Consequences Of Individual Variation In Parental Care Behavior, Daniel P. Wetzel
The Causes And Consequences Of Individual Variation In Parental Care Behavior, Daniel P. Wetzel
Theses and Dissertations--Biology
Behavioral traits can be remarkably flexible depending on the conditions in which they are expressed, yet, in spite of this flexibility, persistent differences between individuals appear to limit the potential expression of behaviors. For example, despite evidence that parents provide variable amounts of parental care in response to changing environmental conditions, they also differ in the overall level of care they provide. I used a behavioral reaction norm approach to study individual variation in parental care behavior in free-living house sparrows (Passer domesticus). I investigated the nature of this variation by studying the relationship between different forms of …