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Fitness consequences of maternal rearing strategies in warthogs: influence of group size and composition
Citation
White, AM and Cameron, EZ, Fitness consequences of maternal rearing strategies in warthogs: influence of group size and composition, Journal of Zoology, (285) pp. 77-84. ISSN 0952-8369 (2011) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
The definitive published version is available online at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/
DOI: doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2011.00816.x
Abstract
Cooperatively breeding species are defined by the presence of individuals who help
in rearing the offspring of others. This seemingly altruistic behaviour has been
difficult to define and the help provided has not always resulted in a reproductive
advantage to the recipient. We examine maternal rearing strategies in the common
warthog, Phacochoerus africanus, a facultative, cooperative breeder that displays
variation in the number of reproductive and non-reproductively aged individuals
in a group. We compare rearing strategies in adult females to assess whether group
size or group composition increases the production and survival of group off-
spring. We found that although the number of offspring observed in groups with
multiple adult females was larger than the number of offspring observed in groups
with only one adult female, the average number of offspring observed per female
was similar. Additionally, maternal rearing strategy had no effect on the survival
of dependant offspring and variation in offspring survival could not be explained
by either the number of reproductive or non-reproductive individuals per off-
spring. Taken together, these results suggest that the differences in maternal
rearing strategies may not benefit dependent offspring, but we suggest that
grouping between reproductive females may increase the survival of yearlings
through group augmentation.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Zoology |
Research Field: | Animal developmental and reproductive biology |
Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
Objective Group: | Other environmental management |
Objective Field: | Other environmental management not elsewhere classified |
UTAS Author: | Cameron, EZ (Professor Elissa Cameron) |
ID Code: | 73389 |
Year Published: | 2011 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 3 |
Deposited By: | Zoology |
Deposited On: | 2011-10-03 |
Last Modified: | 2017-11-01 |
Downloads: | 2 View Download Statistics |
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