Unconventional Care: Offspring Abandonment and Filial Cannibalism Can Function as Forms of Parental Care
Parental care is a key life-history trait that increases offspring fitness. When one thinks of parental care, nurturing behaviors such as guarding, provisioning, and grooming typically come to mind. However, such conventional forms of care often co-occur with offspring abandonment or filial cannibal...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2019.00113/full |
| _version_ | 1818081749887877120 |
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| author | Mackenzie E. Davenport Mackenzie E. Davenport Michael B. Bonsall Michael B. Bonsall Hope Klug Hope Klug Hope Klug |
| author_facet | Mackenzie E. Davenport Mackenzie E. Davenport Michael B. Bonsall Michael B. Bonsall Hope Klug Hope Klug Hope Klug |
| author_sort | Mackenzie E. Davenport |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Parental care is a key life-history trait that increases offspring fitness. When one thinks of parental care, nurturing behaviors such as guarding, provisioning, and grooming typically come to mind. However, such conventional forms of care often co-occur with offspring abandonment or filial cannibalism (the consumption of one's offspring). Offspring abandonment and filial cannibalism are typically viewed as evolutionary conundrums that are contradictory to parental care. Here, we hypothesize that when offspring survival is density dependent, offspring abandonment and filial cannibalism can themselves function as forms of parental care for remaining offspring. We use a mathematical model to test this hypothesis. Our results suggest that offspring abandonment and filial cannibalism can function as forms of parental care. These results have the potential to broaden our general understanding of what is considered to be parental care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T19:11:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-40fe8a2d905b4bbe9be40c47850cbbd7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T19:11:09Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-40fe8a2d905b4bbe9be40c47850cbbd72022-12-22T01:36:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2019-04-01710.3389/fevo.2019.00113402706Unconventional Care: Offspring Abandonment and Filial Cannibalism Can Function as Forms of Parental CareMackenzie E. Davenport0Mackenzie E. Davenport1Michael B. Bonsall2Michael B. Bonsall3Hope Klug4Hope Klug5Hope Klug6Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN, United StatesHonors College, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN, United StatesMathematical Ecology Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United KingdomSt Peter's College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United KingdomDepartment of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN, United StatesHonors College, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN, United StatesSimCenter, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN, United StatesParental care is a key life-history trait that increases offspring fitness. When one thinks of parental care, nurturing behaviors such as guarding, provisioning, and grooming typically come to mind. However, such conventional forms of care often co-occur with offspring abandonment or filial cannibalism (the consumption of one's offspring). Offspring abandonment and filial cannibalism are typically viewed as evolutionary conundrums that are contradictory to parental care. Here, we hypothesize that when offspring survival is density dependent, offspring abandonment and filial cannibalism can themselves function as forms of parental care for remaining offspring. We use a mathematical model to test this hypothesis. Our results suggest that offspring abandonment and filial cannibalism can function as forms of parental care. These results have the potential to broaden our general understanding of what is considered to be parental care.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2019.00113/fullparental careparental investmentoffspring abandonmentfilial cannibalismlife-history evolution |
| spellingShingle | Mackenzie E. Davenport Mackenzie E. Davenport Michael B. Bonsall Michael B. Bonsall Hope Klug Hope Klug Hope Klug Unconventional Care: Offspring Abandonment and Filial Cannibalism Can Function as Forms of Parental Care Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution parental care parental investment offspring abandonment filial cannibalism life-history evolution |
| title | Unconventional Care: Offspring Abandonment and Filial Cannibalism Can Function as Forms of Parental Care |
| title_full | Unconventional Care: Offspring Abandonment and Filial Cannibalism Can Function as Forms of Parental Care |
| title_fullStr | Unconventional Care: Offspring Abandonment and Filial Cannibalism Can Function as Forms of Parental Care |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unconventional Care: Offspring Abandonment and Filial Cannibalism Can Function as Forms of Parental Care |
| title_short | Unconventional Care: Offspring Abandonment and Filial Cannibalism Can Function as Forms of Parental Care |
| title_sort | unconventional care offspring abandonment and filial cannibalism can function as forms of parental care |
| topic | parental care parental investment offspring abandonment filial cannibalism life-history evolution |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2019.00113/full |
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