Kin selection, not group augmentation, predicts helping in an obligate cooperatively breeding bird Browning, L. E., Patrick, S. C., Rollins, L. A., Griffith, S. C. and Russell, A. F. 2012, Kin selection, not group augmentation, predicts helping in an obligate cooperatively breeding bird, Royal society of London. Proceedings B. Biological sciences, vol. 279, no. 1743, pp. 3861-3869, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1080. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Kin selection, not group augmentation, predicts helping in an obligate cooperatively breeding bird Author(s) Browning, L. E. Patrick, S. C. Rollins, L. A. orcid.org/0000-0002-3279-7005 Griffith, S. C. Russell, A. F. Journal name Royal society of London. Proceedings B. Biological sciences Volume number 279 Issue number 1743 Start page 3861 End page 3869 Total pages 9 Publisher Royal Society Publishing Place of publication London, England Publication date 2012-09-22 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 Keyword(s) brood size manipulation helper effects inclusive fitness kin discrimination plural breeder provisioning effort Summary Kin selection theory has been the central model for understanding the evolution of cooperative breeding, where non-breeders help bear the cost of rearing young. Recently, the dominance of this idea has been questioned; particularly in obligate cooperative breeders where breeding without help is uncommon and seldom successful. In such systems, the direct benefits gained through augmenting current group size have been hypothesized to provide a tractable alternative (or addition) to kin selection. However, clear empirical tests of the opposing predictions are lacking. Here, we provide convincing evidence to suggest that kin selection and not group augmentation accounts for decisions of whether, where and how often to help in an obligate cooperative breeder, the chestnut-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps). We found no evidence that group members base helping decisions on the size of breeding units available in their social group, despite both correlational and experimental data showing substantial variation in the degree to which helpers affect productivity in units of different size. By contrast, 98 per cent of group members with kin present helped, 100 per cent directed their care towards the most related brood in the social group, and those rearing half/full-sibs helped approximately three times harder than those rearing less/non-related broods. We conclude that kin selection plays a central role in the maintenance of cooperative breeding in this species, despite the apparent importance of living in large groups. Language eng DOI 10.1098/rspb.2012.1080 Field of Research 060201 Behavioural Ecology Socio Economic Objective 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences HERDC Research category C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2012, Royal Society Publishing Free to Read? Yes Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30046936 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment School of Life and Environmental Sciences Open Access Collection Centre for Integrative Ecology Related Links Link Description Link to full-text (open access)   Connect to published version (restricted access) Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that permission has been obtained for items included in DRO. If you believe that your rights have been infringed by this repository, please contact drosupport@deakin.edu.au. Versions Version Filter Type Mon, 13 Aug 2012, 12:52:11 EST Mon, 22 Oct 2012, 14:06:50 EST Mon, 22 Oct 2012, 14:09:04 EST Tue, 14 May 2013, 14:14:42 EST Fri, 13 Jun 2014, 14:40:52 EST Thu, 11 Dec 2014, 17:56:24 EST Fri, 08 Nov 2019, 08:39:58 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 38 times in TR Web of Science Cited 42 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 458 Abstract Views, 6 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Mon, 13 Aug 2012, 12:52:11 EST

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