Game theoretic model of brood parasitism in a dung beetle Onthophagus taurus

Date

2009-08

Authors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer Netherlands

Abstract

We present a game theoretic model of brood parasitism in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus. Female O. taurus engage in brood parasitism when they attack a brood ball made by another female, destroy the existing egg and place one of their own eggs to develop within the existing dung ball. Brood parasitism is more costly than other forms of kleptoparasitism because an individual loses the total investment in an offspring. In this paper, we outline the behaviors involved in brood ball production and provide time estimates of those behaviors. The model is then used to predict when it is beneficial to steal the brood ball created by another female and when it is beneficial for a female to create her own. We also investigate how long a female should guard her eggs.

Description

Keywords

Brood parasitism, Game theory, Dung beetles

Citation

Crowe, M. L., Fitzgerald, M., Remington, D. L., Ruxton, G. D., & Rychtář, J. (2009). Game theoretic model of brood parasitism in a dung beetle Onthophagus taurus. Evolutionary Ecology, 23(5), 765-776. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-008-9271-3

URI

https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=edssjs&AN=edssjs.80F7C101&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=s5615486
 http://hdl.handle.net/11416/669
 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-008-9271-3

DOI

Collections

Biology