Abstract
Among group-living vertebrates, highly cooperative or apparently altruistic behaviours usually occur between close relatives1,2. In contrast, highly competitive or selfish behaviours, such as the killing of conspecific young, are often directed towards unrelated individuals3,4. These findings are consistent with predictions of inclusive fitness theory5, and have led to the suggestion that kin should receive favoured treatment in the form of not only cooperation but also reduced aggression or competition2,6–9. However, selfish, competitive and manipulative behaviours can evolve among close relatives if the gain in direct (individual) fitness10 exceeds the loss in indirect fitness5,11–14. We report here an extreme example of reproductive interference between close relatives in the acorn woodpecker, in which communally nesting sibling females in this species destroy their sister's eggs prior to laying their own.
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Mumme, R., Koenig, W. & Pitelka, F. Reproductive competition in the communal acorn woodpecker: sisters destroy each other's eggs. Nature 306, 583–584 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/306583a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/306583a0
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