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Helpers increase the reproductive success of breeders in the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus obscurus

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Abstract

In cooperatively breeding animals, individuals other than breeders assist in raising young. While it is generally assumed that such helpers increase the reproductive success of breeders, positive effects can be cryptic and difficult to detect. Furthermore, measuring the effect of helpers in the wild is often difficult because multiple factors such as breeder’s individual quality or experience may affect their reproductive success. Thus far, best examples for fitness benefits of helpers come from a small number of long-term data sets in cooperatively breeding birds and mammals. In contrast, little is known about helpers’ effect on the reproductive success of other cooperatively breeding taxa, e.g., fishes. Here, we investigated the effect of helpers in the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus obscurus. We analyzed field data collected during three years to elucidate the effect of helpers on reproductive success of breeders, while considering differences in the quality of breeders and size of their territories. As proxy for reproductive success, we measured the number of juveniles in the respective territory. Our results show that the number of juveniles increased with the number of helpers, while neither breeders’ quality nor the size of the territories had a significant effect. These findings increase our understanding of the beneficial effects of helpers in cooperatively breeding fishes, helping us to understand the evolution of such complex social system in general.

Significance statement

In cooperatively breeding animals, individuals other than breeders assist in raising young. An increased reproductive success of breeders is the ultimate measure of benefits caused by helpers. However, such relationship is rarely demonstrated in cooperatively breeding fishes. We show that the number of helpers positively correlates with the reproductive success of breeders in the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus obscurus. Our results contribute to the understanding of the evolution of cooperative breeding animals.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Tetsumi Takahashi, Kazutaka Ota, Michio Hori, and the staff of the Lake Tanganyika Research Unit, Mpulungu, Zambia, especially Harris Phiri, Danny Sinyinza, Taylor Banda, Ruben Shapola, and Henry Simpembwa for supporting our studies at the field side. We appreciate Leif Engqvist for statistical discussion, and Kota Sawada and Nobuyuki Kutsukake for discussion about clutch sizes in fishes. This manuscript benefitted from thoughtful comments of two anonymous referees. We are grateful to the organizers of the 12th Topical Meeting of the Ethological Society for encouraging us to submit this paper.

Funding

This work was financially supported by JSPS KAKENHI (25304017, 23570033, and 4501) to MK. During manuscript preparation, HT was funded by an SNF grant (31003A_166470) to JGF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50A, 3032, Hinterkappelen, Switzerland

    Hirokazu Tanaka & Joachim G. Frommen

  2. Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Department of Biology and Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Sumiyoshi, Osaka, 558-8585, Japan

    Hirokazu Tanaka & Masanori Kohda

Authors
  1. Hirokazu Tanaka
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  2. Masanori Kohda
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  3. Joachim G. Frommen
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Contributions

HT and MK conceived the study, MK and JGF organized funding, HT collected the data, HT ran the statistical analyses, HT and JGF discussed the results, and HT wrote the first draft of the manuscript, which was edited by JGF. JGF and MK drafted the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joachim G. Frommen.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The study complies with the current laws of the Republic of Zambia and was carried out in agreement with the Department of Fisheries: Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, following the Zambian prevention of cruelty to animals act. There was no further ethical approval required. Data collection followed the ASAB/ABS (2012) guidelines for the treatment of animals in behavioural research and teaching.

Additional information

This article is a contribution to the Topical Collection From Sensory Perception to Behavior — Guest Editors: Theo C. M. Bakker, Horst Bleckmann, Joachim Mogdans, Vera Schlüssel

In memory of Hirokazu Tanaka, who deceased before the final submission of this article.

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Tanaka, H., Kohda, M. & Frommen, J.G. Helpers increase the reproductive success of breeders in the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus obscurus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 72, 152 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-018-2566-7

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