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A Test of Two Skew Models to Explain Cooperative Breeding

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Journal of Bioeconomics Aims and scope

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Two competing models, reproductive skew and skew selection, have been constructed to explain the evolution of cooperation among unrelated breeders. Reproductive skew is a trade-off model that assumes breeding occurs under scarce resource conditions. One breeder gains units of fecundity at the expense of other breeders during aggressive, altruistic or tug-of-war transactions. After joining, the distribution of fecundity among breeders shifts from symmetrical to asymmetrical. In contrast, skew selection is a surplus model that assumes breeding occurs during a springtime glut. Skew selection assumes that fecundity among breeders is initially asymmetrical and that joining reduces the asymmetry of fecundity. This paper reports findings from a breeding experiment on the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, which supported skew selection rather than reproductive skew. Joining was a win-win strategy for alpha and beta breeders; beta breeders gained within-group survival benefits; alpha breeders gained between-group survival benefits. In summary, skew selection extends Darwin’s theory of natural selection by revealing the self-interested core of cooperative breeding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of South Florida St. Petersburg, 140 Seventh Avenue South–Davis Bldg, St. Petersburg, Florida, 33701, USA

    Deby L. Cassill

  2. Department of Entomology, The Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, 77843, USA

    Indira Kuriachan & S. Bradleigh Vinson

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  1. Deby L. Cassill
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  2. Indira Kuriachan
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Correspondence to Deby L. Cassill.

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Cassill, D.L., Kuriachan, I. & Vinson, S.B. A Test of Two Skew Models to Explain Cooperative Breeding. J Bioecon 9, 19–37 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10818-007-9012-7

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