Definition
Cooperation is the performance of a behavior by one individual that provides a benefit to another individual – thereby increasing the recipient’s probability of survival or reproduction – and is selected for due to the actor receiving a benefit from the behavior’s recipient. In fish, cooperative behavior has been observed in a variety of contexts – including group foraging, cooperative breeding, and anti-predator behaviors – and is maintained by a number of evolutionary mechanisms.
Introduction
The paradox of cooperation has proven to be one of the most enduring questions within evolutionary biology – that is, how can natural selection favor behaviors that may incur costs upon the performer while enhancing the relative survival and reproduction of another individual. An enormous body of theoretical work has built up over the years proposing a variety of answers regarding both the evolutionary function of...
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Hasenjager, M. (2016). Cooperation Among Fishes. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1231-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1231-1
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