Evidence suggesting that reindeer mothers allonurse according to the direct reciprocity and generalized reciprocity decision rules. ...

• Main Authors: Engelhardt, Sacha C, Weladji, Robert B, Holand, Øystein, Røed, Knut H, Nieminen, Mauri
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Public Library of Science 2023
• Subjects: 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie; 590 Tiere Zoologie; Rangifer tarandus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48350/190369; https://boris.unibe.ch/190369/

Allonursing is the nursing of the offspring of other mothers. Cooperation is an emergent property of evolved decision rules. Cooperation can be explained by at least three evolved decision rules: 1) direct reciprocity, i.e. help someone who previously helped you, 2) kin discrimination, i.e. preferentially direct help to kin than to non-kin, and 3) generalized reciprocity, i.e. help anyone if helped by someone. We assessed if semi-domesticated reindeer, Rangifer tarandus, mothers allonursed according to the decision rules of direct reciprocity, generalized reciprocity and kin discrimination over 2 years. To assess if reindeer mothers allonursed according to the direct reciprocity decision rule, we predicted that mothers should give more help to those who previously helped them more often. To assess if reindeer mothers allonursed according to the kin discrimination decision rule, we predicted that help given should increase as pairwise genetic relatedness increased. To assess if reindeer mothers allonursed ...