Environmental Constraints and Cooperative Breeding in the Azure-Winged Magpie

Proactive prosociality in a cooperatively breeding corvid, the azure-winged magpie (Cyanopica cyana)

One of the contemporary hypotheses concerning the evolution of human altruism is the cooperative breeding hypothesis (CBH) which has recently been tested in non-human primates. Using a similar paradigm, we investigated prosociality in a cooperatively breeding corvid, the azure-winged magpie. We found that the magpies delivered food to their group members at high rates, and unlike other corvids,...

Nest-site selection and nesting success in the Azure-winged Magpie in Central Spain

Environmental stability and the evolution of cooperative breeding in hornbills.

Reproductive cooperation in social animals has been the focus of intensive research, yet the role of environmental factors in promoting such cooperation remains uncertain. A recent global analysis suggested that cooperative breeding in birds is a 'bet-hedging' strategy associated with climatic uncertainty, but it is unclear whether this mechanism applies generally or is restricted to the insect...

Nest defense by Iberian azure-winged magpies (Cyanopica cyanus): do they recognize the threat of brood parasitism?

The ultimate goal of nesting is the production of young and therefore predation and brood parasitism may constrain reproductive success. Breeding azurewinged magpies (Cyanopica cyanus) were exposed to mounts of an sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (i.e. an avian predator on adult and fledged chicks), a female great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius) (i.e. a brood parasite that also preys on eggs ...

Ecological Constraints and the Evolution of Cooperative Breeding

Cooperative breeding is a social behaviour in which certain individuals will opt to delay or forgo their own reproduction in order to help other individuals. Cooperative breeding is one of the most conspicuous examples of cooperation in nature. However, theoretical understanding of why this behaviour occurs is lacking and contradictory. In this thesis, I examine the role played by ecological co...