Jenkins EV, Morris C, Blackman S
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh
Anim Behav. 2000 Oct;60(4):443-451. doi: 10.1006/anbe.2000.1487.
Burying beetles, Nicrophorus spp., inter the carcasses of small vertebrates as a food source for their offspring. Females can bury a carcass and rear a brood on it alone, but are frequently assisted by a male whose presence reduces the risk of the carcass being taken over by other beetles. However, the male often stays for longer than the carcass is vulnerable to take-over, and he cares for the brood without conferring any further benefits on it. In a laboratory experiment using N. vespilloides, we found that, in the absence of competitors, male assistance conferred no advantages on the brood for which he was caring, but significantly increased the subsequent reproductive success of his mate, in terms of the mass and rate of development of a second brood, reared alone. We suggest that this is due to a reduced parental effort of assisted females, who spent less time feeding offspring and more time resting than unassisted females whilst rearing their first broods. In the field, a female is unlikely to pair with the same male for consecutive broods, so we discuss the possible benefits a male may accrue from increasing his mate's reproductive success. We also discuss the relevance of these results to our understanding of the evolution of biparental care in birds. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
埋葬虫（葬甲属）会将小型脊椎动物的尸体埋起来，作为其后代的食物来源。雌性埋葬虫可以独自埋葬一具尸体并在其上养育一窝幼虫，但通常会有雄性协助，雄性的存在降低了尸体被其他甲虫抢走的风险。然而，雄性停留的时间往往比尸体易被抢走的时间更长，而且它照顾幼虫时并未给幼虫带来更多益处。在一项使用黄粉葬甲进行的实验室实验中，我们发现，在没有竞争者的情况下，雄性的协助对它所照顾的幼虫并无益处，但从独自养育的第二窝幼虫的质量和发育速度来看，却显著提高了其配偶随后的繁殖成功率。我们认为这是因为得到协助的雌性付出的亲代抚育努力减少了，在养育第一窝幼虫时，与未得到协助的雌性相比，它们花在喂养幼虫上的时间更少，休息时间更多。在野外，雌性不太可能连续几窝都与同一雄性配对，所以我们讨论了雄性从提高其配偶的繁殖成功率中可能获得的好处。我们还讨论了这些结果与我们对鸟类双亲抚育行为进化的理解的相关性。版权所有2000动物行为研究协会。
