Meeting Abstract
The degree to which group members share reproduction is dictated by both within-group (e.g. group size and composition) and between-group (e.g. density and position of neighbors) characteristics. While many studies have investigated reproductive patterns within social groups, few have simultaneously explored how within-group and between-group social structures influence these reproductive patterns. We investigated how group size and composition, along with territory density and location within the colony, influenced parentage in 36 wild groups of a colonial, cooperatively breeding fish Neolamprologus pulcher. Dominant males sired 76% of offspring in their group, while dominant females mothered 82% of offspring in their group. Subordinate reproduction was frequent, occurring in 47% of sampled groups. Subordinate males gained more paternity in groups located in high-density areas and in groups with many subordinate males. Dominant males and females in large groups and in groups with many reproductively mature subordinates had higher rates of within-group parentage loss, but only at the colony edge. Our study provides the first comprehensive quantification of reproductive sharing among groups of wild N. pulcher, a model species for the study of cooperation and social behavior. Further, we demonstrate that the frequency of extra-pair parentage differs across small social and spatial scales.
