The Type And Timing Of Social Information Alters Offspring Production - Biology Letters

Main Category: Veterinary
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 23 Jul 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Social information, or information from the behavior of others, may be commonly used to improve estimates of resource quality.

We exposed female cactus bugs (Chelinidea vittiger) to different types of social information, presented at different times, to examine theoretical predictions regarding the influence of social information on offspring production.

We found that females laid more eggs when other females' offspring were present.

But, these effects varied according to the age of offspring, and when they were presented to females.

Our results suggest that social information can be an important, yet unappreciated, influence on reproductive allocation.

Royal Society journal Biology Letters

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