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A mammal in which males remain as care helpers. [10] Male mammals employ different behaviors to enhance their reproductive success (e.g. courtship displays, mate choice). However, the benefits of paternal care have rarely been studied in mammals, largely because only 5-10% of mammals exhibit such care (mostly present in primates, rodents and ...
In birds, this parental care system is generally attributed to the ability of male birds to engage in most parental behaviours, with the exception of egg-laying. Due to their endothermy and small size at birth, there is a huge pressure for infant birds to grow up quickly to prevent energy loss.
Sexual selection is an evolutionary concept that has been used to explain why, in some species, male and female individuals behave differently in selecting mates. In 1930, Ronald Fisher wrote The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection, [3] in which he introduced the modern concept of parental investment, introduced the sexy son hypothesis, and introduced Fisher's principle.
Although maternal care is essential in many classes of vertebrates, it is the most prevalent in mammals, since the care from the mother is essential for feeding and nourishing their young. [1] Because the care exhibited by the mother plays such a large role in mammals, the role of the male is often very limited.
Sugar gliders are one of the few species of mammals that exhibit male parental care. [53] The oldest codominant male in a social community shows a high level of parental care, as he is the probable father of any offspring due to his social status. This paternal care evolved in sugar gliders as young are more likely to survive when parental ...
Males provide resources to their harem, such as nest protection and varying levels of parental care. Females in the harem are able to breed at the same time, indicating that harem size and the number of male offspring are related. [14] The most important factor when determining male fitness is the order in which he arrives to the territory.
In highly polygynous systems, and in promiscuous systems, paternal care of young is rare, or there may be no parental care at all. These descriptions are idealized, and the social partnerships are often easier to observe than the mating relationships. In particular: the relationships are rarely exclusive for all individuals in a species.
Allomothering, or allomaternal care, is parental care provided by group members other than the genetic mother. This is a common feature of many cooperative breeding species, including some mammal, bird and insect species. Allomothering in humans is universal, but the members who participate in allomothering vary from culture to culture.