Highlights•Behavioural similarity within mated pairs may impact reproductive success.•We
quantified nest defence behaviour of eastern bluebirds and tested three hypotheses.•The …

Parental care can enhance offspring survival but may impose significant costs to parents.
The costs and benefits of care are key to understanding patterns of parental care, where …

Discrete colour morphs have provided important insights into the evolution of phenotypic
diversity. One of the mechanisms that can help to explain coexistence of ecologically similar …

Sperm competition and uncertainty of paternity hamper the evolution of male parental care.
Thus, maternal care predominates in most taxa. What if males can, however, limit cuckoldry …

In many animal systems, the defence of a territory or nest coincides with the defence of
offspring, and it is often unclear whether the defence behaviour exists for the purpose of …

Highlights•We conducted a field study on a group-living, social cichlid fish.•We used
behavioural scoring and computer tracking to study their social environment.•Groups with …

Abstract The Neotropical Midas cichlid species complex (Amphilophus citrinellus Günther
1864) has become a model system for investigating the mechanisms of speciation and …

While territorial aggression is a prerequisite for reproduction in many animals, individuals
need to balance its benefits against the costs. Territorial neighbours can influence these …

Nest defence is one component of parental investment by which individuals can increase
the survival of their offspring. Aggressive behaviours and the time spent protecting nests are …

Introduced species represent one of the most serious global threats to biodiversity. In this
field-based study, we assessed behavioural responses of brood tending cichlid fish to an …