Alloparenting
The mother and father may provide the heat and guarding of the nest however it is a network of other superb starlings that also watch over and take care of the offspring as well.
Though allonursing is beneficial to the offspring in receiving a wider variety of immune compounds, many species do not partake in this event.
[13] In addition, Wilson used the term alloparent (or 'helper') to refer to the individuals providing the care, and proposed allomaternal and allopaternal as phrases that could be used to distinguish the sex of the helper.
[2] This sort of parental care is often closely tied to social organisation and is thus very common in advanced animal societies such as primates.
Though ultimately maladaptive, this sort of behaviour may be supported by an inability of parents to recognize their own young (for example stolen fertilisations in fish), or supernormal stimuli 'enslaving' the alloparent into providing the care, as is seen in the case of brood parasitism of the cuckoo bird.
In some species of fish, males exhibit zygote stealing, or alloparents may kidnap free-swimming young to help reduce selective pressures on their own brood.
In cooperative breeding or joint brood care, the presence of 'helpers' at the nest or den usually increases the young's probability of surviving.
[21] In a study of jackal groups in Tanzania spanning three and a half years, it was found that the presence of sibling helpers in the den had a significant positive correlation to offspring survivorship.
[30] By helping raise their full siblings, with whom they share a coefficient of relatedness of 1⁄2, the helpers were benefiting from increasing their inclusive fitness.
In cooperative breeding, mothers are able to conserve energy, travel further away from nesting grounds to forage for food/supplies, maintain social interactions, and better protect their offspring from predators.
Instances where the alloparent receives no benefits, or incurs a cost, generally involve parasitic relationships, where the individual has performed a reproductive mistake, or is misdirecting their parental care.
[14] The cases where an evolution of such behaviour is hardest to explain are parasitic relationships such as the cuckoo chick in the nest of a smaller host parent.
Behavioral ecologists have cited supernormal stimuli, reproductive errors, or the inability of alloparents to recognize their young as explanations that may support this behaviour.
[20] In general, the occurrence of alloparenting is the result of both the life history traits of the species (how evolution has predisposed them to behave), and the ecological conditions in which the individual finds itself.
It is a key example of where the evolution has been driven by the combination of life history traits and ecological factors, which act as the triggers.
[34] For example, habitat saturation was shown to be responsible for cooperative breeding in the Seychelles warbler, a small passerine bird.
[41] As the 'babysitters' or alloparents dive and resurface the calves swim between them and therefore care is provided by a number of members within the social group.
The neurobiological background in sperm whales has not been deeply observed but coincides with the basis for alloparental care and adolescents learning motherly actions early and the calves gaining the most benefit.
Pilot whales demonstrate alloparental care in the form of escorting and this has limited cost to the alloparent through reciprocal altruism.
In Lake Malawi, it has been observed that a select few species of cichlids will 'farm out' their young into catfish (Bagrus meridionalis) broods, a larger predatory fish.
It has also been observed that the bagrid catfish alloparent will allow the cichlid young to feed off the skin on its dorsal surface.
[10] ML spent a significantly higher amount of time and effort guarding than she did with any other active parental care behaviors when alloparenting.
[47] In cats, these behaviors are conducted for a variety of purposes; such as communicating intent, removal of parasites and dirt/grime, show affection, and so on,[49] which can result in greater familiarity between individuals.
Cooperative nursing was observed; females were noted to groom and suckle kittens that were not their own offspring in 19 instances, 14 of which were between direct family members of 5 of unknown relation.
[51] As housecats have more oppurtunities to interact with one another and typically face less competition over resources or range, they display even greater social tolerance towards one another than feral or semi-feral cats, which may result in increased frequency of alloparenting behaviors,[45] including participation not only from queens but also spayed females and castrated males, as well as others including the male sire.
[52] In any event, alloparenting amongst cats confers numerous benefits; ranging from protection against predators and potentially infanticidal males, increased health for mothers and offspring, (future) reduction in conflict over resources and territory, information exchange, and so on.
[39] According to Deihl,[53] the Efé people of Ituri Forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo practice alloparenting, with care for infants coming from siblings, grandparents, and older members of the community.
According to The US National Library of Medicine, alloparenting has proven to activate portions of the brain that are correlated with decreasing stress levels.
[3] Introducing a child to this environment allows them to adapt and learn to love and trust widely which will be beneficial in their future adolescent and adult years when they have to leave the comfort of home.
[4] Male voles put under stressful experiences increased huddling, licking, and grooming of unrelated pups.
