Abstract
Providing plausible mechanisms to explain variation in the honesty of information communicated through offspring begging signals is fundamental to our understanding of parent–offspring conflict and the evolution of family life. A recently published research article used comparative analyses to investigate two long‐standing hypotheses that may explain the evolution of begging behavior. The results suggested that direct competition between offspring for parental resources decreases begging honesty, whereas indirect, kin‐selected benefits gained through saving parental resources for the production of future siblings increase begging honesty. However, we feel that evidence for a role of kin selection in this context is still missing. We present a combination of arguments and empirical tests to outline alternative sources of interspecific variation in offspring begging levels and discuss avenues for further research that can bring us closer to a complete understanding of the evolution of offspring signaling.
Highlights
The results suggested that direct competition between offspring for parental resources decreases begging honesty, whereas indirect, kin-selected benefits gained through saving parental resources for the production of future siblings increase begging honesty
In contrast to the results reported by Caro et al (2016), we found no difference in the correlation between begging and need according to whether the chance of both parents surviving was greater than 50% (PGLS: β ± SE = –0.026 ± 0.098, t61 = –0.271, P = 0.787, Fig. 2)
We propose that the results of Caro et al (2016) demonstrate convincing evidence that scramble competition for limited resources is the main driver of interspecific variation in the honesty of begging signals in birds
Summary
No evidence that kin selection increases the honesty of begging signals in birds Bebbington, Kat; Kingma, Sjouke A. Evolution Letters published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) and European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) They showed convincing evidence that the correlation between begging and some measured component of offspring “need” (such as hunger levels) becomes weaker with the presence and increasing number of siblings in both current and future broods These interspecific patterns provide important validation for the hypothesis that offspring competition for limited resources selects for exaggerated, and dishonest, begging signals (Royle et al 2002a). We explain why it is premature to embrace the conclusions of Caro et al (2016) as evidence for a role for kin selection in this context, and that multiple other processes may, alternatively or explain their findings
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
