ArticleCommunications biology2023
Cryptic kin discrimination during communal lactation in mice favours cooperation between relatives.
Article in Communications biology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genetic Relatedness Promotes Equal Contributions of Males and Females to Brood Care in a Biparental Cichlid Fish.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Egalitarian cooperation linked to central oxytocin levels in communal breeding house mice.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Breeding females can cooperate by rearing their offspring communally, sharing synergistic benefits of offspring care but risking exploitation by partners. In lactating mammals, communal rearing occurs mostly among close relatives. Inclusive fitness theory predicts enhanced cooperation between related partners and greater willingness to compensate for any partner under-investment, while females are less likely to bias investment towards own offspring. We use a dual isotopic tracer approach to track individual milk allocation when familiar pairs of sisters or unrelated house mice reared offspring communally. Closely related pairs show lower energy demand and pups experience better access to non-maternal milk. Lactational investment is more skewed between sister partners but females pay greater energetic costs per own offspring reared with an unrelated partner. The choice of close kin as cooperative partners is strongly favoured by these direct as well as indirect benefits, providing a driver to maintain female kin groups for communal breeding.
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Registered trials
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