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Parental care and the allocation of resources across generations

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Summary

To understand the evolution of parental care behaviour, the cost of care must be evaluated in terms of lost reproductive potential. Using population genetics theory, a quantitative model of parental care is presented here to evaluate the allocation of resources between production and care of offspring, and care of grandoffspring. The results show that the evolutionarily stable investment ratio of resources to offspring versus grandoffspring is equal to 2∶1. The expected investment in grandoffspring will decrease when there is a lower probability of survival of the parents to a late stage of the life cycle. These results are discussed in the context of general life history theory, inclusive fitness models, animal behaviour field studies, and the evolution of human menopause.

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  1. Department of Zoology, Duke University, 27706, Durham, NC, USA

    Deborah A. Roach

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  1. Deborah A. Roach
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Roach, D.A. Parental care and the allocation of resources across generations. Evol Ecol 6, 187–197 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02214161

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