Further behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing

Abstract Suckling of a non-filial calf, or allosuckling, is an extreme case of allomaternal care in mammals. There have been many hypotheses postulated in an attempt to explain this behaviour; however, the supporting evidence differs, together with the conclusions drawn from the investigated variabl...

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Autores principales:	Markéta Gloneková, Karolína Brandlová, Jan Pluháček
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/6d8c14ba63204f3eb4f58b5c7dee04c3
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:6d8c14ba63204f3eb4f58b5c7dee04c32021-12-02T14:25:32ZFurther behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing10.1038/s41598-021-86499-22045-2322https://doaj.org/article/6d8c14ba63204f3eb4f58b5c7dee04c32021-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86499-2https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Suckling of a non-filial calf, or allosuckling, is an extreme case of allomaternal care in mammals. There have been many hypotheses postulated in an attempt to explain this behaviour; however, the supporting evidence differs, together with the conclusions drawn from the investigated variables. Previously, suckling bout rejection was analysed, and the milk theft and reciprocity hypotheses were both determined as the most appropriate explanation of allosuckling in giraffe. In this study, seven hypotheses were tested using different behavioural parameters, namely suckling bout frequency, suckling bout duration, and time spent suckling. It is well-documented that these parameters are associated with various aspects in ungulate biology; for example, suckling rejection typically reflects milk intake and parent–offspring conflict, whereas the suckling bout duration and frequency is associated with social behaviours (affiliation, bonding, social stress). In total, 22 nursing females and 47 suckling calves were observed, in four Czech zoos during a five-year period. The correlation of the observed parameters between the reciprocal female-calf dyads was found to be in line with the reciprocity hypothesis. In addition, non-filial calves tried to steal the milk from non-maternal females, supporting the milk theft hypothesis. Thus, the results support both the reciprocity and milk-theft hypotheses as the most plausible explanation of allosuckling in giraffe, and illustrates the importance of using suckling bout duration and frequency, and the time spent suckling, as behavioural parameters that may aid in explaining the extremity of maternal investment, such as allosuckling.Markéta GlonekováKarolína BrandlováJan PluháčekNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Markéta Gloneková Karolína Brandlová Jan Pluháček Further behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing
description	Abstract Suckling of a non-filial calf, or allosuckling, is an extreme case of allomaternal care in mammals. There have been many hypotheses postulated in an attempt to explain this behaviour; however, the supporting evidence differs, together with the conclusions drawn from the investigated variables. Previously, suckling bout rejection was analysed, and the milk theft and reciprocity hypotheses were both determined as the most appropriate explanation of allosuckling in giraffe. In this study, seven hypotheses were tested using different behavioural parameters, namely suckling bout frequency, suckling bout duration, and time spent suckling. It is well-documented that these parameters are associated with various aspects in ungulate biology; for example, suckling rejection typically reflects milk intake and parent–offspring conflict, whereas the suckling bout duration and frequency is associated with social behaviours (affiliation, bonding, social stress). In total, 22 nursing females and 47 suckling calves were observed, in four Czech zoos during a five-year period. The correlation of the observed parameters between the reciprocal female-calf dyads was found to be in line with the reciprocity hypothesis. In addition, non-filial calves tried to steal the milk from non-maternal females, supporting the milk theft hypothesis. Thus, the results support both the reciprocity and milk-theft hypotheses as the most plausible explanation of allosuckling in giraffe, and illustrates the importance of using suckling bout duration and frequency, and the time spent suckling, as behavioural parameters that may aid in explaining the extremity of maternal investment, such as allosuckling.
format	article
author	Markéta Gloneková Karolína Brandlová Jan Pluháček
author_facet	Markéta Gloneková Karolína Brandlová Jan Pluháček
author_sort	Markéta Gloneková
title	Further behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing
title_short	Further behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing
title_full	Further behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing
title_fullStr	Further behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing
title_full_unstemmed	Further behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing
title_sort	further behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/6d8c14ba63204f3eb4f58b5c7dee04c3
work_keys_str_mv	AT marketaglonekova furtherbehaviouralparameterssupportreciprocityandmilktheftasexplanationsforgiraffeallonursing AT karolinabrandlova furtherbehaviouralparameterssupportreciprocityandmilktheftasexplanationsforgiraffeallonursing AT janpluhacek furtherbehaviouralparameterssupportreciprocityandmilktheftasexplanationsforgiraffeallonursing
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Further behavioural parameters support reciprocity and milk theft as explanations for giraffe allonursing

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