Prosocial behavior due to
cooperative breeding
Date: October 18, 2016
Source: University of Vienna
Magpies do not always have the
best reputation, as they are generally known for their tendency to steal shiny
things. Also other bird species tested for prosociality so far turned out to be
either indifferent to benefitting others or only provided food when the other
repeatedly begged for it.
Azure-winged magpies seem to be
the exception to the rule. They provided food to their group members
spontaneously and without the other birds begging them. "This so-called
'proactive prosociality' has long been believed to be a human hallmark,"
explains lead author Lisa Horn. It was however suggested that cooperative child
rearing promoted this tendency to benefit others without expecting anything in
return in early humans. In line with the hypothesis, researchers also found
evidence for prosocial behavior in cooperatively breeding primates. "But
so far results from other animal taxa were missing," says Horn.
Therefore, Horn and colleagues
tested prosociality in a cooperatively breeding bird species -- the
azure-winged magpie -- using an ingenious experimental design. By landing on a
perch, the birds operated a seesaw mechanism, which brought food into reach of
their group members. If the birds wanted to grab the food themselves, they
would have had to leave the perch and the seesaw would tilt back, thereby
moving the food out of reach again. Even though the birds thus could not get
anything for themselves the magpies continued to deliver food to their
conspecifics across all sessions and at similarly high rates as humans and
cooperatively breeding primates. Also, the birds only operated the apparatus
when their group members could actually obtain the food, and not in a control
condition where access to the food was blocked.
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