Allopreening in birds is associated with parental cooperation over offspring care and stable pair bonds across years.

ABSTRACT: Individuals of many species form bonds with their breeding partners, yet the mechanisms maintaining these bonds are poorly understood. In birds, allopreening is a conspicuous feature of interactions between breeding partners and has been hypothesized to play a role in strengthening and maintaining pair bonds within and across breeding attempts. Many avian species, however, do not allopreen and the relationship between allopreening and pair bonding across species remains unexplored. In a comparative analysis of allopreening and pair bond behavior, we found that allopreening between breeding partners was more common among species where parents cooperate to rear offspring. The occurrence of allopreening was also associated with an increased likelihood that partners would remain together over

SUBMITTER: Kenny E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5873249 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature