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Commentary: On Optimal Parental Care
Author(s) -
Taborsky Michael
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
zeitschrift für tierpsychologie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.739
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-0310
pISSN - 0044-3573
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1985.tb00522.x
Subject(s) - citation , planck , physics , library science , computer science , quantum mechanics
What should a parent do when it has an exceptionally small brood? WICKLER & SEIBT (1983) asked this question for species with repeated breeding and a mean brood size of > 1 (i.e. iteroparous and polytokous species). Would a mother benefit by rejecting rather than investing further in a small brood thereby postponing its next brood? Cost was measured in time. WICKLER & SEIBT suggest two methods for calculating the optimal decision of a mother. I shall demonstrate that one technique is incorrect and that the other disregards information necessary for specific predictions. I shall also suggest an alternative method.