title: Climate and the distribution of cooperative breeding in mammals.
abstract: Cooperative breeding systems, in which non-breeding individuals provide care for the offspring of dominant group members, occur in less than 1% of mammals and are associated with social monogamy and the production of multiple offspring per birth (polytocy). Here, we show that the distribution of alloparental care by non-breeding subordinates is associated with habitats where annual rainfall is low. A possible reason for this association is that the females of species found in arid environments are usually polytocous and this may have facilitated the evolution of alloparental care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology , University of Cambridge , Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ , UK.
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7141-3545
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lukas
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology , University of Cambridge , Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ , UK.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8110-8969
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Clutton-Brock
keywords: cooperative breeding; phylogenetic comparison; rainfall; sociality