Oxidative stress has been proposed as a key mediator of life‐history trade‐offs, yet the
social factors that affect patterns of oxidative status amongst individuals in animal societies …

Although the evolutionary mechanisms that favor investment in cooperative behaviors have
long been a focus of research, comparatively few studies have considered the role that …

Highlights•Simulated intrusions were used to contrast contributions to territory
defence.•Dominants contribute significantly more than subordinates to territory …

The distribution of reproductive success within societies is a key determinant of the
outcomes of social evolution. Attempts to explain social diversity, therefore, require that we …

In many cooperatively breeding species, females mate extra‐group, the adaptive value of
which remains poorly understood. One hypothesis posits that females employ extra‐group …

The immune system provides vital protection against pathogens, but extensive evidence
suggests that mounting immune responses can entail survival and fecundity costs. The …

Circulating testosterone (T) is widely considered to play a key role in the production of
sexual displays by male vertebrates. While numerous studies support a role for circulating T …

Conspicuous displays are thought to have evolved as signals of individual “quality”, though
precisely what they encode remains a focus of debate. While high quality signals may be …

In cooperatively breeding societies, where individuals (termed 'helpers') provide care to
young which are not their own, group members can vary substantially in their contributions …

In many cooperatively breeding species non-breeding individuals help to rear the offspring
of breeders. The physiological mechanisms that regulate such cooperative helping behavior …