![]() ![]() For example, when a female of the golden egg bug ( Phyllomorpha laciniata) lays her eggs on a male rather than on a plant, her offspring will have increased survival, but the father carrying the eggs has a higher risk of being eaten by a bird. Caring for offspring in all its forms is energetically expensive and may impair a parent's ability to have additional offspring in a variety of ways. However, parents frequently provide less than the maximum because any increased investment into current offspring impacts their ability to produce additional offspring in the future. Offspring can improve their reproductive fitness by obtaining the maximal amount of investment from both of their parents. ![]() ![]() Conflicts between family members arise because selection favours individuals aiming to maximize reproductive fitness, and these aims frequently collide because selection pressures differ even among related individuals –. Pick up any current textbook on behavioural ecology, and you will find that the word “family” is invariably followed by the word “conflict” (e.g., ). Whatever your personal feelings, evolutionary biologists will tell you that caring for offspring is not an easy affair. ![]()
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