Parent–Offspring and Sibling Conflict

Rebecca M Kilner, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Published online: April 2002

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0003668

Parent–offspring conflict arises when the optimal level of parental care that offspring would choose to receive exceeds the optimal level of parental care that a parent would prefer to provide. For example, when a parent is identically related to the members of its brood, it may prefer to divide resources equally among its young. By contrast, the individual offspring value their own well being more highly than their siblings and so should try to take a disproportionate share of food. By taking resources from their siblings, individual offspring can additionally cause sibling conflict.

Keywords: Hamilton's rule; life history theory; communication; family conflicts

Figure 1. Parent–offspring conflict over parental investment. The parent¢s optimum level of parental investment (P) lies at the point of maximal difference between benefits (B) and costs (C), which is shown by the upper diagonal line on the left. The offspring¢s optimum level of parental investment (O) lies at the point of maximal difference between benefits (B) and costs (C/2) which is shown by the lower diagonal line.
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Related Sub-Topics:

Life History and Reproduction | Competition | Behavioural Ecology
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Article Title: Parent–Offspring and Sibling Conflict
 
How to Cite close
Kilner, Rebecca M(Apr 2002) Parent–Offspring and Sibling Conflict. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0003668]