02368nas a2200181   4500008004100000245016000041210006900201300001200270490000700282520162100289653003101910653002801941653002301969653001801992100001502010700002302025856013802048       2002                        eng d00aConfidence of paternity and paternal care: covariation revealed through the experimental manipulation of the mating system in the beetle Onthophagus taurus0 aConfidence of paternity and paternal care covariation revealed t  a784-7950 v153 aTheoretical models of paternal care predict that facultative reductions in male care may occur under certain conditions. One important parameter that has been shown to influence the outcome of these models is a male’s confidence of paternity. In this study, we tested whether the amount of care provided by horned males in the dimorphic beetle, Onthophagus taurus, varied with his confidence of paternity. Male care results in an increased weight of dung provided in the brood masses produced by the pair. Using the sterile male technique we showed that a horned male’s paternity declined with the number of sneak males in the population. The relationship was nonlinear, with paternity declining most rapidly between a frequency of one and three sneaks, and stabilizing thereafter at about 50%. A horned male’s paternity was directly related to the number of copulations with the female, relative to the number of copulations achieved by sneaks. Horned males were shown to reduce their care in relation to their declining paternity. Video analysis demonstrated that reductions in male care occurred through a combination of male desertion and a trade-off between caring and paternity assurance behaviours. The number of fights with sneak males was negatively related to the amount of care provided by a horned male. These results suggest that by gauging his expected paternity through the number of fights with sneaks, a horned male is able to assess his paternity and reduce his investment accordingly. Our data thus provide strong empirical support for the proposed link between paternity and paternal care. 10aalternative mating tactics10aconfidence of paternity10aOnthophagus taurus10apaternal care1 aHunt, John1 aSimmons, Leigh, W.  uhttps://scarabnet.myspecies.info/confidence-paternity-and-paternal-care-covariation-revealed-through-experimental-manipulation-mating02417nas a2200301   4500008004100000245006700041210006400108300001000172490000700182520151100189653002301700653001501723653001601738653002801754653002601782653002701808653002701835653002301862653001301885653001801898653002201916653002401938653001301962100001301975700002001988700002002008856008702028       2002                        eng d00aA cost of maternal care in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus?0 acost of maternal care in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus  a57-640 v153 aParental care theory assumes that investment in current offspring will trade against future investment. A number of field studies on birds have used clutch size manipulations to demonstrate a survival cost to chick rearing. However, such studies do not account for costs accrued during earlier stages of reproduction because not all aspects of reproductive effort are manipulated by varying the number of nestlings. in this study, we investigate the effect of reproductive effort on female survival in the dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus. By experimentally manipulating mating status and dung availability, we demonstrate that virgin females survive longer than mated females and that the survival of mated females was negatively associated with the number of brood masses produced. Using a novel manipulation of the mating system, we separated the effects of egg production and maternal care on female survival. Previously, we have shown that females provisioning with the assistance of a major male provide relatively less care than unassisted females. However, paternal assistance did not alter the number of brood masses produced and hence the amount of reproductive effort that was allocated to egg production. Therefore, our finding, that female survival was increased when receiving paternal assistance provides, to our knowledge, the first definitive evidence that maternal care reduces female lifespan. These results are of major importance to theoretical models on the evolution of parental care.10aBREEDING BLUE TITS10aBROOD-SIZE10aCLUTCH-SIZE10adrosophila-melanogaster10afluctuating asymmetry10aLIFE-HISTORY EVOLUTION10alife-history trade-off10aOnthophagus taurus10aPARENTAL10aParental care10areproductive cost10areproductive effort10aSURVIVAL1 aHunt, J.1 aSimmons, L., W.1 aKotiaho, J., S.  uhttps://scarabnet.myspecies.info/cost-maternal-care-dung-beetle-onthophagus-taurus