Altruism and cooperation in rodents: Insights from analysis of conceptual models and empirical data

Conceptual models explaining the evolution of altruistic and cooperative behavior, as well as empirical evidence from rodents are reviewed in this article.Alarm calling and helping (alloparental care) are well-known altruistic behaviors in rodents.In behavioral ecology, alloparental care is considered reproductive altruism, which is costly to the actor and benefi ts the recipient.The evolution of helping is thought to be predicted from the theory of kin selection.Among rodents, however, helping is unlikely to evolve simply through kin selection.A more appropriate explanation is that helping is a by-product of the evolution of sociality (i.e., the transition to a family-group lifestyle).The same applies to the evolution of different cooperative behaviors, most typical of the species living in family groups.Kin selection does not explain the evolution of cooperative behaviors between unrelated individuals, especially in breeding pairs that form family groups.An alternative idea for the evolution of altruistic and cooperative behaviors in rodents is proposed.