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Direct and indirect benefits of cooperation in collective defense against predation.

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Title: Direct and indirect benefits of cooperation in collective defense against predation.
Authors: Ritter, Raphael1, Helanterä, Heikki2, Tynkkynen, Riikka3, Wutke, Saskia2,4, Lindstedt, Carita1 carita.lindstedt-kareksela@helsinki.fi
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 3/17/2026, Vol. 123 Issue 11, p1-11. 36p.
Subjects: Cooperation, Kin selection (Evolution), Animal social behavior, Larval physiology, Predation, Cooperativeness
Abstract: The evolution and maintenance of public goods cooperation, despite cheating, remains a key interest in social biology. Identifying how ecological factors determine the direct and indirect benefits that maintain cooperation has proven challenging, as these can vary significantly across species and environments. Here, we study this problem using the social pine sawfly Neodiprion sertifer (Hymenoptera) as a model system. During their larval stage, N. sertifer live in groups and collectively secrete a defensive fluid against predators. This behavior comprises a public good as it is costly to exhibit and beneficial to others, and individuals vary in their contribution to group defense. We experimentally manipulated individual contributions to defense to assess how these influence survival under natural insect predation. Our results indicate that defense has a group-level benefit as individuals were more likely to survive in cooperative groups with a higher proportion of defending larvae. Moreover, being able to deploy defensive fluid confers direct survival benefits. Genetic and phenotypic analyses of natural populations further show that kin selection promotes collective defense, as groups of larvae are often composed of full siblings. We also find that the contribution to defense is female-biased and diminishes in larger, more male-biased groups, and to some extent with decreased kinship, indicating that individuals adjust their contributions based on social context. Overall, we find that contribution to the collective defense provides both direct and indirect benefits and that individuals regulate their contributions mainly based on the social environment, resulting in variation within and among natural populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 192860031
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
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  Data: Direct and indirect benefits of cooperation in collective defense against predation.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cooperation%22">Cooperation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Kin+selection+%28Evolution%29%22">Kin selection (Evolution)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Animal+social+behavior%22">Animal social behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Larval+physiology%22">Larval physiology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Predation%22">Predation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cooperativeness%22">Cooperativeness</searchLink>
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  Data: The evolution and maintenance of public goods cooperation, despite cheating, remains a key interest in social biology. Identifying how ecological factors determine the direct and indirect benefits that maintain cooperation has proven challenging, as these can vary significantly across species and environments. Here, we study this problem using the social pine sawfly Neodiprion sertifer (Hymenoptera) as a model system. During their larval stage, N. sertifer live in groups and collectively secrete a defensive fluid against predators. This behavior comprises a public good as it is costly to exhibit and beneficial to others, and individuals vary in their contribution to group defense. We experimentally manipulated individual contributions to defense to assess how these influence survival under natural insect predation. Our results indicate that defense has a group-level benefit as individuals were more likely to survive in cooperative groups with a higher proportion of defending larvae. Moreover, being able to deploy defensive fluid confers direct survival benefits. Genetic and phenotypic analyses of natural populations further show that kin selection promotes collective defense, as groups of larvae are often composed of full siblings. We also find that the contribution to defense is female-biased and diminishes in larger, more male-biased groups, and to some extent with decreased kinship, indicating that individuals adjust their contributions based on social context. Overall, we find that contribution to the collective defense provides both direct and indirect benefits and that individuals regulate their contributions mainly based on the social environment, resulting in variation within and among natural populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1073/pnas.2520025123
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Animal social behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Larval physiology
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      – SubjectFull: Predation
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              Text: 3/17/2026
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