No evidence for parent–offspring competition in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides

摘要

When parents and offspring share food, there should be less left for offspring when parents eat more. We found no evidence that this was the case in burying beetles. Although hungry mothers ate more food, their offspring were just as large and survived just as well when food was limited. However, offspring of hungry mothers fared less well when food was plentiful, presumably reflecting that hungry mothers are poorer parents.