Habitat saturation, benefits of philopatry, relatedness, and the extent of co-operative breeding in a cichlid

Co-operative breeding in vertebrates may emerge due to subordinates delaying dispersal when free breeding habitat is not available (‘habitat saturation’ hypothesis, HS). However, delayed dispersal might also be due to younger individuals postponing dispersal to when they are more competitively able or have more to gain from breeding independently (“benefits-of-philopatry” hypothesis, BP) or to when inclusive fitness benefits no longer outweigh...