Male group members are costly to plurally breeding Octodon degus females

We report the results of a 6-year study of social (number of adult males/females, relatedness of females, communal litter size) and ecological (mean/CV of food abundance, soil hardness, burrow openings) factors influencing the direct fitness of plurally breeding degu ( Octodon degus ) females. The best fit models for per capita offspring weaned and standardized variance in direct fitness (within-group variation) included the number of adult...