Resolving the paradox of environmental quality and sociality: the ecological causes and consequences of cooperative breeding in two lineages of birds

Cooperatively breeding animals occur in virtually every ecosystem on earth. Comparative and biogeographic studies suggest that that both benign and harsh, as well as stable and fluctuating, environments can favor the evolution of cooperative breeding behavior. The fact that cooperative societies occur in environments of such contrasting quality creates a paradox of environmental quality and sociality. The dual-benefits framework—which leads to the prediction that the ecological consequences of sociality (e.g. range size) vary depending on the benefits that individuals of each species receive by forming social groups—offers a potential resolution to this paradox. Here, we use a case study of two avian lineages, starlings (Sturnidae) and hornbills (Bucerotidae), in which environmental unpredictability appears to have opposite effects on the evolution of cooperation to test the dual-benefits framework. Consistent with previous work, harsh and unpredictable environments promote cooperative ...