Data from: Reproductive sharing in relation to group and colony-level attributes in a cooperative breeding fish

The degree to which group members share reproduction is dictated by both
within-group (e.g. group size and composition) and between-group (e.g.
density and position of neighbours) characteristics. While many studies
have investigated reproductive patterns within social groups, few have
simultaneously explored how within-group and between-group social
structure influence these patterns. Here, we investigated how group size
and composition, along with territory density and location within the
colony, influenced parentage in 36 wild groups of a colonial,
cooperatively breeding fish Neolamprologus pulcher. Dominant males sired
76% of offspring in their group, whereas dominant females mothered 82% of
offspring in their group. Subordinate reproduction was frequent, occurring
in 47% of sampled groups. Subordinate males gained more paternity in
groups located in high-density areas and in groups with many subordinate
males. Dominant males and females in large groups and in groups with many
reproductively mature subordinates had higher rates of parentage loss, but
only at the colony edge. Our study provides, to our knowledge, the first
comprehensive quantification of reproductive sharing among groups of wild
N. pulcher, a model species for the study of cooperation and social
behaviour. Further, we demonstrate that the frequency of extra-pair
parentage differs across small social and spatial scales.