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.种群成员间共享繁殖产出的程度，由群内（如种群规模与群体组成）及群间（如领地密度与邻体位置）两类特征共同调控。尽管已有诸多研究探讨了社会群体内部的繁殖模式，但鲜有研究同时探究群内与群间社会结构对这类模式的影响。本研究以群居合作繁殖鱼类饰鳍新亮丽鲷（Neolamprologus pulcher）的36个野生种群为研究对象，剖析了种群规模、群体结构，以及领地密度与巢群内位置如何影响亲子归属（parentage）。结果显示，优势雄性可繁育其种群内76%的子代，优势雌性则产下了种群内82%的后代；从属个体的繁殖行为十分常见，在47%的被采样种群中均有发生。从属雄性在高密度区域的种群，以及拥有较多从属雄性的种群中，可获得更高的父权占比。在种群规模较大、且拥有较多繁殖成熟从属个体的种群中，优势雌雄个体的亲子归属丢失率更高，但该现象仅存在于巢群边缘的种群中。据我们所知，本研究首次对野生饰鳍新亮丽鲷（Neolamprologus pulcher）种群内的繁殖共享情况进行了全面量化，该物种亦是合作行为与社会行为研究的经典模式物种。此外，本研究证实，配偶外父权（extra-pair parentage）的发生频率在微小的社会与空间尺度上存在显著差异。