Testing the effects of kinship, reciprocity and dominance on prosocial food provisioning in azure-winged magpies (Cyanopica cyana), carrion crows (Corvus corone) and common ravens (C. corax)

Abstract

Prosocial behaviour (i.e. benefitting others without receiving a direct gain) has long been perceived as an evolutionary puzzle but is nevertheless relatively common among non-human animals. Prosocial food provisioning has recently been documented in several large-brained bird species, such as corvids and parrots. Yet, to date, little is known about which factors influence food provisioning in these species. Here, we investigated whether kinship, reciprocity and dominance affected food provisioning in the group service paradigm in three corvid species, namely azure-winged magpies (Cyanopica cyana), carrion crows (Corvus corone) and common ravens (C. corax). In this paradigm, the subjects are tested in their regular social groups and can choose to make food available to their group members by landing on a simple seesaw apparatus. We found no evidence for an effect of kinship or reciprocity on food provisioning. Contrary to our predictions, the subjects' dominance was not positively correlated with their rate of food provisioning in any species. Among ravens, dominance was instead positively correlated with receiving food. We conclude that preferential provisioning for kin and direct reciprocity might have been impeded by the provider's inability to control who receives the food in the group service paradigm, but that our findings provide another piece of evidence that dominance is a highly important factor in the social interactions of common ravens.