Dustin Rubenstein (@dustinrubenstein.com)

@gerrycarter.bsky.social and I wrote a Research Briefing on our lastest @Nature paper looking at reciprocity in superb starlings. You can access the summary of our work here (and the paper itself is OA): www.nature.com/articles/d41...

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Superb starlings swap helper and breeder roles with kin and non-kin | Nature A 20-year field study of the African superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus) found striking evidence that birds often switch breeding roles from year to year by taking turns as ‘breeders’ or each other’s ‘helpers’. This reciprocal assistance was not explained by genetic relatedness (kinship) and required decades of observation to be detected. A 20-year study uncovered a cryptic form of reciprocity between birds over their lifetime. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01374-8.epdf?sharing_token=jZgeC_NULV5p-e_wdUEsk9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MWebV3MEengd3ynzkmdyhmv87DiUPcgzbEkaoZheJ0d-2icPxMMinpmDq_5IudDZ3c6zopeIIsD6ys1Tw0YoVLlarWRIW2iCLIu8NPcE8gUCeLclFe3dOclLle4y9BS88%3D