BEHAVIORAL COMPENSATION FOR MATE LOSS IN THE BURYING BEETLE NICROPHORUS-ORBICOLLIS

Brood-care behaviour by single parents was studied in the burying beetle Nicrophorus orbicollis by comparing the time budgets of single males, single females, paired males, and paired females. Single females regurgitated to larvae for a longer duration than single males on the third day of brood care, but there were no other significant differences between single males and single females in either the frequency or duration of brood-care behaviour. Both single males and single females regurgitated to larvae and maintained the carrion more frequently than paired males and females, respectively. The increase in larval provisioning and carrion maintenance resulted in single parents guarding the brood less frequently and for a shorter duration than did their paired counterparts. The data suggest that male and female burying beetles increase their brood-care behaviour to compensate for the loss of a mate. Behavioural compen- sation foe mate loss has been reported in several bird species, and in one fish species; and this study may represent the first demonstration of compensation for mate loss in an invertebrate. © 1993 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.