ABSTRACT
Parental care is any investment by a parent that increases the survival or reproductive success of its offspring, typically at a cost to the parent’s growth, survival or future reproduction (Clutton-Brock 1991; Royle et al. 2012). This broad defi nition of care covers a tremendous diversity of behavior exhibited by organisms across the animal kingdom. Parental care can occur prior to fertilization, during embryo development, and can continue well after nutritional dependence. It can be provided by either the mother or father (uniparental care) or by both parents (biparental care).
