ABSTRACT
Cooperation is a commonly observed behaviour both among humans and other animals, and can come in many forms. It includes cooperative breeding, cooperative defense of a resource such as a territory or predator, and cooperative construction (e.g. nests, burrows or mounds). Given its common occurrence, cooperation must come with considerable benefits to be able to persist over many generations in so many different species. A number of theories have been developed over the decades to explain cooperative behaviour, and while some of these have gained considerable support, others have not. Recent advances in how we measure cooperation, combined with the benefits of long-term datasets that allow us to carefully measure the benefits and costs of cooperation, have helped to advance our understanding of cooperative behaviours. In this chapter, I discuss the evidence for direct versus indirect benefits of cooperation, the relationship between cooperation and cognition, and cooperation and environmental conditions.
