Evolution of sex differences in cooperation can be explained by trade-offs with dispersal

Explaining the evolution of sex differences in cooperation remains a major challenge. Comparative studies highlight that offspring of the more philopatric sex tend to be more cooperative within their family groups than those of the more dispersive sex but we do not understand why. The leading “Philopatry hypothesis” proposes that the more philopatric sex cooperates more because their higher likelihood of natal breeding increases the direct fitness benefits of natal cooperation. However, the “Dispersal trade-off hypothesis” proposes that the more dispersive sex cooperates less because preparations for dispersal, such as extra-territorial prospecting, trade-off against natal cooperation. Here, we test both hypotheses in cooperatively breeding white-browed sparrow weavers (Plocepasser mahali), using a novel high-resolution automated radio-tracking method. First, we show that males are the more dispersive sex (a rare reversal of the typical avian sex difference in dispersal) and that, consistent with the predictions of both hypotheses, females contribute substantially more than males to cooperative care while within the natal group. However, the Philopatry hypothesis cannot readily explain this female-biased cooperation, as females are not more likely than males to breed within their natal group. Instead, our radio-tracking findings support the Dispersal trade-off hypothesis: males conduct pre-dispersal extra-territorial prospecting forays at higher rates than females and prospecting appears to trade-off against natal cooperation. Our findings thus highlight that the evolution of sex differences in cooperation could be widely attributable to trade-offs between cooperation and dispersal; a potentially general explanation that does not demand that cooperation yields direct fitness benefits.