Battles between competing groups can lead to serious injury or death and intergroup conflict has always been thought to have a negative effect on reproductive success. 

But findings turn that long-held belief on its head. Using a decade of life-history data from a wild population of dwarf mongooses, University of Bristol researchers found that pup survival rate actually increased when the cumulative threat of conflict with rival groups was greater. 

The team conducted detailed behavioural observations of the study groups in South Africa to investigate what might drive the improved pup survival. They found that when rivals or indicators of their recent presence are encountered, adults increase their sentinel (raised guarding) behaviour. 

Read the full University of Bristol news item

‘A positive effect of cumulative intergroup threat on reproductive success’ by Amy Morris-Drake, Ben Cobb, Julie M. Kern and Andrew N. Radford in Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B.