noun
mass nounZoologyThe killing of a sibling or siblings, as a behaviour pattern typical in various animal groups.
‘Asymmetric larval mobility and the evolutionary transition from siblicide to nonsiblicidal behavior in parasitoid wasps’- ‘The vast majority of this mortality is due to food shortage and/or siblicide, though predation can also be a significant source of mortality.’
- ‘Because obligate siblicide typically occurs shortly after the second chick hatches, brood size does not vary for the majority of the nestling period.’
- ‘Legge showed that the probability of siblicide may be affected both by parental behavior and competitive asymmetries between nestlings.’
- ‘In this article, we examine the life-history consequences of siblicide that feed back to adult parasitoids.’
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