Prospecting precedes dispersal and increases survival chances in cooperatively breeding cichlids

When and where to disperse is a major life history decision with crucial fitness consequences. Before dispersing, individuals may benefit from checking the suitability of potential future habitats. In highly social species, such prospecting may be directed towards other groups rather than alternative habitats. This may increase familiarity with neighbours and help individuals to successfully integrate into their group. Previous research on the cooperatively breeding cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher revealed that individuals frequently engage in between-group prospecting. In this study, a combination of long-term observational data and experimental manipulations in the natural habitat of these fish suggests that prospecting increases survival, improves familiarity with members of neighbouring groups and serves to prepare individuals for between-group dispersal. Our findings highlight that dispersal in cooperative breeders can be a complex process involving interactions of potential dispersers with members of both the current group and groups that are possible targets of dispersal. Members of these groups may have divergent fitness interests regarding decisions of potentially dispersing individuals, which may have selected for the subtle preparation for intergroup dispersal observed in these cooperative cichlids.