Barbara König is an ethologist whose work investigates cooperation and reproductive conflict in house mice. Her University of Zurich profile identifies her specialization in animal behaviour, while the university-hosted publication list links the full name to the1993 paper originally published under the byline B.König.[ref]
Barbara König profile in the University of Zurich Women in Science series. Official2017 profile: full name and specialization
[ref]Publications by Barbara König at the University of Zurich. Header and1993 Maternal investment entry: author identity
Barbara König, from the portrait linked in her official University of Zurich profile
. Her1993 communal breeding study compared solitary breeding females with familiar sister pairs and initially unfamiliar unrelated pairs. It measured offspring at weaning, distinguishing the number of litters and their size from the number and combined mass of young successfully reared. The familiar-sister comparison showed that shared care could improve a reproductive outcome without simply increasing the number of litters.[ref]
Maternal investment of communally nursing female house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) by B. König. Primary Abstract: comparison groups and measured reproductive outcomes
An original measurement example illustrates the distinction. Two females might each produce a litter of six, yet rear different numbers of young to weaning. Equal litter counts and equal initial litter sizes would then coexist with different rearing success. A study of social cooperation needs to specify which of those outcomes it measures.
The comparison also motivates careful controls: relatedness, familiarity and social circumstances need not vary independently. König's work turns a broad question about why animals share care into testable comparisons of behavior and individual reproductive consequences. The historical university profile is used for identity and specialization, rather than for a claim about a current appointment.
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