Editing Behavioral ecology (section)

====Within species====
Within species cooperation occurs among members of the same species.  Examples of intraspecific cooperation include cooperative breeding (such as in weeper capuchins) and cooperative foraging (such as in wolves). There are also forms of cooperative defense mechanisms, such as the "fighting swarm" behavior used by the stingless bee ''[[Tetragonula carbonaria]]''.<ref name=gloag2008>{{cite journal |author=Gloag, R. |year=2008 |title=Nest defence in a stingless bee: What causes fighting swarms in ''Trigona carbonaria'' (Hymenoptera, Meliponini)? |journal=Insectes Sociaux |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=387–391 |display-authors=etal |doi=10.1007/s00040-008-1018-1|s2cid=44720135 }}</ref> Much of this behavior occurs due to kin selection.  Kin selection allows cooperative behavior to evolve where the actor receives no direct benefits from the cooperation.<ref name=Davies/>

Cooperation (without kin selection) must evolve to provide benefits to both the actor and recipient of the behavior.  This includes reciprocity, where the recipient of the cooperative behavior repays the actor at a later time. This may occur in vampire bats but it is uncommon in non-human animals.<ref name = wilkinson>{{cite journal | author = Wilkinson, G.S. | year = 1984 | title = Reciprocal food sharing in the vampire bat | journal = Nature | volume = 308 | pages = 181–184 | bibcode = 1984Natur.308..181W | doi = 10.1038/308181a0 | issue = 5955| s2cid = 4354558 }}</ref>  Cooperation can occur willingly between individuals when both benefit directly as well.  Cooperative breeding, where one individual cares for the offspring of another, occurs in several species, including [[wedge-capped capuchin#Alloparenting|wedge-capped capuchin]] monkeys.<ref name = obrien4>{{cite journal |author1=O'Brien, Timothy G.  |author2=John G. Robinson  |name-list-style=amp| year = 1991 | title = Allomaternal Care by Female Wedge-Capped Capuchin Monkeys: Effects of Age, Rank and Relatedness | journal  = Behaviour | volume = 119 |issue=1–2  | pages = 30–50 | doi = 10.1163/156853991X00355}}</ref>

Cooperative behavior may also be enforced, where their failure to cooperate results in negative consequences.  One of the best examples of this is [[worker policing]], which occurs in social insect colonies.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ratnieks|first=Francis L. W.|author2=Heikki Helanterä|title=The evolution of extreme altruism and inequality in insect societies|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B|date=October 2009 |volume=364 |issue=1553|pages=3169–3179 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2009.0129 |pmid=19805425 |pmc=2781879}}</ref>

The [[cooperative pulling paradigm]] is a popular experimental design used to assess if and under which conditions animals cooperate. It involves two or more animals pulling rewards towards themselves via an apparatus they can not successfully operate alone.<ref name="de Waal">de Waal, Frans (2016). "Are We Smart Enough To Know How Smart Animals Are?" {{isbn|978-1-78378-305-2}}, p. 276</ref>