Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.11.06.371567v1?rss=1 Authors: Dakin, R., Clunis, P., Ryder, T. B. Abstract: Social reciprocity is thought to be the most important driver of cooperation among non-kin, but its effects on complex social networks in the wild have not been studied. Here, we test whether reciprocation can explain social dynamics in a cooperative bird, the wire-tailed manakin (Pipra filicauda). Over three years of study, we observed that territory holding males engaged in far more reciprocated (bidirectional) partnerships with other territory holders than expected by chance. Reciprocated partnerships were also stronger (i.e., the partners interacted more frequently) than non-reciprocated partnerships, controlling for spatial proximity. Furthermore, we show that a male's social contribution to a given partner was predictive of the number of social interactions he received from that same partner. Finally, we show that reciprocation predicted the long-term stability of a partnership one year later. Together, these results demonstrate that reciprocity can stabilize cooperation within a broader social network. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info