In animal behaviour

Animal behaviour

Animal behaviour is the subject of:* The field of Ethology* Animal Behaviour, a scientific journal...

, group augmentation occurs when animals living in a group behave so as to increase the group's size. Such behaviour could be selected

Natural selection

Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....

 for if larger groups increase the survival chances of the individuals in the group; therefore individuals could be selected to help raise other animals' offspring (alloparental care) or perform other cooperative acts, even helping unrelated individuals.

The meerkat

Meerkat

The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan"...

Suricata suricatta is one species where group augmentation is suspected to be an important driver of cooperative behaviour.