Parental effects on inbreeding depression in a beetle with obligate parental care.

Inbreeding depression occurs when individuals who are closely related mate and produce offspring with reduced fitness. Although inbreeding depression is a genetic phenomenon, the magnitude of inbreeding depression can be influenced by environmental conditions and parental effects. In this study, we tested whether size-based parental effects influence the magnitude of inbreeding depression in an insect with elaborate and obligate parental care (the burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis).