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Mate guarding, which is defined as " individual males following mates around during critical periods," is something that is very commonly seen in male swallows during the critical pre-egg laying, and egg lying periods. During the 1986 breeding season, Anders Pape Moller wanted to know the importance of mate guarding in these swallows. Two major questions seemed to have been posed at the beginning of the reading. First, what are the costs/benefits to the males and …

…more time away from the nest, it was discovered that the males would guard more intensely. In conclusion, it was determined that it was not just the males behavior which reflected the guarding intensity, it was the behavior of the females, how they acted around the nest, how much weight that had been gained and what they did at night to protect the eggs which affected the presence of the guarding behavior in those males.