The Regulation of Infanticide and Parental Behavior: Implications for Reproductive Success in Male Mice

Abstract
Infanticide has been proposed to be a pathological response to overcrowding or other forms of environmental stress and thus a maladaptive behavior. However, in male house mice this behavior is predictable and is modulated by learning. Committing infanticide can increase a male's reproductive success and in some situations may therefore be an adaptive behavior.