Reciprocal Altruism and Spite in Gulls: A Comment

Pierotti (1980) recently has suggested that certain behaviors observed at two gull (Larus ) colonies represent examples of reciprocal altruism and spiteful behavior. Given the central importance of these concepts otsociobiological theory, the authors believes a reinterpretation of Pierotti's results is in order. Specifically, he suggests that inexact definition and lack of due consideration of alternative explanations cast doubt on the interpretations of those data.