Therefore, animals capable of taking note of conditions should evolve so that they change the amount of time they allocate to care of the young in response to changes in those conditions. The model is simple, but the expectation is matched by many observations of birds increasing the parental care devoted to their offspring when their mate deserts or disappears.

XREF: This is classic parental investment theory, connected to Trivers and Clutton-Brock. The observation about mate desertion inducing increased care is a textbook finding in behavioral ecology.

Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking…, loc. 405