Fig 4. Father Parenting Assessment.

(A) Schematic of behavioural paradigm with fathers. WT (Paired with WT) n = 19, WT (Paired with Magel2-null female) n = 25, Magel2-null n = 22 (B) Task Completion Status at conclusion of Retrieval/Nest Building Task, for a visual aid of the task, see Fig 8C. Fathers were categorised on their ability to rebuild their nest to a level 3 quality and to retrieve the pups into the nest within the one-hour time limit. Percentages of fathers falling within those categories are shown. (C) Time taken to complete the Retrieval/Nest Building Task. Time taken to retrieve all three pups to the area where the nest was rebuilt and to rebuild the nest to a level 3 quality or higher. (D) Time taken to retrieve the first pup to the nest in the Retrieval/Nest Building Task. (E) Time taken to retrieve the final/third pup to the nest in the Retrieval/Nest Building Task and hence completing the retrieval portion of the task. (F) Number of pups retrieved at conclusion of Retrieval/Nest Building Task. Fathers were categorised on the number of pups they successfully retrieved and percentages of fathers falling within those categories are shown. (G) Time taken to re-build the nest within the Retrieval/Nest Building task to a level 3 quality or higher. Time was recorded for when the nest being constructed by the fathers scored a level 3 quality score (the point when the nest takes functional shape). (H) Nest Quality score at conclusion of Retrieval/Nest Building Task. Father’s rebuilt nests were scored from 0–5 upon completion of the test. (I) Proportion of time spent engaged in pup-directed behaviour (PDB) until the final/third pup was retrieved to the nest/until task time expires in the Retrieval/Nest Building Task. Father’s behaviours were scored continuously through the one-hour trial. Pup-directed behaviour included time spent engaging in licking, grooming, sniffing, retrieving pups, alongside nest building and crouching in nest (only while pups were present in the nest). (J) Proportion of time spent engaged in PDB until the final/third pup was retrieved to the nest and the nest was rebuilt to a level 3 standard/until task time expires in the Retrieval/Nest Building Task. (K) Pup preference score in Three Chambers Assessment. Pup preference scores was calculated as time the father spent within a 15cm zone around the pups minus time spent within a 15cm zone around the novel object. Positive values indicate a preference for proximity to pups. Significance for continuous variables determined using one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni-corrected pairwise t tests. Significance for categorical variables determined using Kruskal-Wallis test and Bonferroni-corrected Dunn test. Statistical significance: *p< 0.05, **p< 0.01, and ***p< 0.001. Created with Biorender.