Hastings Natural History Reservation

14 Jan, 06 AM - 31 Jan, 12 PM

I am investigating the social and genetic mating system of a free-ranging population of Wild Turkeys at the Hastings Natural History Reservation in Carmel Valley, California. My primary focus is to understand why male turkeys appear to cooperate during the breeding season. Some males are part of coalitions of two to four individuals that display jointly to females and defend those females against other males. A previous study (Watts and Stokes 1971, Sci Am 224(6): 112-118) suggested that these males were brothers, and that kin selection could explain this apparently altruistic behavior. This hypothesis has yet to be tested. I am using modern molecular techniques (microsatellite DNA analysis) as well as a more comprehensive theoretical framework for studying cooperative behavior (reproductive skew theory) to understand why subordinate males in these groups apparently give up their own reproductive opportunities to help another male. My study will also use microsatellite DNA analyses to determine who the father and mother are for offspring in the population. This information will help determine how many males are reproducing, whether females are fertilized by more than one male, and how common it is for females to lay eggs in other females nests.

Visit #2317 @Hastings Natural History Reservation

Approved

Under Project # 1849 | Research

University of California Berkeley - Museum of Vertebrate Zoology

graduate_student - University of California, Berkeley

Reservation Members(s)

Alan Krakauer Jan 14 - 31, 2004 (18 days)

Reserve Resources(s) | Create Invoice

Fanny's Cabin/Caboose 1 Jan 14 - 31, 2004