Ecology and Evolution of Social Behavior

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9307502 Koenig This research project aims to study the interplay between competition and cooperation in a highly social species in which groups consist of closely related individuals. Acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) live in permanently territorial family groups of up to 12 individuals. Each group has only a single nest at a time, and all group members aid in incubation and the feeding of nestlings. The primary goal of this project is to use modern molecular techniques (DNA fingerprinting) to determine parentage within groups of different composition. The work continues study of a population consisting entirely of color-marked birds followed since 1971 and will combine banding and behavioral observation of the population with laboratory analyses. The results will help to clarify why some animals live together, how kinship facilitates group living, and the ways that competition is resolved in social species. The results will consequently be of interest to all those studying sociality and behavior, including anthropologists and sociologists as well as behavioral biologists.