DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Cooperation and Conflict within Reproductive Coalitions of Wild Turkeys (Meleagris Gallopavo)

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DDIG: Cooperation and Conflict within Reproductive Coalitions of Wild TurkeysCo-PI: Walter D. KoenigCo-PI: Eileen A. LaceyDoctoral student: Alan H. KrakauerMales wild turkeys form stable coalitions during the breeding season that cooperatively court females. This cooperative behavior is puzzling because of the intense competition among males for females. The project will determine genetic relatedness among coalitions of male turkeys and provide a comprehensive view of the benefits keeping subordinate males in groups. The theoretical framework used will be reproductive skew theory, a rapidly evolving field that seeks to explain how reproduction is partitioned within social groups. Low status males may profit through direct reproduction, through indirect reproduction by helping a related group member, or by inheriting the dominant position at some time in the future. Reproductive skew models provide quantitative predictions to determine what combination of these three benefits are important for the formation and maintenance of male coalitions. These predictions will be tested by combining behavioral and genetic data on a free-ranging wild turkey population in central coastal California.