The Behavioral Ecology and Mating System of Wild Turkeys

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.本研究聚焦美国加利福尼亚州卡梅尔谷黑斯廷斯自然历史保护区内的野生自由栖息火鸡种群，探究其社会交配系统与遗传交配系统。本研究的核心目标为阐释野生雄火鸡在繁殖季展现合作行为的内在机制。部分雄火鸡会组成2至4只个体的联盟，共同向雌火鸡进行求偶展示，并协同守护配偶、抵御其他雄火鸡的侵扰。此前一项研究（Watts与Stokes，1971年，《科学美国人》(Scientific American) 224卷第6期：112-118页）提出，该联盟中的雄火鸡均为兄弟关系，亲缘选择（kin selection）理论可解释这一看似利他的行为，但该假说尚未得到实证检验。本研究将运用现代分子技术（微卫星DNA（microsatellite DNA）分析），以及用于研究合作行为的系统性理论框架——繁殖偏倚理论（reproductive skew theory），旨在阐明该种群内从属雄火鸡为何会放弃自身繁殖机会，转而协助其他雄火鸡。此外，本研究还将通过微卫星DNA分析确定该种群子代的父母身份，相关数据将用于明确种群内参与繁殖的雄火鸡数量、雌火鸡是否与多只雄火鸡交配，以及雌火鸡寄巢产卵的发生频率。