Wild Turkey Behavior

Rio Grande Wild Turkeys are the only native bird in the United States that forms cooperative display coalitions, or when multiple males cooperate to attract females but only one male (the alpha male) in the group mates with females. Originally proposed without genetic data in the 70s by Dr. Robert Watts, Dr. Alan Krakauer found during his dissertation in the early 2000s that coalitions of male Rio Grande Wild Turkeys are comprised of brothers more than you would expect by chance alone. Therefore, brothers that cooperate and don't breed pass on more of their genes by helping their brother obtain mates than if they were to attempt to breed as a single displaying male. This route to the evolution of cooperation is called kin selection.

In future behavioral studies, I am interested in studying the proximate mechanisms of cooperation in Rio Grande Wild Turkeys, or how cooperation is maintained and coordinated. Specifically, I am investigating how social environment, relatedness between individuals, and parasite/disease presence impacts cooperation and reproductive success.