You probably already know that turkeys engage in courtship behavior. They blush and fan their tails and strut around while emitting a low drumming noise. How attractive!
It is if you're a female turkey. Sometimes, though, male turkey siblings pair up and pool their courtship resources: the more dominant turkey goes after the female, while the subordinate turkey acts as a wingman--get it, wing-man--by acting like a backup dancer and keeping the other males away.
But if the goal of mating is to spread your genes, why would the subordinate turkey put all his eggs in his brother's basket?
This behavior is an example of the evolutionary principle of kin selection. Kin selection might not benefit an individual, but it does help out the group as a whole.
And, according to a one study, when you sit down and do the numbers, kin selection can really pay off. Turkeys that courted on their own produced, on average, less than one offspring over the course of the study. In comparison, the dominant turkey in each courtship pair produced, on average, seven offspring over the same time span. Since the subordinate turkey shares genes with the dominant turkey, this means that without doing any actual copulating, the subordinate turkey gets his genes into the equivalent of more than one and a half offspring when he supports his more dominant brother.
And that's much better that he could do on his own. Pretty smart for a turkey, huh?
Read more
- Female Turkeys Prefer Long Snoods
- Earth Eats - Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Found In Turkey Samples
- Traffic Noise And Mating Crickets
Sources
- UC Berkeley News - In The Mating Game, Male Wild Turkeys Benefit Even When They Don't Get The Girl
- Nature - Kin Selection And Cooperative Courtship In Wild Turkeys
D: On today's show: dating strategies from turkeys.
Y: Humans or birds?
D: Birds, of course. You probably already know that turkeys engage in courtship behavior. They blush and fan their tails and strut around while emitting a low drumming noise.
Y: Attractive.
D: It is if you're a female turkey. Sometimes, though, male turkey siblings pair up and pool their courtship resources: the more dominant turkey goes after the female, while the subordinate turkey acts as a wingman--get it, wing-man--by acting like a backup dancer and keeping the other males away.
Y: Terrible pun, Don.
D: I liked it.
Y: Okay, but if the goal is to spread your genes, why would the subordinate turkey put all his eggs in his brother's basket?
D: Leave the puns to the expert, Yael. This behavior is an example of the evolutionary principle of kin selection.
Y: Let me guess--that's where you do something that might not benefit you as an individual, but benefits your kin group as a whole.
D: Right. And, according to a one study, when you sit down and do the numbers, kin selection can really pay off. Turkeys that courted on their own produced, on average, less than one offspring over the course of the study. In comparison, the dominant turkey in each courtship pair produced, on average, seven offspring over the same time span. Since the subordinate turkey shares genes with the dominant turkey, this means that without doing any actual copulating, the subordinate turkey gets his genes into the equivalent of more than one and a half offspring when he supports his more dominant brother.
Y: And that's much better that he could do on his own.
D: Pretty smart for a turkey, huh?