Cooperative Display and Relatedness Among Males in a Lek-Mating Bird

• DOI: 10.1126/science.7973654
• Publication Date: 2006-10-06T00:01:25Z
• Authors: David B. McDonald; Wayne K. Potts
• Keywords: Reciprocity; Altruism

Long-tailed manakins mate in leks and cooperate multiyear male-male partnerships. An alpha male is responsible for virtually all mating, whereas a beta assists the courtship displays. Such altruism by poses problem evolutionary theory because most theoretical treatments empirical examples of cooperative behavior involve kin selection or reciprocity. Here it shown that partners are not relatives reciprocity involved. Instead, direct, though long-delayed benefits to males demonstrated, which include rare copulations, ascension status, female lek fidelity. These maintain this unusual form cooperation.