University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2013 Male Reproductive Strategies And Mating Displays In The Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris Ocellata) Edward Merrill Hanlon University of Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Hanlon, Edward Merrill, "Male Reproductive Strategies And Mating Displays In The Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris Ocellata)" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 376. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/376 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. MALE REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGIES AND MATING DISPLAYS IN THE OCELLATED TURKEY (MELEAGRIS OCELLATA) Master of Science Department of Biology Edward M. Hanlon August 2013 Copyright Edward M. Hanlon 2013 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT Animal mating systems are often characterized by intense competition for mates and resources. Despite how common this conflict is, mating systems exist in which some adult males of breeding age seem to not participate. These apathetic males may be exhibiting alternative reproductive strategies, or simply delaying maturation to conserve resources for future breeding attempts. In populations of the poorly studied, near-threatened Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata), males have been reported to be either “breeding” or “non-breeding,” apparently irrespective of age, although empirical data are scarce. This thesis has three main objectives for establishing a better understanding of the Ocellated Turkey’s mating system. The first objective is to create an ethogram of Ocellated Turkey mating behavior to facilitate comparisons between studies and with its well-studied congener, the Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo).