Male characteristics used by females in choosing mates for good genes
may also reflect outcomes of male-male competition. The extravagantly
ornamented Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo is an appropriate species i
n which to test this relationship. Wild Turkeys have a highly competit
ive social system in which combat and other dominance interactions bet
ween males are common throughout the year. Tn this study dyadic domina
nce trials between unfamiliar captive males demonstrated that a male's
relative snood length, a character previously shown to be used by fem
ales in mate choice, is also predictive of the outcome of male-mare co
mpetition. Complementary trials using artificial males confirmed that
live males assess the snood length of potential competitors independen
t of other male characteristics. In an earlier study snood length was
shown to be negatively correlated with coccidian parasite load and pos
itively correlated with male condition in free-living Wild Turkeys.