Researchers Find Out How Male And Female Ostriches Select Their Groups
Update: 2022-10-24 19:45 IST
Researchers Find Out How Male And Female Ostriches Select Their Groups
A recent study from Sweden's Lund University shows the order to comprehend the advantages and disadvantages of living in a group. The researchers observed ostriches in variously sized groups over a seven-year period and find out the ways they choose their groups. Each breeding season, experimental ostrich groups were formed by putting various ratios of males and females into enclosures.
The size of the groups matched what was observed in the wild. The ostriches' normal cooperative incubation behaviour was hindered for a portion of the breeding season by temporarily removing eggs.
The number of men and females in the group as well as cooperation about incubation allowed the researchers to quantify the group's reproductive success, which was expressed in the number of offspring born. It was demonstrated that men and women have diverse interests, and this was especially evident in the medium-sized groups. Even after the females had begun to focus more on egg incubation, the males still desired to mate with them. As a result, numerous eggs were broken.
Furthermore, the balance between competition and cooperation within the group, as well as between the sexes, determines the ideal group size. However, Ostriches collaborate to overcome the difficulties of parenting, much like people do. In a communal nest, groups reproduce, and individuals alternate turning the eggs. However, there can be fierce competition for mates and whose eggs get incubated as a result of this cooperative breeding.