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Science 11 July 1975:
Vol. 189. no. 4197, pp. 142 - 143
DOI: 10.1126/science.189.4197.142
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Articles

Mountain Bluebirds: Experimental Evidence Against Altruism

Harry W. Power 1

1 Department of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48104

The frequency of true altruism in nature requires assessment because, if true altruism is common, Darwin's theory of natural selection is inadequate to account for all of evolution. An experiment provided birds with the opportunity to behave truly altruistically. One member of each of 25 wild pairs was collected. Ten of these were replaced naturally by courting birds, or consorts. Only one consort fostered the young of her prospective mate, and her behavior was interpretable as a reproductive error. Other consorts behaved reproductively selfishly.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Repeated Copulation and Sperm Precedence: Paternity Assurance for a Male Brooding Water Bug.
R. L. SMITH (1979)
Science 205, 1029-1031
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Nest Guard Replacement in the Antarctic Fish Harpagifer bispinis: Possible Altruistic Behavior.
R. A. DANIELS (1979)
Science 205, 831-833
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Nepotism and the Evolution of Alarm Calls.
P. W. Sherman (1977)
Science 197, 1246-1253
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Altruism in Mountain Bluebirds?.
S. T. EMLEN (1976)
Science 191, 808-809
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