'Wingman' -- how buddies help alpha males get the girl

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Alpha and beta lance-tailed manakins dance for an attentive female. Photograph by Emily DuVal
Alpha and beta lance-tailed manakins dance for an attentive female. Photograph by Emily DuVal

Why do some individuals sacrifice their own self-interest to help others? The evolution and maintenance of cooperative behavior is a classic puzzle in evolutionary biology. In some animal societies, cooperation occurs in close-knit family groups and kin selection explains apparently selfless behavior. Not so for the lance-tailed manakin.


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