In this video segment from Nature: “My Life as a Turkey”, wildlife artist and naturalist Joe Hutto reflects upon wild turkeys’ complex system of communication. Hutto lived with 16 wild turkeys for more than a year and gained valuable insight into their methods of communication. In this segment, he explains how wild turkeys are able to use their vocalizations to clearly describe different species and to distinguish one species from another. He mentions that he was able to identify over 30 specific calls, as well as inflections wild turkeys use to convey additional meaning. (Note: The segment features voiced narration by Joe Hutto and a recreation of Hutto’s experiences with the wild turkeys by Jeff Palmer.)
Discussion Questions:
- Based on the video, what are some similarities between turkey communication and human language? What are some differences?
- What discoveries did Joe Hutto make about wild turkeys’ communication?
- In the video, Hutto mentions turkeys’ communication system indicates a high level of intelligence. Based on what you saw in the video do you agree or disagree with that statement? Explain your reasoning, using information from the video segment.
Background Essay:
Researchers have long been curious about non-human forms of communication and the type of information animals can transmit to each other. Although scientists debate the details of animal communication, most agree animals are capable of communicating basic messages through vocalizations, movements, smells and other means. Based on research conducted in the past several years, scientists have gained new insights into the communication systems of different animals.
Although some species have complex ways of communicating, there are still major differences between human language and communication systems of non-human species. The main difference is grammar, which enables humans to create an unlimited number of messages by stringing together different words. Humans verbalize sentences they have never heard before, rather than just repeating pre-existing vocalizations. Humans can also discuss abstract concepts and communicate things which are not in their immediate environment. These skills are much more developed in humans than in any other species.
The Nature episode “My Life as a Turkey” illustrates how wildlife artist and naturalist Joe Hutto gained insight into the communication systems of wild turkeys by living with them for over a year. He became a parent to 16 wild turkeys by having them imprint onto him. Imprinting is a biological phenomenon that occurs when animals form attachments and develop a sense of identity in the first few hours and days of their lives. Through his experiences with the turkeys, Hutto was able to identify more than 30 different calls. He discovered meaning was conveyed through different calls, as well as through specific inflections. He discovered the turkeys were able to communicate information about what species they were encountering through their vocalizations. He discovered some calls were intended to alert others to dangers, while others just provided information about the presence of another species or something noteworthy. Through his experience, he was able to understand the meaning of many of the turkeys’ vocalizations.
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National Science Education Standards:
Grades 5-8:
Content Standard C: Life Science
Fundamental concepts and principles that underlie this standard include:
- Regulation and Behavior
- Behavior is one kind of response an organism can make to an internal or environmental stimulus. A behavioral response requires coordination and communication at many levels, including cells, organ systems, and whole organisms. Behavioral response is a set of actions determined in part by heredity and in part from experience.
- An organism’s behavior evolves through adaptation to its environment. How a species moves, obtains food, reproduces, and responds to danger are based in the species’ evolutionary history.
Content Standard G: History and Nature of Science
Fundamental concepts and principles that underlie this standard include:
- Nature of Science
- Scientists formulate and test their explanations of nature using observation, experiments, and theoretical and mathematical models. Although all scientific ideas are tentative and subject to change and improvement in principle, for most major ideas in science, there is much experimental and observational confirmation. Those ideas are not likely to change greatly in the future. Scientists do and have changed their ideas about nature when they encounter new experimental evidence that does not match their existing explanations.
Grades 9-12:
Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry
Fundamental abilities and concepts that underlie this standard include:
- Understandings about Scientific Inquiry
- Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, they may wish to discover new aspects of the natural world, explain recently observed phenomena, or test the conclusions of prior investigations or the predictions of current theories.
Content Standard C: Life Science
Fundamental concepts and principles that underlie this standard include:
- The Behavior of Organisms
- Organisms have behavioral responses to internal changes and to external stimuli. Responses to external stimuli can result from interactions with the organism’s own species and others, as well as environmental changes; these responses either can be innate or learned. The broad patterns of behavior exhibited by animals have evolved to ensure reproductive success. Animals often live in unpredictable environments, and so their behavior must be flexible enough to deal with uncertainty and change. Plants also respond to stimuli.
Content Standard G: History and Nature of Science
Fundamental concepts and principles that underlie this standard include:
- Science as a Human Endeavor
- Individuals and teams have contributed and will continue to contribute to the scientific enterprise. Doing science or engineering can be as simple as an individual conducting field studies or as complex as hundreds of people working on a major scientific question or technological problem. Pursuing science as a career or as a hobby can be both fascinating and intellectually rewarding.
