15. Human Behavioural Ecology Flashcards
What four things have been shaped in humans via natural selection over hundreds of thousands of years?
Morphology
Life history
Behaviour
Psychology
Around 10,000 years ago what occurred?
The discovery of agriculture - domestication of plants and animals
Around 8,000 years ago most humans relied on what?
Farming
How many hunter-gatherer societies are there in the present day?
53 listed (1999)
How many hunter-gatherer societies are there in the present day?
53 listed (1999)
Why do some scientist chose to study ‘traditional’ societies? (Hunter-gatherer)
They lack access to modern medicine and technology so have the best chance of detecting presence of cost/benefits which have shaped behaviour
Why do some scientist chose to study ‘traditional’ societies? (Hunter-gatherer)
They lack access to modern medicine and technology so have the best chance of detecting presence of cost/benefits which have shaped behaviour
Why do some scientist chose to study ‘traditional’ societies? (Hunter-gatherer)
They lack access to modern medicine and technology so have the best chance of detecting presence of cost/benefits which have shaped behaviour
What explanations are there for differences between how males and females hunt?
Males hunt large animal prey, females gather plant material and other small package resources.
Possibly division of labour, possibly male hunting used as a method of ‘showing off’
What explanations are there for differences between how males and females hunt?
Males hunt large animal prey, females gather plant material and other small package resources.
Possibly division of labour, possibly male hunting used as a method of ‘showing off’
What is the polygyny threshold model?
Polygynous where the male has a high quality territory, monogamous where the male has a low quality territory
In what kind of mating systems is bridewealth particularly common?
In polygynous systems - males have high quality resources and high male-male competition.
What three factors can influence human parental investment?
1) future success of sons vs daughters (greater prospects = more PI)
2) who provides the help (help givers = more PI)
3) who competes for reproduction (more intense competition = less PI)
What three factors can influence human parental investment?
1) future success of sons vs daughters (greater prospects = more PI)
2) who provides the help (help givers = more PI)
3) who competes for reproduction (more intense competition = less PI)
Poor (human) parents invest in which offspring?
That which has the lowest variance in reproductive success
In what four ways is the human life history unusual?
Low adult mortality rate
Long period of offspring dependency
Short interbirth interval
Early reproductive cessation (menopause)
What is the ‘grandmother hypothesis’ (Hamilton 1966)
Natural selection can favour post-reproductive survival if older females assist kin to survive or reproduce
In what ways can the grandmother hypothesis be supported / faulted?
It can explain the benefits of post-reproductive survival but not why they stopped reproducing in the first place.
In what ways can the grandmother hypothesis be supported / faulted?
It can explain the benefits of post-reproductive survival but not why they stopped reproducing in the first place.
Why is the grandmother hypothesis insufficient?
Ignores reproductive conflict.
What is one prediction about the onset of early reproductive cessation when looking at ancestral hominids?
It was an adaptation to minimise reproductive overlap (and competition) between generations
What is one prediction about the onset of early reproductive cessation when looking at ancestral hominids?
It was an adaptation to minimise reproductive overlap (and competition) between generations
Many other cooperatively breeding species see a separation of reproductive generations - how do they differ from humans?
The older females reproduce whilst the younger females are reproductively suppressed
Many other cooperatively breeding species see a separation of reproductive generations - how do they differ from humans?
The older females reproduce whilst the younger females are reproductively suppressed
