3.6 - Social Behaviour Flashcards
what is a social hierarchy
a rank order within a group of animals
what type of members does a social hierarchy consist of?
dominant and subordinate
what do dominant individuals carry out?
ritualistic (threat) displays
what do subordinate individuals carry out?
appeasement behaviour to reduce conflict
what does a social hierarchy do to inheritance of genes by offspring?
increases the chance of the dominant animal’s favourable genes being passed on to offspring
What can animals do to increase their social status?(in a group)
throw a party… ha jk they actually form alliances in the group (in a social hierarchy)
give all positive reasons for co-operative hunting
-benefits subordinate individuals
-benefits dominant individuals
-increases food foraged
-less energy used per individual
-enables larger prey to be caught
-increases chance of success
(no negative reasons given)
give the 2 social defence strategies
- some individuals watch for predators while others forage for food
- specialised formations to protect young when under attack
what is the benefit of social defence stratagies?
increased chance of survival
what is an altruistic behaviour?
one which harms the donor individual but benefits the recipient
what is reciprocal altruism?
when roles of donor and recipient are swapped in altruistic behaviours- often occurs in social animals
where is seemingly altruistic behaviour common?
in related animals (kin)
the following is an explanation of what? “favours the reproductive success of an organism’s relatives, even at a cost to the organism’s own survival and reproduction”
kin selection
why does kin selection occur?
to increase the chance of the survival of shared genes by the recipients offspring or future offspring
name 4 social insects
bees,wasps,ants,termites
what types of insect individual contribute reproductively?
queens and drones
what are the majority of insects in a colony?
sterile
give examples of workers’ roles
defending the hive, collecting pollen and carrying out waggle dances
what are waggle dances?
dances to indicates the direction, distance and quality of food
what do sterile workers do in terms of relatives?
raise them to increase the survival of shared genes
what group of animals has a long period of parental care?
primates
why do primates have a long period of parental care?
to learn complex social behaviour
what do complex social behaviours do to the social hierarchy?
support it
why do complex social behaviours support the social hierarchy
they reduce conflict through ritualistic display and appeasement behaviour
give the 4 types of ritualistic display/appeasement behaviour
grooming, facial expression, body posture, sexual presentation
primates form ……… between individuals to increase social status
alliances
