Animal Behavior: Group living and social behaviour lecture 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

What are Primates?

A

-Primates are uniquely social compared to other mammals
- Involves “ social attraction”
- seek proximity to one another independently of environmental stimuli
- Primates want to be together when not particular function
- their social organization is more complex than other animals
- argued that sociality is thought to be at the very core of primate existence- it is a primate’s principal evolutionary strategy, and what makes them different from all other species
- differentiated withing group relationships
- marked social boundaries
- occurence of kin - biased social relationships
- influence of allies in some species
- combination of each of these features in unique in each primate species
- Primates form groups because mixed - sex groups that are together year- round are rare amongst mammals
- group living is costly
- factors associate with group- living reduce individual reproductive success

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2
Q

What are the costs to group living?

A
  • more easily attract predators
  • competition for access to food or mates
  • increased food requirements, increased time spent searching for food
  • increased disease transmission
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3
Q

what are the benefits to group - living

A
  • resource defence hypothesis
  • predation hypothesis
  • can out compete other groups in inter- troop competition
  • more individuals means more knowledge of resources
  • detection: more eyes to see predators
  • more individuals to band together to mob a predator
  • less likely to be eaten by a predator via the “ dilution effect”
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4
Q

what is resource defence hypothesis?

A

-Being in a group improves access to resources for individuals compared to being alone
- being in a group improves the ability of females to find and defend resources - they couldn’t do this as well if they were alone with infants

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5
Q

What is predation defence hypothesis?

A

3Ds

  • detection: more eyes to see predators
  • detterence more individuals to mob a predator
  • dilution: less likely to be eaten by a predator via the “ dilution effect
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6
Q

What is philopatry?

A

when an individual shows the tendency to remain in their natal group

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7
Q

what is female philopatry?

A

when females in a species show the tendency to remain in their birth group for their lifetimes
- females are matrilocal ( they live in the same group as their maternal kin)
- matrilines form( females are related to one another through maternal descent)

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8
Q

what is male philopatry?

A

when males in a species stay in their birth group
- males are patrilocal: they live in the same group as their paternal kin
- male patrilines form: males are related to one another through paternal descent

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9
Q

what is dispersal

A

refers to the emigration from a social group ( leaving a group)

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10
Q

what is male- biased dispersal?

A

males typically leave the group
- is most common type in mammals and primates
- is found where females are philopatric

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11
Q

what is female - biased dispersal?

A

females leaving the group
- occurs with male philopatry; less common

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12
Q

What are the reasons for dispersal?

A
  • inbreeding avoidance
  • better mating opportunities elsewhere
  • competition over resources
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13
Q

What is solitary/ semi - solitary?

A

Offspring live w/ mother until old enough to fend themselves
- animals only come together to mate

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14
Q

what is pair living?

A

one male, one female and offspring
- live together in same territory or home range

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15
Q

What is is single - male groups?

A
  • used to be called “harems”
  • 1 male with 2 or more females
  • some “bachelor” groups w/ this type of social system
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16
Q

What is multi- male or multi - female groups?

A

multiple adults of each sex

17
Q

What is fission- fusion type?

A

Social groups split into smaller feeding parties

18
Q

What is multi male, single female?

A

1 female with 2 or more males and offspring
- males provide extensive parental care

19
Q

What is monogamy?

A

1 male mates with 1 female exclusively

20
Q

What is EPCs

A

copulations outside a mated pair
- recent research has shown than 12% of gibbon copulations are EPC
- paternity tests in gibbons have shown many infants are produced by EPCs
- EPCs due to both males sneaking copulations with neighbouring females, and females sneaking copulations with neighbouring males

21
Q

what is Polyandry

A

1 female mates with multiple males, but each male mates only with that female
- only one reproductively active female in group of many females
- dominants do this by using pheromones to suppress the hormonal system of the subordinate females so they do not ovulate
- lower ranking females do not ovulate until they leave the group or the breeding female dies

  • males would provide care for the infants of female because they may have sired them
22
Q

What is polygyny?

A

1 male mates with multiple females but each female mates only with that male
- The male would actively try to prevent other males from trying to takeover group and gain sexual access to females
- usually associated with intense sexual dimorphism in body and canine size
- male - male competition
- can take toll on even the strongest and healthiest males
- when sexual access to females is taken over by another male, if male is not killed, they will have to live alone or join an all - male group

23
Q

What is polygynandry?

A

both males and females mate with multiple members of the opposite sex
- most dominant male may try to monopolize matings by mate - guarding
- dominant male can only mate- guard one female at a time, so if females have synchronous estrus periods, he cannot monopolize both
- females secure best possible genes for offspring by mating with many males

24
Q

How is dominance measured?

A
  • outcome of agonistic interactions
25
Q

How is dominance status communicated

A
  • Presentations ( submissive signal)
  • displacements( also called supplants
  • bared teeth display
  • mounting
  • open - mouthed stare
26
Q

What are the benefits of dominance?

A
  • confers priority of access to resources ( female - improves body condition)
  • for males, leads to higher mating and reproductive success
27
Q

How do individuals attain dominance?

A
  • can climb hierarchy by challenging more dominant animals
  • can leave social group and enter another at a higher rank
28
Q

What are the reasons for affiliative behaviors?

A

Reciprocal altruism: behaviors that are costly to the actor but beneficial to the recipient and reciprocated by the recipient