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Animal Behaviour > Animal Behaviour > Flashcards

Animal Behaviour Flashcards

1
Q

What is the definition of behaviour

A

The internally coordinated responses (actions or inactions) of whole living organism (individuals or groups) to internal and/or external stimuli, excluding responses more easily understood as developmental changes (Levitis et al. 2009)

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2
Q

Why is understanding animal behaviour important?

A
  1. Aquaculture: post-release mortality - lack of skills to survive such as migration, foraging, avoiding predators
  2. Resolving human-wildlife conflict - Mozambique elephants habitat reducing due to increased farm land
  3. Conservation
  4. Neuroscience - bird song
  5. public engagement - public recognising importance of nature
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3
Q

What are the 2 ways of studying animal behaviour?

A
  1. Question
    Question > What are the benefits of hunting in groups? > Then choose a system
  2. System
    system > field observation > What is your question?
    some people invest in a system i.e. buying a boat
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4
Q

What is an ethogram?

A

A comprehensive list, inventory or description of all the behaviours an organism carries out

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5
Q

What kind of data will ethograms record?

A
  1. Events - Aggression, vocalisation, yawning, sneezing
  2. States - Foraging, movement, singing, mating display
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6
Q

What is an Event?

A

Behaviours of short duration generally counted and not timed

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7
Q

What is a State?

A

Behaviours that occur for an extended duration

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8
Q

What must be taken into account when collecting data?

A
  1. how easy is it to observe
  2. your specific question
  3. how you plan to statistically analyse your data
  4. Constraints e.g. person-power
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9
Q

What are the 5 methods of sampling?

A

I Ad Libitum
II Focal animal
III All occurrences
IV Binary
V Scan sampling

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10
Q

What is sampling I - Ad Libitum

A

Researcher records individual or group behaviours, with little or no reference to specifics, well‑defined methods

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11
Q

What is sampling II - Focal animal

A

Observations of one focal individual. Record either:
all behaviours of individual
all occurrences of specific behaviour/s of interest exhibited during a set period of time

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12
Q

What is sampling III - All occurrences

A

Select one or more specific behavioural events and record every occurrence within the animal group (e.g. every occurrence of grooming, chasing, etc…)

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13
Q

What is sampling IV - Binary

A

Records whether specific behaviours did (1) or did not (0) occur during observation of individual or group, during a set time period.

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14
Q

What is sampling V - Scan sampling

A

Records instantaneous activity or behavioural state of all animals in the group at predetermined time intervals

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15
Q

What 3 types of information do we measure?

A

Latency
Frequency
Duration

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16
Q

As animal behaviour is very hypothesis-driven it is key to…..

A
  • Don’t forget controls
  • Replication is critical
  • Independence of data
  • Robustly test alternate hypotheses
    Tinbergen’s framework
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17
Q

What is Anthropomorphism?

A

applying human qualities (emotions/intentions) to non-human animals or things

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18
Q

What framework is key to understanding animal behaviour?

A

Tinbergen’s framework

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19
Q

How can Tinbergen’s framework be broken down?

A
  • Mechanism - underlying causation
  • Function - impact on fitness
  • Phylogeny - evolutionary history of species
  • Ontogeny - Developmental history of individual
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20
Q

How is Tinbergen’s framework grouped?

A

Proximate - how it works (Mechanism and Ontogeny)
Ultimate - why the behaviour exists ( Function and Phylogeny)
Or is also grouped as
Current - Mechanism and function
Historical - Ontogeny and phylogeny

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21
Q

What is the time it takes to eat and kill and animal called?

A

Handling time

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22
Q

What are the assumptions for the developing foraging theory?

A
  • They will have an animal in front of them and they think do I take this or move on
  • Animals are trying to maximise the rate at which they intake resources
  • If the animal has the better food item it will always take that
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23
Q

What are the factors that the Krebs inequality equation takes into account?

A

T = time spent searching for food (s)
λ = encounter rate for food type (items/s)
r = reward rate for food (J)
h = handling time for food (s/item)

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24
Q

What is the Krebs inequality equation>

A

Sorry im cheap and dont want to buy the pro version, look in your notes lecture 2

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25
Q

What are 2 things to consider when applying krebs theory to biology?

A
  1. Whether an item is eaten depends on how common it
  2. Poorer items should be included in the diet only if better items are rare
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26
Q

What is the great tit experiment?

A

In lab experiment set up with conveyor belt with food going past of different caloric (larger/smaller) gain.

Speed and size were variable - bird had to fly down from perch and grab food of conveyor belt and return (output).

Big prey if common took only big pieces, if big pieces are rare it took both small and big

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27
Q

What were the results of the great tit experiment?

A
  1. when big prey was common, birds took only big prey
  2. when big prey was rare, birds took both big and small prey
  3. The predictions were qualitatively correct (the birds knew went to switch)
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28
Q

When animal forage what is important to remember?

A

Variability matters - better to play less risky strategy if they are getting consistent food sources - birds with food dispensers giving variable amounts of food

Danger matters - fish in the lake half with predators half without causes a trade in foraging strategy prey will trade worse food source for less predation

Learning matters - depending on how they learnt to specialise will lead to their preferred feeding strategy - results in handling times to change

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29
Q

What do the right and left side of the krebs predation equation mean? (Check notes in either lectures 2/3 for equation)

A

Left is the food infront of you and the gain from eating it

Right is the rate of energy you gain/lose if you ignore it and went to look for a better food source

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30
Q

What is absolute fitness?

A

(W) The expected number of offspring that an individual will produce over the course of its lifetime

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31
Q

What does absolute fitness depend on?

A

Viability - need to live to be a certain age (sexual maturity) and longer living normally means more opportunities to reproduce

Reproductive success - dependent on species and sexes, males can theoretically produce a near infinite number of gametes compared with females who are much more limited

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32
Q

What is relative fitness?

A

Absolute fitness divided by the group or population fitness

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33
Q

What does relative fitness show if its greater than 1?

A

the population/population phenotype increases

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34
Q

What are the 4 main fitness interactions between 2 animals?

A

Mutualism - +/+
Competition - -/-
Commensalism - +/0
Predation -/+

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35
Q

What is mutualism

A

Both organisms gain from interaction
Bees and flowers

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36
Q

What is Competition

A

Both organisms lose from the interaction
Lions and hyenas
Aphids and nematodes (indirect)

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37
Q

What is Commensalism

A

Has a positive effectt on one organism and none on the other
Barnacles on whales
May not be 100% real

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38
Q

What is predation

A

Has a positive effect on 1 organism and a negative on the other
Seal and shark

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39
Q

What is Crypsis and an example of it

A

the ability of an animal or a plant to avoid observation or detection by other animals

Peppered moth in the industrial revolution to reduce predation from birds

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40
Q

What was the impact of the clean air act of 1956

A

de-industrialisation caused the environment to change for peppered moths resulting another phenotypic change

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41
Q

Other than environmental what other components can crypsis include?

A

Behavioural - Orientation that moths resting during the day effected their survival rates

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42
Q

Define Masquerade?

A

Organism attempt to be mistaken for non-prey (exploits predators cognitive limitations)

Papilo cresphonetes - looks like bird shit

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43
Q

What is an example of a behavioural component in Masquerade

A

Cuttlefish change colour and shape (even of non natural items like a plastic tree)

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44
Q

What is aposematism

A

The animal advertising to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating (normally bright colours)

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45
Q

What a negative effect for animals that display aposematism

A

It can be costly

e.g. Monarch butterflies which are poisonous that eating the toxic chemicals from milkweed makes them grow more slowly

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46
Q

What factor can effect aposematism

A

Population density

Grasshopper’s display bright colours if raised in high density to warn predators

those raised in low density are green as the bright colours would make them stand out

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47
Q

What model does aposematism lead to

A

Mimicry

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48
Q

State 2 types of mimicry?

A

Batesian - An animal is trying to look like another toxic animal (corn snake vs coral snake)
Mullerian - Trying to look like each other as they can all benefit (wasps, bees, hornets)

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49
Q

Describe Crypsis, masquerade and mimicry as well as stating the predator system each exploit

A

Crypsis - prey avoids notice - sensory
Masquaerade - prey is misidentified - cognitive
Mimicry - prey is misidentified - cognitive

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50
Q

What does Mono and poly mean

A

Mono = one
Poly = many

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51
Q

What does gamy, gyny and andry mean?

A

Gamy = sexual union
Gyny = female
Andry = male

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52
Q

What is monogamy

A

1F + 1M

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53
Q

What is Polygyny

A

> 1F + 1M

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54
Q

What is Polyandry

A

1F + >1M

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55
Q

What is Promiscuity

A

ORGY TIMEEEE!
>1F + >1M

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56
Q

Which mating system do males have disproportionate reproductive success?

A

Polygyny

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57
Q

What factors shape mating systems?

A
  1. Differential investment between the sexes
  2. Ecological factors
  3. Certainty of paternity
  4. Dependence of young and impact of care
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58
Q

How does differential investment between the sexes impact the shaping of mating systems?

A

As males gametes are easier to make males limitations is the number of females he can mate with

females invest more into their gamete so it’s not advantageous to have as many partners as possible

Male = Quantity
Female = Quality

Leads to polygyny >1F + 1M

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59
Q

Which sex is polyandry better for?

A

Females
- a higher rate of impregnation
- uncertainty of child’s father therefore less infanticide
- more paternal parental care

males almost always do worse in this system - only beneficial in negative environments

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60
Q

In what environment is monogamy the better mating system?

A

Poor quality environments

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61
Q

How do ecological factors affect mating systems?

A

If the population is spread out males choose monogamy as it’s to costly to find multiple females

If the population is clumped (due to high predation risk) it makes males polygynous

mating strategies depend on how dispersed the females are

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62
Q

How does certainty of paternity affect mating systems?

A

Males certain of paternity > monogamy
Males uncertain of paternity > polygyny

is a key driver for monogamy - if the males need to guard the female as she is on the heat for a long time or if he needs to give parental care - results in monogamy

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63
Q

How does dependence of young and impact of care shape mating systems

A

The degree of that parental care influences reproductive success influences whether it is better to have one mate or multiple mates

high degree = more monogamous

Also depends on certainty of paternity

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64
Q

What are the consequences of mating systems?

A

Secondary sexual characteristics

Intrasexual competition - males compete for females via displays or combat
Weaponised males - Antlers canines
Sexual dimorphism - Biggest strongest males

Intersexual - females pick a male to mate with
Exaggerated traits - Peacocks tail

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65
Q

Name the 4 types of polygyny

A
  • Female defence polygyny - males defend access to females
  • Resource defence polygyny - males compete over resources that females choose for
  • Scramble competition polygyny - males roam around trying to find available females
  • Lek polygyny - wingman-ship
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66
Q

Give an example for the 4 types of polygyny

A
  • Female defence - F zebras are tied to each other and males compete for access to get into the group
  • Resource defence - Females cichlids (fish) lay eggs in empty snail shells males collect and defend big hoards of these shells
  • Scramble competition - F squirrels are widely dispersed so M squirrels move around alot during mating season but return to their home range after
  • Lek - subordinate song birds in the tropical rainforest perform a backup song/dance for dominant males to attract females
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67
Q

What are the 3 hypothesis for lek formation

A

Hotspot hypothesis

Hotshot hypothesis

Female preference hypothesis

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68
Q

What is the hotspot hypothesis

A

Males cluster around where females commonly pass or resources

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69
Q

What is the hotshot hypothesis

A

Subordinate males gather around attractive dominant males

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70
Q

What is the females preference hypothesis

A

Females go “shopping” for leks, but are more likely to shop in the large leks - so its advantageous to go for the largest leks

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71
Q

Evidence for hotspot hypothesis?

A

Multiple species of bird in costa rica use the same location to Lek - showing a specific place increases chances of reproduction
- flyways

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72
Q

Evidence for hotshot hypothesis

A

In european sandpiper the removal of the dominant male from the lek caused the subordinates to disperse

whilst removing the subordinate did nothing

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73
Q

What are the 3 hypothesis for monogamy?

A
  • Mate guarding hypothesis
  • Mate assistance hypothesis
  • Female-enforced monogamy hypothesis
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74
Q

What is the mate-guarding hypothesis

A

Monogamy is adaptive (produces more offspring) when a female is left another male may come to reproduce so the initial male stays defending his mate- clown shrimp

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75
Q

What is the mate assistance hypothesis?

A

Monogamy is adaptive when parental care can greatly increase offspring survival - often in altricial species - Californian mouse

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76
Q

What is the female enforced monogamy hypothesis?

A

Males are not monogamous because it is in their best interest, but the females impose monogamy on them and males stay as it is unlikely they will find another mate - burying beetles

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77
Q

Why are most birds socially monogamous

A
  1. mate guarding
  2. rearing altricial offspring
  3. eggs mean both parents can provide care

trick with social monogamy is genetic evidence suggest they under go promiscuous mating

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78
Q

Why live in groups?

A

Resources
- Communal roosting
- Cooperative hunting
- Aggregated resources
Predation
- Reduced investment in vigilance
- Dilution - less chance of being a prey 1/100 v 1/1
- Confusion - fish schooling
- Communal defence - crows mobbing a raptor

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79
Q

What is the effect of group living on competition?

A

It increases competition both within and between groups

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80
Q

What group size tends to have the highest fitness?

A

intermediate group size - bit like a bell curve

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81
Q

What determines social relationships between groups?

A

Resource competition leading to conflict

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82
Q

What are the 2 types of competition hypothesis?

A

Contest competition - slanted line graph
Scramble competition - horizontal line graph

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83
Q

Explain the impact of contest competition between animals in big and small groups

A

If you are a dominant animal in a large group in a patchy environment, you will have a higher fitness than animals in small groups with a high rank, but if you are a low ranking animal in a big group you are likely to have lower fitness than the high ranking individuals in medium groups

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84
Q

Explain a scenario where scrambled competition can be observed

A

A primate that eats only leaves have abundant food sources and it is not worth alot effort to fight over food, the leaves are pretty much evenly dispersed across the environment (howler monkeys)

Large groups do a bit worse, as they eat through the resources faster, small groups have a higher intake rate as they deplete their resources less quickly, but there is no difference between foraging rates in animals within a group, (little dominance hierarchy), little variance in reproductive success in either sized groups

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85
Q

What is the impact of social relationships on hormones

A

If you are lower in the hierarchy then you had lower health in terms of stress levels and CV system - resulting in higher stress levels and slower wound healing

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86
Q

In the contest competition which animal has the highest stress levels

A

The most dominant male as everyone is trying to take there spot

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87
Q

What hormones are responsible for social stress?

A

Adrenaline

Corticosterone

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88
Q

What are coping mechanisms to reduce aggression

A

Intervention - 2nd and 3rd male confront the dominant male

Reconciliation - victim of big fight attempts to reconcile with the winner via grooming

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89
Q

In egalitarian societies (scrambled competition) what is how do the stress levels vary amongst members?

A

High and Low ranking members have high levels

whilst Medium ranking members have the lowest

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90
Q

What is the impact of having friends within your social group

A

that strong social bond animals have
- more offspring
- and the offspring tend to be healthier,
- and inherit the social ties of the family,
- tend to then have higher fitness

In wild horses that experienced positive interactions (grooming etc) had more fowls

In baboons it resulted in an increased chance of reaching old age

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91
Q

Impact of social relationships on reproductive suppression of hormones

A

Dominance leads to reproduction suppression via hormonal changes

GC’s levels are higher in subordinate members, whilst all the reproductive hormones are higher in dominant/breeding members. showing that breeders are suppressing the subordinates ability to reproduce

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92
Q

Name 2 animals that exhibit menopause like behaviour other than humans

A

Killer whales
Elephants

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93
Q

Why do some animals exhibit menopausal symptoms?

A

This is due to the older female members by providing additional fitness advantages by having ecological knowledge such as remembering where good foraging spots are (killer whales) or predator knowledge - how the herd should respond to male vs females lion attacks (elephants)

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94
Q

Definition of sleep

A

Behaviourally as a normal absence of consciousness

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95
Q

What is decreased neuronal activity linked to?

A

transitioning from a wake state to a sleep state

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96
Q

What is the relationship between sleep bout duration and organism size

A

Small organism - shorter bouts of wake/sleep
Bigger - tends to be longer

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97
Q

Why do smaller animals have smaller bouts of sleep/wake

A

There is a metabolic burden of being awake where it builds up and reaches the critical level that requires sleep
- smaller animals has a smaller brain and therefore has a smaller critical level so needs to sleep more often
- May be due to smaller animals being prey, so cannot sleep for long durations to reduce chance of predation

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98
Q

What ecological factors influence sleep and do they promote or suppress sleep?

A

P = promotes S = suppress
Protection against predation S
Enhancing mating success S
Incompatibility with swimming S - causes animals to sleep with only half their brain
Thermoregulation S
Need for food (foraging) S
Adaptive Inactivity P

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99
Q

What intrinsic factors influence sleep and do they promote or suppress sleep?

A

Enhancement of memory consolidation P
Compensation for NREM P
Activity-dependant rewiring of CNS P
Energy conservation P
Metabolic clearance P
Tuning sensory functions P
Synaptic homeostasis P

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100
Q

How do we measure sleep?

A

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

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101
Q

Benefits of EEG?

A

Is cheap and non invasive

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102
Q

what are the stages for sleep

A

Alpha - eyes shut
Beta - thinking hard
Theta - drowsiness
Spindle Oscillations
Delta
Lower frequency delta
REM

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103
Q

What are the 2 opposing factors controlling timing and amount of sleep?

A

Homeostatic sleep pressure

Internal circadian clock

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104
Q

What are the the neural systems actively controlling sleep?

A

Forebrain system that independently support SWS
Brainstem systems that - activates the forebrain into waking
Brainstem systems that - triggers REM sleep

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105
Q

What does Orexin do in the sleep cycle

A

It is produced in the lateral hypothalamus

it promotes waking/being awake

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106
Q

What is Unihemispheric sleep?

A

Where half the brain sleeps at a time
a.k.a. Unihemispheric slow-wave-sleep (USWS)

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107
Q

Why do some animals do Unihemispheric sleep?

A

High predation risk
continuous movement - dolphins
navigation

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108
Q

How do Frigate birds sleep?

A

They stay in thermals flying up and then fly straight back down so they can sleep without landing in the sea
with sleep only occurring whilst they ascend

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109
Q

How can Frigate birds sleep in thermals

A

They tilt their heads the direction they are turning to always remain in the thermal

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110
Q

What are the 4 factors associated with sleep in animals of simpler nervous systems?

A

1) a period of quiescence associated with a species specific posture
2) an increased arousal threshold (reduced responsiveness to external stimuli)
3) Quick reversibility to wakefulness
4) Homeostasis

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111
Q

What are the impacts of sleep debt on honey bees

A

Impaired learning and memory
Waggle-dance precision reduced
Impaired navigational memory

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112
Q

How do organisms adapt to earths cyclical changes

A

Retroactively
- Homeostatic mechanisms
– Exposed to a condition and we respond to that
– Keep things as a set point
– Vasoconstriction to keep the body temperature constant, then shivering if prolonged exposure

Proactively
- biological timekeepers
– if we can predict the cycle than we can change our behaviour to overcome a change

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113
Q

What environmental conditions do earths 24hr/1year rotations cause

A

24 hr
- light
- temp
- UV rays
- predation

1 year - all of the above
- Food availability

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114
Q

What processes are controlled by circadian rhythms

A

body temp
hormone secretion
locomotor activity
sleep
alertness
muscle strength
immune function

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115
Q

How can we measure the circadian rhythms of rodents in a lab

A

Use a running wheel to monitor voluntary activities

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116
Q

How does the circadian rhythm of rodents change in constant dark

A

there is a drift as the circadian rhythm is more than 24hrs

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117
Q

How does the circadian rhythm of rodents change in a light and dark cycle

A

It drifts until its circadian rhythm is aligned with light and dark cycle

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118
Q

What is the benefit of having a internal clock

A

allows us to predict changes in the environment
e.g. body temp with light and dark cycle high in the day and low at night

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119
Q

Why are pacemakers important in the schematic model of circadian rhythms?

A

because they communicate with downstream regions that effect behaviour (effector) and mechanism of measuring a variable (receptor)

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120
Q

What is the main mammalian circadian clock

A

The Suprachiasmatic Nuclei (SCN)

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121
Q

When is the SCN active?

A

Day = Active
Night = Inactive

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122
Q

Where does the SCN receive light information from?

A

the retina

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123
Q

Describe the importance of the SCN receiving light from the retina

A

It allows the synchronisation of local cellular clocks to provide coordinated information about time-of-day

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124
Q

How does the SCN receive light from the eyes?

A

via Retinohypothalamic Tract RHT

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125
Q

What is the primary process that SCN controls

A

The regulation of melatonin release from the pineal gland

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126
Q

What is the impact of light on melatonin release

A

Melatonin is released at night therefore light rapidly suppresses melatonin release

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127
Q

What is the type of pathway between the SCN-pineal gland

A

multi-synaptic pathway

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128
Q

Do nocturnal animals release melatonin?

A

Yes but they interact with it differently to us

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129
Q

What impact does the removal of the SCN have on wild chipmunks

A

As they had a lack of internal clock it caused those with lesioned scn’s to have considerably higher mortality rates than the control groups

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130
Q

What is key to consider when looking at internal clocks and fitness

A

If the internal clock and the environment are synced the animal will have higher fitness. the more out of sync the lower the fitness

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131
Q

What is a Ultradian rythm

A

Biological rhythm with a period of <24hrs
- Human sleep cycle, 80 to 90 mins
- Growth hormones often have a circadian rhythm with a smaller rhyme imposed on them

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132
Q

What is a infradian rhythm

A

Long period rhythm
- bird migration
- hibernation
- reproductive cycles

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133
Q

Name a type of external stimuli that enables marine animals to gauge timing

A

Tidal - circa tidal rhythms however apparently are nothing to do with circadian rhythm

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134
Q

What is a circannual rhythm?

A

a rhythm once a year
an example is a sheep
- bigger testes and longer coats in winter
- opposite in the summer

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135
Q

Evolutionary change will act provided organisms exhibit what 3 factors?

A

Genetic variation
Heredity
Differential reproduction

in order for phenotypes to evolve, there must be variation, inheritance, and differential reproduction

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136
Q

What is Occasm’s razor/law and who came up with it

A

“In no case is an animal activity to be interpreted in terms of higher psychological processes, if it can be fairly interpreted in terms of processes which stand lower in the scale of psychological evolution and development” by Lloyd Morgan’s Canon

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137
Q

What study of behaviour developed in europe

A

Ethology - the scientific and objective study of animal behaviour under natural conditions (study in situ)

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138
Q

What study of behaviour developed in America?

A

Behaviourism - focusing on physiology and comparative, lab-based psychology

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139
Q

What is behaviourism based on?

A

The influence of external stimuli on behaviour
Observable and quantifiable stimuli and response
Mind unnecessary

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140
Q

What are the 2 key puzzles linked with behaviourism

A

Skinners box - rat with electric grid on the floor and food dispenser

Thordikes puzzle box - cat with a bit of string to open the box door

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141
Q

explain the differences between behaviourism and ethology

A

Behaviourism is problem-oriented (cause and effect relationship) operant conditioning
Ethology is innate behaviour under natural conditions

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142
Q

What debate did the 2 separate methods of studying behaviour cause

A

Nature vs nurture
Nature - ethology
Nurture - behaviourism

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143
Q

Describe Nature?

A

Genetic constraints
instinctive
pre-programmes
innate
FIXED ACTION

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144
Q

Describe nurture

A

reinforcement
learning from experience and environment

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145
Q

Examples of where nature was proven

A

Tinbergen’s seagull eggs - found it did not matter if it was an egg, could do with a lightbulb and the bird would do the same response

David lack’s robins - found that robins attack each other due to the colour of red rather than the bird - was shown using a red clothe

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146
Q

What can’t be studied in behaviourism?

A

Questions that are immeasurable

e.g. the mind and internal states

147
Q

As the nature vs nurture debate is outdated how should we see behaviour?

A

As a continuum
one end “more genetic” and the other being “more environmental”
a classic example is birdsong

148
Q

Why can Twin studies and Adoption help us work out where on the continuum the behaviour sits

A

Twin studies
- same genes
- same/different environments

Adoption
- Different genes
- same environment

149
Q

What should be avoided when studying sexual selection

A

Just-so stories

150
Q

How can sexual selection be broken down

A

Pre-copulatory - before
- Intra-sexual selection = same-sex competition
- Inter-sexual selection = mate choice

Post-copulatory - after
- Sperm competition = same-sex competition
- Cryptic female choice = mate choice

151
Q

After how many mates do females’ fitness plateau and why

A

1 and because they are constrained by egg production

152
Q

What is the trend with males when comparing fitness with the number of mates

A

The more mates a male has the higher fitness - as more offspring

153
Q

How does gamete investment differ between the sexes

A

Females - high investment as eggs are larger than sperm
Males - low as sperm is cheap to produce and can produce many at one times

154
Q

How does gamete investment differ between the sex’s

A

Female - high investment as egg costs more to produce
Males - low investment as can produce many sperm which is cheap

155
Q

What do males and females invest in when looking at mate selection?

A

Males - quantity
Females - quality

156
Q

What are the 2 tactics males use to win over a mate

A

Out-compete rivals - intra-sexual selection
Be more attractive - inter-sexual selection

157
Q

Case study for intrasexual selection?

A

Elephant seals fighting for social dominance

158
Q

What are the effects of intrasexual selection on elephant seal populations?

A

Sexual dimorphism
evolution of weaponry in males
The minority of males responsible for the majority of offspring
female reproductive success is much less variable

159
Q

What is the cost of weaponry

A

Developmental cost - reduction in foraging ability due to eye size - Horn battles
Increase reproductive success but reduced survival - Soay sheep

160
Q

What type of pre-copulatory selection is females’ choice?

A

Intersexual selection

161
Q

What are typical behaviours males exhibit to females during intersexual selection

A

Courtship displays
Elaborate architecture - nest etc

162
Q

What are the direct benefits a female can receive in intersexual selection?

A

Oral/Nuptial gifts - nutrients to consume - shrike capture prey and incorporate them into their bush, give them to the female

Seminal gifts - protein-rich ejaculate to nourish female e.g. cum gobbling bush crickets

163
Q

What are the hypothesis for the evolution of female choice

A

male traits indicate “good genes”
Sexy son hypothesis - females choose males based on producing offspring with the best chance of reproducing-Does not explain why one trait is under selection

Zahavi’s handicap principle - females choose males because he was able to survive with a costly sexual trait (assumes sexual signals are costly – ‘honest signals’)

164
Q

What is runaway sexual selection?

A

(birds with really long tails)
- male traits originally indicate survival advantage; genes arise that enable females to detect and choose that trait
- leads to runaway sexual selection, where females prefer longer tails despite fitness cost

165
Q

What factor affects animals population dynamics that can rapidly reproduce like lemmings

A

Carrying capacity
predator aggregation

166
Q

In Holts 1985 population growth/population size graph (The one that looks like a n with a line underneath it) Describe the meaning of the graph

A

As the population gets bigger there are more individuals reproducing so the population growth rate increases
However, if it increases too much resource competition causes population size to plateau and then decrease

167
Q

What are the red dots/where the curve crosses the straight line called and what do they represent?

A

They are called equilibrium and on the normal graph there are 2, first the equilibrium at zero is called a unstable equilibrium and the second is called a stable equilibrium as a population will always return to it

168
Q

What is the graph called where the curves goes below the line before above the line

A

Allee graph

169
Q

What can an allee graph be used to show and what do the 3 equilibriums represent?

A

It can be used to show small populations struggle to survive, the first and last equilibrium is stable whilst the second is unstable - I know these few flashcards are a bit shit but I don’t wanna give my hard-earned money’s to Brainscape so use ur notes with these flashcards

170
Q

What factors make dispersal costly?

A
  • the energetic cost of moving
  • investment in dispersal physiology
  • predation
  • failure to find a new habitat
171
Q

When does temporal variability favour dispersal?

A

If the carrying capacity of a habitat changes then it could be beneficial to disperse because it affects the population size

172
Q

What factor characterises a metapopulation

A

Its connectivity

173
Q

What is the relation between connectivity and the dispersal propensity of individuals in the patch between old and new populations?

A

Highly connected patches have little difference in dispersal propensity
In low connectivity, new populations are better dispersal propensity than individuals in old populations

174
Q

What is the effect of new invasions on dispersal?

A

It increases the dispersal - cane toads in Australia

175
Q

What happened to the morphology of cane toads after a while

A

The leg length of toads increases meaning they could move further

176
Q

What is cannibalism a good sign of?

A

The environment is getting worse

177
Q

Why is it beneficial if an animal can anticipate their environment

A

Because they often disperse before it becomes uninhabitable

178
Q

Animals can use dispersal to avoid…..

A

inbreeding

179
Q

If animals have siblings are they more or less likely to disperse?

A

More to avoid inbreeding

180
Q

What is anisogamy?

A

the idea that the gametes of males and females are different

181
Q

What form of dispersal does anisogamy favour

A

Sex-dependant dispersal

182
Q

Why does anisogamy favour sex-dependent dispersal?

A

because it is easier to survive and rear offspring in a familiar environment however IT IS HARDER TO FIND UNRELATED MATES

183
Q

What are the benefit and costs for the individuals either dispersing or in the local habitat?

A

dispersed females - benefit as can find an unrelated mate but the cost is being in an unknown environment

Dispersed male - has many new mates but the unknown environment

Local male - males dispersing into their habitat is negative as their potential mates decrease and higher competition

184
Q

Where do the fall armyworm moths migrate from the beginning to the end of summer?

A

Make their way up the USA starting in Texas/Florida in early June to Minnesota in late August and then move back to Texas in winter

185
Q

Which animals intercept the moths and eat them

A

A colony of up to 40 million bats from Bracken Cave full of maternal mothers with high metabolic rates

186
Q

What is the habitat for these bats

A

Mainly caves however human intervention has caused them to also live under bridges - do not live in trees

187
Q

What is the impact on juveniles of living under bridges compared to caves

A

Bridge juveniles have higher body mass and length of fore arm as well as growing faster than those in caves

188
Q

What is the cost for bats to live in a cave

A

Competition
Parasitism

189
Q

What factor promotes living in groups?

A

The ability to collect social information

190
Q

If the environment is uneven but stable should animals copy or not?

A

Best to copy

191
Q

If the environment is even should animals copy or not?

A

It is not very beneficial to copy

192
Q

If the patches are variable should an animal copy or not?

A

Better to not copy

193
Q

How do temporal and spatial variability affect whether an individual should copy

A

Temporal - makes it worse
Spatial - males it better

194
Q

Give examples of how grouping together to avoid predation

A

Selfish herd theory (snake and frogs)
Predator satiation (locusts all coming out of the ground at once)
Reduced vigilance (gazelles in herds spend less time looking around)
Predator confusion (fish schooling)

195
Q

Does the selfish herd theory increase or decrease the chance of predation

A

It decreases overall whilst some members still have a high chance

196
Q

Give evidence for the selfish herd theory

A

Redshanks - prey sparrow hawks - predation

Redshanks flying in groups found that those birds that where more densely grouped where less likely to be predated

197
Q

Give evidence for the selfish herd theory

A

Redshanks - prey sparrow hawks - predation

Redshanks flying in groups found that those birds that were more densely grouped were less likely to be predated

198
Q

Give evidence for predator satiation

A

Locust nymphs stay in the ground for 17 years and all emerge at the same time, creating a high density of defenceless nymphs. This study found more nymphs doesn’t mean more birds and so more nymphs survive leaving the ground.

199
Q

Give evidence for reduced vigilance

A

Gazelles in big groups spend less time looking around due to more members and can spend more time foraging

200
Q

Give evidence for predator confusion

A

Schooling fish to confuse a shark

201
Q

How many species of songbird are there?

A

~4000

202
Q

remember most birds can vocalize, not all birds can sing

A

8===D

203
Q

What is a call?

A

usually a short and simple vocalization that signals flight or danger and is produced throughout the year

204
Q

What is a song?

A

tends to be a long and complex vocalization produced during a breeding season

205
Q

What is repertoire?

A

When individual birds can sing more than one version of a song type

206
Q

Name 4 model species for our birdsong info?

A

Chaffinch
White-crowned sparrow
Zebra finch
Canary

207
Q

How can we measure song structure, how is it broken down?

A

using sonogram
notes/elements (continuous mark on the sonogram
== Simple continuous narrow frequency band
== Complex frequency and amplitude
- Syllables (composed of two or more notes clustered together)
- Phrase (two or more syllables grouped together)
== Could also be series of single notes/syllables
- Syntax (specific timing and ordering of notes, syllables and phrases)

208
Q

Fun Fact

A

White-crowned sparrows have different dialects in order to distinguish between newcomers and locals to avoid costly fights over territory

209
Q

Which sex sings?

A

Normally its males can be a duet where both do, but it depends on who competes to breed

210
Q

Why has song evolved?

A

Twin selective pressures - female choice and male-male competition

211
Q

Describe the evidence for twin selective pressures causing the evolution of bird song

A

If you remove males from territories and replace them with speakers playing male song, or with no speakers (silent territory)
— It takes a lot longer for males to occupy abandoned
territory when there are speakers
— If there are nests with removed males and some nests
with speakers and some without, females are attracted
to the nests with speakers much more than the nests
without speakers
It can attract females and repel males

212
Q

In male-male barn swallows what does the variation in the rattle indicate?

A

Correlated with male traits
- Long rattle - more testosterone
- Low frequency - better condition (good genetic condition,
there is also something about representing a costly fight
due to better condition, but I’m confused)
- Rattle correlates with breeding success

Has been linked to female choice

213
Q

What traits do females want males songs to have?

A

More complex songs
Larger repertoires

214
Q

Name at least 5 bits of information that are in birdsong?

A

Presence of potential mate
Individual identity
Where he was born & raised
Where is physically located at the time
Whether or not he owns a territory
His willingness to breed
Condition
Early environmental experience
“Quality”

215
Q

What is a chaffinch a model species for?

A

Understanding the ontogeny (development) of bird song

216
Q

How can the development of bird song be broken down?

A

Subsong - young birds producing rambling sound
Plastic song - first evidence of imitation and the rehearsal of songs
Crystallized song - full song expressed with normal variations

217
Q

What are the song learning phases?

A

Sensory phase
Sensorimotor phase
Transition to crystalized song

218
Q

What is the sensory phase

A

Must hear his normal species’ song from other adult males. During this phase commits the song to memory, but may not sing at this time

occurs before subsong

219
Q

What is the sensorimotor phase

A

where birds carry out vocal practice and include both the subsong and plastic song stages

220
Q

What are the 3 types of learners

A

Seasonal closed learners
Age limited learners
Open-ended learners

221
Q

Birds song is….

A

Fucking boring and confusing sorry if these flashcards are a bit shit I’m bored out of my mind

after this there are still hormones and neurobiology to come, I bet you cant wait!!!!!!

222
Q

What hormone inhibits plasticity

A

Testosterone and is therefore important for crystallization

223
Q

What hormone inhibits plasticity

A

Testosterone and is therefore important for crystallization

224
Q

When do syllables increase in white-crowned sparrow?

A

When song crystalization occurs in spring and therefore an increase in testosterone

225
Q

What are the song production nuclei

A

Higher vocal centre (HVc)
Robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA)
The tracheosyringeal portion of the hypoglossal nucleus (nXIIts)

226
Q

Where does song learning occur in the Anterior Forebrain Pathway?

A

Area X
Medial portion of the dorsolateral thalamus (DLM)
Lateral portion of the magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (LMAN)

227
Q

What do the anterior forebrain pathway and the song production pathway cell groups specialize in?

A

AFP = vocal learning
SPP = vocal learning and adult song

228
Q

What is laterality?

A

particular syllables contain 2 notes that are sung alternately by each side of the syrinx and thus control of the rapid switching from one side of the syrinx to the other is required to produce these attractive syllables

229
Q

How do seasons influence the regions of song production within male canaries

A

HVc is 99% larger
RA is 76% larger
in spring compared to autumn

230
Q

How many times has song learning evolved independently?

A

2 or 3 times
2 phylogenetic trees but 3 types of vocal learners (Hummingbirds, parrots, passerine song birds)

231
Q

Name a few environmental hazards for offspring that parental care can decrease

A

Predation
Hypoxia
Temperature
Food shortages
Parasites
Pathogens
Desiccation

232
Q

Define parental care

A

behaviour that increases fitness of offspring (and is likely to have originated/maintained for this function)

233
Q

Define parental investment

A

behaviour that increases offspring fitness at the cost of a parent’s ability to reproduce in the future

234
Q

Name a few forms of care that parents can provide

A

Provisioning of gametes - providing energy and nutrients
Oviposition site selection - nest/specific spawning site
Nest building and burrowing
Egg/offspring attendance - staying in the same location with young
Egg/offspring brooding - parents carrying young
Food provisioning
Care after nutritional independence

235
Q

What are the varying levels of care?

A

Superprecocial - capable of independent living soon after birth
Precocial - relatively mature/mobile at birth/hatching
Altricial - young are immature at birth/hatching

236
Q

Why is parental care costly

A

Increased predation
physiological cost - loss of body mass

237
Q

What are the benefits of parental care

A

Improved offspring survival
improved offspring quality

Key to remember costs and benefits differ between species due to ecology

238
Q

3 forms of care?

A

Maternal - mother
Paternal - father
Biparental - both = most common in birds

239
Q

What parental care is associated with monogamy

A

1F + 1M biparental care

240
Q

What parental care is associated with polygyny

A

> 1F + 1M maternal care (most mammals)

241
Q

What parental care is associated with polyandry

A

1F + >1M paternal care

242
Q

fun stuff

A

There is some stuff about each type of animal and the forms of parental care and other niche facts however it’s early and I cant be arsed so go to hoops notes on page 224

243
Q

how can we predict who will care for the baby

A
  • Natural selection favours the evolution of behaviour that will maximise lifetime reproductive success (LRS)
  • LRS = which is obtained through the present brood & that which is obtained through all future broods
  • Sex differences in these costs & benefits will influence probability of caregiving
244
Q

State 5 factors of parental investment that will determine the amount of care given to offspring

A

Gamete sizes
Gamete production cost
Reproductive rate
Competition among the sex-producing small gametes
Males avoid parental care to find more mates

245
Q

why are birds naughty

A

because they seem like they are monogamous however they love to spend the night in their neighbours nest

246
Q

External fertilisers in fish lead to mainly which form of parental care

A

Paternal care

247
Q

When is desertion opportunity highest for males and females in fish?

A

Males - is highest when internal fertilization occurs
Females - is highest when external fertilization occurs

248
Q

What is association?

A

Williams (1975) suggested that association with embryos preadapts one of the sex’s for parental care

internal fertilization = female association with embryo
External fertilization = eggs laid in the male’s territory

249
Q

How does paternity certainty affect parental care

A

causes males to adjust care depending on paternity certainty e.g. bluegill sunfish

250
Q

What factor drives biparental care

A

When offspring is low when only one parent cares, potential due to predation or harsh environment

251
Q

Why do parents abandon their young in poor condtions (which often leads to adoption)

A

Gain parental experience
= Better mother for future broods
Low costs (= no selection?)
= Female does not do that much
High cost to getting it wrong
= Could kick out your own offspring
= Ignore begging from own offspring

252
Q

What is brood parasitism?

A

a breeding strategy where a bird goes and lays its eggs in another nest of the same or different species relying on unrelated foster parents to care for their young

253
Q

What are the 2 types of brood parasitism

A

Obligate - when the parasite species is completely dependent e.g. coocoo’s
Facultative - an alternative tactic and supplements parasites’ own reproduction

254
Q

What is essential for cooperative behaviours to occur

A

A cooperator and a recipent

255
Q

What is the problem with cooperation

A
  • Natural selection favours genes that increase individual fitness become dominate
256
Q

What are the results of a cooperative behaviour?

A

Direct benefits - Reproductive success of the cooperator is increased
Indirect benefits - Reproductive success of individuals sharing the cooperator’s genes is increased

257
Q

Why do direct benefits and reciprocity work over time

A

increase the fitness of the cooperating individual and the recipient of the behaviour (but requires repeated interactions)
I help you, you help me, therefore, = mutualistic

258
Q

Give an example of mutually beneficial behaviours

A

Cleaner wrasse cleans parasites from larger fish
- Wrasse gets a meal
Bites the flesh of the larger fish, however, know if they do it too often that the client will no longer return
- Larger fish gets ectoparasites removed
Larger fish is a parasite and could eat the wrasse however would not receive a benefit in the future

259
Q

What are behaviours that benefit the recipient but not the cooperator called?

A

Altruistic behaviours

260
Q

Why are Altruistic behaviours hard to explain evolutionarily?

A

Why help someone else when you don’t benefit
Can be explained by continued interactions over a long time period - an example is vampire bats sharing food

261
Q

What is indirect reciprocity and why do animals do it

A

Are apparent altruistic behaviours where the benefits come later
“If I help you, someone else helps me”
Cooperators gain reputational benefits which makes the altruistic behavior worthwhile in the long term

262
Q

What is kin selection

A

A process by which traits are favoured because of their beneficial effects on the fitness of relatives

263
Q

What is hamiltons rule

A

Cooperative genes should increase in frequency when the benefits (B) of cooperating are greater than the costs (C), depending on the level of relatedness (r).

rB - C > 0

264
Q

What is key for kin selection to make it work

A

Animals must be able to recognize their relatives

265
Q

How do animals recognize kin?

A

Shared environmental cues
= Familiarity or shared environments
Phenotype and self-referent matching
= Individuals that look like me are more closely related
Green bead effect

266
Q

Describe environmental cues that animals can use to distinguish kin

A

acoustic cues, appearance, odour – or treat those sharing their environment as kin.

not genetic signatures

e.g. long-tailed tits recognize each other based on song cues

267
Q

Describe Phenotype and self-referent matching that animals can use to distinguish kin

A

individual learns its own phenotype(s) and those of kin, stores information and uses it to determine the relatedness of unidentified animals, therefore, discriminating between kin and non-kin

268
Q

Describe green beard effects that animals can use to distinguish kin

A

individuals preferentially direct cooperative behaviours to others sharing a distinctive genetic marker…e.g. a ‘green beard’ - Dawkins
- Very rare because unrelated cheaters that display markers will gain benefits of cooperation and spread in the population
- Making the green beards costly means there are very few cheaters

269
Q

Name an example of when cooperation leads to inclusive fitness

A

Cooperative Courtship in Turkeys
males either do it on their own or with other subordinate turkeys
females like it when there are more subordinate turkeys in the courtship
however, females only ever mate with the dominant turkey
using hamiltons rule there is still a benefit of cooperating

270
Q

How do you measure inclusive fitness?

A

Inclusive fitness = Direst fitness + r (indirect fitness)
r = relatedness

271
Q

What is cooperative breeding?

A

A social system where individuals provide care for offspring that are not their own at the cost of their own reproduction

272
Q

What is needed for cooperative breeding?

A

Breeders (1M+1F)
nonbreeding helpers (1 or more)

273
Q

Cooperatively breeding animals discriminate between kin more when……….

A

the benefits of helping are greater

274
Q

Which mating system is very unlikely when linked with cooperative breeding?

A

Promiscuity as offspring relatedness is more unknown

275
Q

What are the life history and ecological constraints that lead to helpers?

A

LFC
- delayed maturity
- low adult mortality
- no/limited dispersal
- low reproductive rate
ECD
- shortage of territories
- shortage of mates
- high dispersal costs
- low success in breeding independently

WHICH ALL LEAD TO HELPERS HAVING V LITTLE OPPORTUNITY TO BREED BY THEMSELVES

276
Q

What does the habitat saturation model show?

A

It shows that only after all the available territories were taken then cooperative breeding started

277
Q

Which environment promotes cooperative breeding

A

harsh environments as they add more environmental pressures on the parents

278
Q

How do helpers increase offspring numbers

A

Can increase food delivery and reduce the load on the breeding pair

279
Q

Why do helpers help breeders?

A

Indirect fitness benefit
- By helping relatives
Direct fitness benefits
- benefits of group membership
== reduced predation and territorial defence
- gain breeding experience
- territory or mate inheritance
- participate in reproduction

280
Q

What happens when a helper is removed from a group and reintroduced to the group

A

reintroduced helpers worked harder after being returned to the group - showing they must pay to stay

281
Q

What factors will helpers consider when attempting to breed?

A

Levels of relatedness
Competitive ability - how easily can the helper be evicted from the group
Constraints on independent breeding - can a helper make it on their own

282
Q

What model can explain the dynamics of reproduction?

A

Reproductive skew models - describe how social dynamics can regulate helper reproduction in a group

One end of the continuum is Helpers DO breed (reproductive concessions) the other is Helpers DO NOT breed (reproductive restraint)

283
Q

What is the helper’s dilemma and what factors do animals take into consideration when doing it?

A

Should they disperse or stay and help
- the relatedness of helpers
- availability of territories

284
Q

What is migration?

A

The regular movement back and forth between two relatively distant locations by animals that use resources concentrated in these different sites (Alcock 2013).

285
Q

What are the 3 types of navigation

A

Pilotage - steering using landmarks
Compass orientation - Ability to head in a particular compass direction without reference to landmarks
True navigation - ability to orientate toward a goal such as home/breeding area without use of landmarks and regardless of its direction

286
Q

How many times has migration evolved independently

A

3

287
Q

What is the cost of migration

A

● Extra weight that must be carried to build sufficient
energy reserves
● Temporary atrophy of reproductive organs
● Increase in muscle contraction efficiency
● Altered metabolism enabling birds to store fats
efficiently
● Risk of death during trip
● Must be well adapted to multiple habitats (predators,
parasites)

288
Q

What does Emlen funnel measure

A

The pre-migratory restlessness
the orientation of the bird depends on time of year
this can be used to understand the migratory ques birds requires

289
Q

What ques can animals use to navigate?

A

○ Visual
○ Olfactory
○ Atmospheric pressure
○ Sound
○ Geomagnetism

290
Q

Examples of experiments that demonstrate that olfactory cues exist?

A

Dropping turtles north and south of the island those north found the island rapidly but those more southern took much longer to find it

291
Q

Example of infrasound that can be used as a queue

A

Surf - to locate islands

292
Q

How can songbirds migrate at night?

A

They use the oreintation of the sky/stars rather than particular constellations to orientate them selves and navigate

293
Q

What did Emlen show about songbirds and star constellations

A
  1. Indigo buntings raised without a night sky experience could not orient properly for migration
  2. Birds exposed to planetarium sky rotating around Polaris between fledging and autumn migration showed normal southerly orientation
  3. Birds are raised under the sky which rotates around Betelgeuse, a star in Orion that appears to the northern viewer to be in the southern sky, oriented in a northern direction.
    use celestial cues as a compass
294
Q

What happens when sun/moonlight enters the atmosphere and how can animals use it to navigate

A

It polarises and this shows the direction of the sun/moon due to the patterns that the animals see when observing the polarised light - especially in dung beetles

295
Q

What is a continental map for birds?

A

When the bird has an understanding of the continent and knows which direction to go

296
Q

How does the continental map vary in juvenile and adult birds

A

Adults have a better continental map as they have travelled to more places and have a better understanding, this allows them to compensate for the bearing when travelling south for example

However, juveniles have a lack continental map due to the lack of knowledge and therefor cant compensate and just follow their genetic programming to go south

297
Q

What is communication

A

The transmission of information between a sender and a receiver that enables the latter to act appropriately
can involve “eavesdropping” and the use of “public information”

298
Q

What can aposematism as a form of communication lead to

A

can lead to dishonesty with mimicry

299
Q

List 4 types of communication

A

Visual
Audible
Chemical
Tactile

300
Q

Which form of communication are birds thought to be lacking

A

Smell/chemical - no known pheromones

301
Q

What are observations often limited by?

A

Our sensory systems and prejudices

302
Q

What is the exemplar interaction of multi-model communication?

A

Drosophila courtship

303
Q

What are the processes that occur during drosophila courtship?

A

Male orients to female
The male follows and vibrates the wing
Male licks female
Then shag time babeyyyyyy

304
Q

How do you maintain the idea that the signal is the truth intraspecifically?

A

Signals have evolved to be costly
must be costly to send and therefore cost correlates with the sender’s quality

305
Q

How do signals evolve to increase the fitness of the sender?

A

By altering the behaviour of the receiver

306
Q

Give an example both a signal and a cue

A

Size is a cue, not a signal, antlers are signals not cues

307
Q

Give an example of when cues aren’t always honest signals

A

Male baldness is due to too much testosterone

308
Q

Why is the badge of status in birds a beneficial honest signal

A

Because it’s not costly to produce energetically

309
Q

What is the social cost if there is a dishonest badge size in birds

A

Other males will behave differently around the dishonest birds - showing that its cost is not in production but in social consequences

310
Q

Give an example of a dishonest signal

A

crab - if it loses the claw it will grow the same size but not the same strength
There is also the example of the velvet monkeys that have different alarm calls depending on what the danger is. The introduction of food by researchers caused capuchin to vocalise alarm calls to remove the other monkeys and steal the food

311
Q

What are the 2 main models for how evolution can occur

A

Punctuated
Gradual

312
Q

What is punctuated evolution theory

A

A chance event happening
e.g. gene duplication event

313
Q

What is gradual evolution theory

A

Consistent change over time

314
Q

What is the biology vs cultural debate

A

Biology is universal in humans e.g. smiling
whereas there are cultural behaviours such as shaking hands when you meet someone

315
Q

Why is it hard to measure human fitness?

A

Due to the different degrees of health care worldwide
healthcare = decrease in mortality rates

316
Q

What are the stages of the demographic transition and fitness model

A

Stage 1= High stationary
Stage 2 = Early expanding
Stage 3 = Late expanding
Stage 4 = Low stationary
Stage 5 = Declining

317
Q

What is the adaptation approach in the adaptation versus phylogenetic inertia debate

A

Adaptation = individuals behaviour reflects selective pressures exerted by the environment

318
Q

What are the 2 approaches to understanding human behaviour in an evolutionary context

A

Human behavioural ecology
Evolutionary psychology

319
Q

Describe Human behavioural ecology

A

Human traits that are appropriately adapted to their environment

320
Q

Describe Evolutionary psychology

A

Using evolution to explain some of the psychological traits seen in humans

321
Q

What is an example of where biological characteristics are dependent on rank?

A

High ranking male baboons have better cardiovascular health and low blood pressure

322
Q

What was the Whitehall study

A

A study which asked 18,000 civil servants many kinds of health questions to see the impact of your job on your health

323
Q

What did the Whitehall study conclude

A

High-level workers had a much lower mortality risk
Biggest indicators of poor health
○ Uncertainty
○ Lack of clarity
○ Lack of skill utilization

324
Q

What is reproductive cessation?

A

Long-living mammals down-regulate their reproductive system to improve the fitness of younger members in the group by:
Knowledge transfer
Memory and experience
social networks

325
Q

Evidence for reproductive cessation

A

In Gambia children found with a grandmother have a higher nutrition status and the chance of survival

326
Q

What is the modular mind?

A

It organises sensory inputs into understandable information

327
Q

.

A

.

328
Q

What is the evidence for modules

A

perceptual system modularity
○ vision, hearing, and face recognition
Reflexes/relic behaviours
○ newborn mon response
The language instinct
○ acquisition too fast and preordained, and inherent grammatical structure in all languages
○ Dedicated areas of the brain
○ Broca’s (production) and Wernicke’s (comprehension)
Evolutionary psychology massive modularity
○ WHR detection, cheater detection, predator detection, incest avoidance (for most unless you live in a flyover state) and self recognition

(SORRY IF THAT DOESNT MAKE SENSE IM CONFUSED TOO)

329
Q

What does the modular system feed into?

A

Our personal preferences and attractiveness
meaning people from different cultures, geolocations and access to resources have different preferences

330
Q

What is cultural evolution

A

A process of change in the traits manifested within a population

that is explained by various forms of social learning among species members

331
Q

What is culture?

A

The inheritance of acquired behaviours;

that is the totality of a person’s learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted

332
Q

Which population size has more transfer of knowledge

A

larger

333
Q

What is social learning

A

learning from observing others around you - how cultures are formed

334
Q

what is horizontal transmission

A

Transmission within a generation, sometimes also used to refer to transmission from any nonparent.

335
Q

What is a meme

A

A cultural entity, intended to be analogous to a gene, capable of being replicated and transmitted between individuals

336
Q

What is a replicator

A

An entity capable of being replicated and capable of influencing its own chances of being replicated through its effects on the world.

337
Q

What is vertical transmission

A

transmission from parent to offspring, usually of genetic material

338
Q

What are the differences between biological and cultural evolution?

A

sorry I’m not spending moneys look at your notes there’s a beautiful table that displays it perfectly (pg 384 in hoops notes)

339
Q

Name a few learned behaviours within the animal culture

A

Nest building
Vocalisation/songs
Tool use

340
Q

Where does most evidence for cultures come from?

A

ethnographic descriptions of population differences

341
Q

What does the phrase “Apes don’t “ape” people do” refer to

A

Primates do not copy individuals in the way that humans do, they rather emulate

342
Q

When comparing chimps vs children on copying relevant behaviour what were the results of the study

A

○ Children copy irrelevant behaviour more than chimps
○ There is no ratcheting and therefore more complex behaviours are harder to figure out by apes
○ Humans do not need to understand something to use it (cars, phones)

343
Q

What is the dual inheritance theory

A

Human evolution is a combination of both biological and cultural processes

344
Q

What did the accidental discovery of cooking allow us to do?

A

Increase the effieceny of nutrient uptake
which may have also influenced out teeth, guts and brains

345
Q

What is cumulative culture

A

● Fundamental to modern humans
● Transmission of information with some “error” leading to a modification
○ Error can be by chance or intentional
● Information storage leads to the acceleration of information

346
Q

What are the characteristics of a cultural replicator

A

Derived from the selfish gene
- high mutation rate
- spread not dependent on the accuracy

347
Q

What are language families based on?

A

● Linked to human migration patterns
● Expansion of agriculture
● Horizontal transmission common

348
Q

What is intelligence?

A

“Intelligence is a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience … it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings — ‘catching on,’ ‘making sense’ of things, or ‘figuring out’ what to do.” (Linda Gottfredson)

349
Q

What is cognition

A

the mental process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses

350
Q

Name one-way chimpanzees show signs of intelligence that we have studied

A

tool usage - termite fishing

351
Q

What is the problem of apparent intelligence

A

● Nest building
○ Nest building is genetically hardwired, not intelligence rather innate
○ However it does improve over time, when does it become intelligence
● Blue tits
○ Cream would rise to the top, tits would open the milk and drink the cream
○ spread through the population, socially learnt
○ However there is an innate behaviour of finding insects

352
Q

What is the social brain hypothesis

A

The hypothesis that suggest why primates brains are so big compared to there body

353
Q

Explain the factors behind the social brain hypothesis

A

● Social complexity drives the evolution of intelligence
● Positive feedback loop between individuals in social
intelligence
● Social living has novel challenges
○ Maintaining group cohesion during a conflict
○ Communication
○ Individual recognition skills
○ Linked to parental care & long-lasting pair bonds
however things like diet tend to predict it better - and the evidence is very mixed

354
Q

If a species is pair-bonded what’s the effect on brain volume

A

pair bonded species = larger brain volume

355
Q

What is the issue with the guilty dog experiment?

A

We are imparting human characteristics to dogs
If a treat was taken, they would scold the dog, found that it has nothing to do with a link to whether the dog ate the treat, rather that they were scolded

356
Q

Name a method used to see if an animal knows they exist

A

The mirror self recognition experiment

357
Q

Which animals that we have studied does the mirror self-recognition experiment work on?

A

Chimpanzee
Dolphins
Asian elephant
Corvids

358
Q

What is a key driving factor in establishing whether the self-recognition test will work

A

Motivation - African elephant and gorillas want to smash the mirror

359
Q

What is the theory of mind?

A

the ability to understand and take into account another individual’s mental state or of “mind-reading”

360
Q

How can you test the theory of mind in children?

A

Ernie the toy puts the ball under one box he leaves they switch the box and then ask the child where Ernie will think the ball is

361
Q

How can the theory of mind be shown in primates?

A

2 containers - grasped or accidentally touched
the primates can distinguish between the intent
they are more interested in intentional behaviours showing the theory of mind

362
Q

What are the limits to non-human language

A
  • Language is not communication. need syntax
  • Apes mainly communicate requests
  • little evidence for metaphor or creativity
  • Human language used for “time-travel” past present future
363
Q

Define change in behaviour in the following experience

A

cannot be understood in terms of maturational growth processes in the nervous system, fatigue or sensory adaptation - Robert hinde (1970)

NGL go look at this yourselves cos bare confusing there’s some shit about habitation, adaption and sensitisation as well as operant/classical condition. I’m sure it all links together but fuck knows how

364
Q

What is habituation

A

When animals stop responding to repeated stimuli

Animal Behaviour (1 decks)

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