ANTH 2-6 Flashcards
Primate diets
primates eat many kinds of food: plants, animals, fungi, minerals
animals
insects & vertebrates
minerals
soils, clay, salts
Why do we care about ecology?
informs our understanding of primate social (who LIVES with whom) and mating (who MATES with whom) systems
Social System
the number of males and females that live and interact
Traits of a social group
spatial and temporal proximity
coordination of activities
recognition of group members
Benefits of living in a group
food access
decreased predation
increased access to mates
safety for rearing offspring
costs of living in a group
Increased…
Competition for food and resources
competition for mates
risk of detection by predators
Exposure to disease and parasites
social system…
does not equal mating system
mating systems types
polyandry, monogamy, polygyny, polygynandry
polyandry
poly = many, andry = men
multiple males, one female
monogamy
mono = 1, gamos = marriage, union
one female, one male
polygyny
poly = many, gyny = women
one male, multiple females
polygynandry
multiple males and females
What do females want?
Resources: food for babies & fewer female competitors
Mate choice: good genes
Help w/ baby care: carrying & feeding baby
babies not killed
What do males want?
mating opportunities
Avoiding baby care
paternity certainty
only their babies survive
kill infants fathered by rival mates
Anisogamy
anisos = unequal, gamos = marriage
Consequences of Anisogamy
the sex with the larger gamete is defined as female.
the sex with the smaller gamete is defined as male
larger gametes
bias towards investment in each gamete
many females retain fertilized gamete for further investment
Female fitness depends on the quality of offspring
smaller gametes
bias towards more investment in the number of gametes
Male fitness depends on the number of fertilizations
