Behaviour Flashcards
What is behaviour?
The internally coordinated responses of whole living organisms to internal and/or external stimuli
What is cooperation?
Both donor and recipient benefit in fitness
What is altruism?
Recipient benefits, donor doesn’t in fitness
What is selfishness?
Donor benefits, recipients doesn’t in fitness
What is spite?
Both donor and recipient don’t benefit in fitness
What is inclusive fitness?
An individual’s overall fitness is determined by its survival and reproduction plus the survival and reproduction of its relatives
How are natural selection and behaviour related?
Natural selection favours behaviour that increase the inclusive fitness of individuals
How are genes and behaviour related?
Natural selection on behaviour can only occur if the behaviour has a genetic base
What is adaptive behaviour?
A behaviour that increases the fitness of organisms and that will be selected for over multiple generations
Which behaviours should be selected for?
Cooperation and selfishness because they increase donor fitness
Which behaviours should be selected against?
Altruism and spite because they decrease donor fitness
Why would a donor want to commit altruism?
Group selection = individuals neglect their own needs in favour of the needs of the group
Manipulation = donor does not recognize that it is being parasitized
Reciprocal altruism = recipient will pay back at one point in the future
Kin selection = individuals increase their inclusive fitness by helping increase the survival and reproduction of relatives
What is the coefficient of relationship?
The probability that the alleles at a given locus will be identical by descent among two individuals in the population
There is a 50% reduction between each additional connection
When is altruistic behaviour expected?
When the cost/benefit < coefficient of relationship
What is an obligate brood parasite?
Species must lay eggs in the nests of other birds
What is sociality in animals?
Usually consists of a group of individuals living together, involving some degree of cooperation between individuals
What is the evolution of sociality accompanied by?
Cooperative feeding
Defense of the social group
Restricted reproductive opportunities
What are examples of social behaviour?
Mutual grooming
Group protection of young
Highly complex societies
What are competitive breeders?
Live in groups
Several adults help with offspring
Why does cooperative breeding work?
Members of the group are most likely relatives = inclusive fitness
If you help the group they will help you
What is eusociality?
Highly complex social behaviour that evolved independently across organismal groups
What are the 3 characteristics of eusocial animals?
Individuals of more than one generation live together
Cooperative care of young
Division of individuals into sterile/non-reproductive and reproductive castes
Why has eusociality evolved?
Kin selection may play a role as individuals in colonies have very high degree of relatedness
Ecological constraints may play a role
