Behavioural ecology and optimality p.I

Question 1

What does behavioural ecology look at?

Answer 1

• How animal had adapted to enviroment e.g. reproduction and patterns of desertion of caregivers

Question 2

What are the consequences of ansigomany?

(2 marks)

Answer 2

• Females tend to be dsitributed in relation to resources
• Male reproductive success is limited to access of females

Question 3

What is female and male distribution driven by?

Answer 3

Female distribution is driven by dispersal of food

Males is driven by dispersal of females

Question 4

What is the distribution between certain factors that affect monogomay?

(2 marks)

Answer 4

• Disperesed food means dispersed females
• Therefore, dispersed males
• So one male can only protect ONE female - monogamy

Question 5

How does the distribution of food result in polygamy?

Answer 5

• Food dispersed in more dense areas, get more females
• Aggregated: food ⇒ females ⇒ males

Question 6

What factors affect female and male distribution?

(2 marks)

Answer 6

• Female: costs and benefits of grouping, predation risk, resource distribution
• Male: Female distribution, resource distribution

Question 7

What is polygyny?

Answer 7

• Male animal has more than one female mate
• M + FFF

Question 8

What is polyandry?

Answer 8

• Female animal has more than one male mate
• F + MMMM

Question 9

What is polygynandry?

Answer 9

• Mating system where both male and females have multiple mating partners during mating season
• MMM + FFF

Question 10

What is promiscuity?

Answer 10

Mating system wehere there are no pair bonds - unstructured

Question 11

What is the difference between female solitary in stable monogamous relationships and temporary monogamy/promiscuity?

Answer 11

Stable monogamous relationships are able to be defensible by males however the temporary ones don’t get that male defence

Question 12

What is harem based polygyny?

Answer 12

Single male trying to defend a large group of females. But can sometimes have males compete against other males to achieve this dominant position

Question 13

What is a multi-male harem?

Answer 13

Multiple males defending a group of females

Question 14

What is a harem?

Answer 14

Animal group consisting of one or two males and a number of females and their offspring

Question 15

What is lekking?

(3 marks)

Answer 15

Groups of males display on tiny-resource free territoties. But females won’t be defended as they do this.

Found in species with huge female home ranges

Rare behaviour

Question 16

Why do males aggregate?

(3 marks)

Answer 16

• Signalling pooling; lots of displaying males together in same place may increase female attraction
• Males aggregating to avoid predation
• Females visit leks for ‘hotspots’ to compare other males

Question 17

What are some of the criticisms of behavioural ecology?

(3 marks)

Answer 17

• Implies genetic determinism - behaviour is dynamic of outcome of genes w/ their environment
• Anthropormorphic language - animals responding to stimuli and many don’t mean to be ‘selfish’
• Only tells stories to fit observations