Behiaviours & Species Flashcards
0
Q
Oystercatchers (Optimal Foraging)
A
- Birds prefer larger than average mussels (not largest)
- Large mussels too difficult to open, must abandon decreasing their benefit
- Should concentrate on 50mm mussels but prefer 30-40mm. These are less abundant than 50mm
- Larger mussels coated in barnacles - not good prey
1
Q
Mud Skipper
A
- Tide retreats, mud flaps exposed
- Plants and animals in the mud = food
- Jump high above mud to be noticed - find mate
- Eyes on top of head - see predators and friends
- Males fight those who enter territory
- Must not dry out in sun, roll in mud
- Smaller species dig tunnel into mud
- Tunnel u shaped, sealed chamber, walls lined with eggs (kept in air rich in oxygen)
- Male gulps fresh air to release into chamber
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2
Q
White Crowned Sparrow (Proximate vs. Ultimate)
A
- Different populations = different dialects
- P - How does the behaviour develop over lifetime? (Development)
- P - What stimulates the behaviour short term? (Mechanism)
- U - What is the behaviour for and how does it promote survival? (Function)
- U - What is the behavior’s evolutionary history? (Evolution)
Proximate: Difference in gene-environment interactions Hormonal differences Differences in song system construction Difference in song system operation
Ultimate:
Song differences in individuals
Differences in success –> natural selection
Genes transmitted to next generation
Differences in gene-environment interactions
3
Q
Northwestern Crow (Optimal Foraging)
A
- Crows dig clams from burrows on beach but only bother to fly away with larger clams
- Most profitable clams = largest as most calories
- Acceptance rate increases with prey size (only half eaten at 29mm but all eaten at 32mm)
- Reduced payoff, large clams - more calories per minute foraging
- Individuals foraging optimally have more energy for offspring production & other fitness promoting activities
- Crows fly to height of 5m to drop shells & kept trying until they broke
- Larger shells required fewer drops
- Probability large whelks break increases up to 5m & not affected by previous drops.
4
Q
Vampire Bat (Reciprocal Alturism)
A
- Live in colonies 30-150 bats, groupings of 8-12 females roosting close together regularly (single males roost separately defending territories).
- Reciprocal altruism occurs in female groups
- Well fed females regurgitate blood to hungry companions as individuals are not always successful in hunting.
- Hungry bats may starve to death in 3 days.
- They will regurgitate to related and unrelated bats within the group - mutual buddy system.
- Pairs of bats from tight blood-sharing relationships.
- Associations between females are maintained over years and partner fidelity is down to the persistence of this exchange system.
- Bats from different roosts only feed known reciprocators
- Unrelated but long term companions fed
- Smaller cost of well fed bat giving than benefit of receiving.
5
Q
The Vogelkop Bowerbird
A
- Mimics other birds, amazing song even if lacking in plumage
- Collects colourful things (prefer certain colours) and puts them on display round his bower that has taken years to build (carpeted with moss) - all for seduction, not a nest.
- Females approach and inspect, males retreat until female lets them mate
6
Q
Drosophila (Anisogamy)
A
- Equal numbers of male and females in bottles
- Scored number of matings and offspring production
- After 1 mate offspring production plateaued in females but continued to increase in males as they can mate with other females and have more offspring however once the females eggs are fertilised that’s it.
- Opportunity for exceptional repro success is only available to males. Max repro fitness of males exceeds that of females.
7
Q
Katydids (Reversal of Courtship Roles)
A
- Occurs when there is high male parental investment
- Male transfers meal consisting of spermatophylax (part of spermatophore) to mate. Nutrients are translocated to eggs & increase number and fitness of offspring sired.
- Nutrient gift must have led to sexual selection among females and aggression.
- This is only found in certain populations thought to be when food supplies low.
- Increases mating frequency of hungry females (as they get the spermatophore).
- Found on kangaroo paw flowers, when abundance of pollen later in the season, females became choosier
8
Q
African Cichlid (Sexual Selection)
A
- Similar to bowerbirds
- Builds elaborate display site like mini volcano on floor of lake Malawi
- Females only visit these “bowers” to receive sperm for their eggs that they brood in their mouths
- Males don’t contribute parental care
- Success of mating depends on height of their display structure
9
Q
Peacocks (Visual Courtship)
A
- Pea hens prefer males with larger numbers of eye spots in tail feather
- Larger feathers and eye spots etc indicate the peacock lives longer therefore females discriminate from tail
- Males killed by foxes = smaller tails
- Males that were killed hadn’t mated therefore suggesting females can discriminate against them.
10
Q
Blue Headed Wrasse
A
- Young small fish cannot defend themselves to repro so start life as a female
- As they get larger they switch to become males and defend territories
- Protogynus hermaphroditism
11
Q
Marvellous Spatuletail Hummingbird (Zahavi’s Handicap Theory)
A
- Negatives of ridiculous ornament indicating superiority
- If you can bear the handicap and still survive you must be high quality.
(Big heavy feathers, can only hover for a few seconds)
12
Q
Small White Butterfly (Post-Copulatory Sex Selection)
A
Male ejaculates more sperm on second mating when female less likely to be virgin
13
Q
Fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus)
Sperm Selection
A
Females selectively eject sperm of subordinate males
14
Q
Monarch Butterfly (Social Living)
A
- Hibernate together, less vulnerable to predators & less chance of becoming too cold
- Fly south from Canada
- Must be in trees by nightfall to avoid ground frost
- 4 months hibernation, spring warmth wakes them to migrate back north
