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BIO220 > BIO220 Lecture 1 > Flashcards

BIO220 Lecture 1 Flashcards

Genes, environment, and behaviour

1
Q

What aspect of social behaviour can’t be understood by just thinking about the individual?

A

Cooperation (natural selection acting on genes)

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2
Q

Nature-nurture fallacy

A

Effects of innate factors (genes) vs. environmental factors on development and late life outcomes

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3
Q

Natural selection shapes…

A

behaviours

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4
Q

Genes and environment influence…

A

Phenotype

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5
Q

What influences behaviour?

A

Genes, environment, natural selection)

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6
Q

Responses to environment is…

A

adaptive

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7
Q

Reaction norm allows us to visualize…

A

Influence of genes & environment

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8
Q

How do we visualize the influence of genes & the environment?

A

Reaction norm

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9
Q

How to test for plasticity?

A

Put same genotype in different environment and see different phenotypes

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10
Q

What does natural selection create?

A

Adaptive plasticity

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11
Q

What are the 2 classes of scientific questions used for traits & phenotypes?

A
  • Proximate causes (how/what?)

- Ultimate causes (why?)

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12
Q

Proximate causes

A

What and how questions (shallow).

E.g. what is the relationship b/t genes and behaviour?

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13
Q

Ultimate causes

A 
Why questions (underlying evolutionary explanations)
E.g. Why has a certain behaviour evolved and how has it changed?
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14
Q

Why do bees get a bit drunk off the ethanol nectar?

A

Locating ripe fruit, then banging around the pollen drunk allows them to pick up pollen

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15
Q

Equation for phenotype?

A 
Z = G + E
Phenotype = gene + environment
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16
Q

Stages of fruit flies

A

Egg, larvae, pupation, adult

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17
Q

Why do fruit flies need fruit?

A

Lay eggs on fruit, and babies grow on fruit (eat the fruit for nutrients)

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18
Q

Fruit flies are categorized as…

A

Maggots

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19
Q

Rover-sitter gene has an effect on…

A

foraging (main effect)

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20
Q

Polymorphism

A

More than one type in the population

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21
Q

Difference between rover & sitter?

A 
Some larvae (rovers) move on their food more than others (sitter).
They move the same when food is not present.
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22
Q

Describe the experiment used to differentiate sitters and rovers

A

Yeast (food) is spread on agar (non-food). In food patches, rovers more more than sitters, but rovers and sitters move the same amount in non-food patches.

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23
Q

What is the implications of rover-sitter gene seen from the experiment?

A

It is a food-related behaviour

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24
Q

Rovers move greater distances than sitters when…

A

Food is patchy (food is placed on plates in many small patches)

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25
Benefit of roving behaviour?
When food is present in many small patches, they are likely to found many patches
26
Con of roving behaviour?
Move a lot, so longer time off food media
27
Benefit of sitting behaviour?
Stay longer on food sources because not moving around so much
28
Con of sitting behaviour?
Hard to find new patches of food one the first one depletes.
29
Frequency of rover vs. sitter?
70% rover vs. 30% sitter
30
Allele of rover and sitter?
2 alleles (RR and SS), where R > S. RR x SS -> RS (all rover) RS x RS -> RR, RS, SS (1/4 sitter, 3/4 rover)
31
Allele responsible for rover-sitter produces...
PKG
32
PKG
Enzyme involved in cell signalling
33
Where can PKG be found?
Hindgut Stomach Brain
34
Rover/sitter transgenics
Insert rover gene in sitter larvae. | Measure changes in foraging behaviour.
35
Transgenic rover in sitter resembles...
Rover > sitter | in terms of foraging behaviour (distance travelled) and PKG activity
36
What is needed for evolution by natural selection?
1. Variation in a trait 2. Variation in fitness of that trait 3. Genetic basis for the trait
37
Implications of rover-sitter transgenic experiment?
- Rovers dominate over sitters | - There are is an allele that controls this behaviour (genetic basis for the trait)
38
What is needed for evolution of behaviour?
1. Behaviours have variation 2. Different behaviours have different fitness 3. Behaviours have a genetic basis
39
Describe the experiment that tested for environmental effects on foraging behavour
Adult fruit flies deprived of food for 4h and 24h, then measured foraging behaviour (distanced travelled to find food) on patchy food.
40
Describe the findings of environmental effects on foraging behaviour
Both rovers & sitters travelled less the more they were starved. Rovers starved for 24h = sitters starved for 4h. Environment transformed rover phenotype to sitter phenotype.
41
What is foraging behaviour for rovers?
Find food from all over.
42
What is the foraging behaviour for sitters?
Find food, then only move around initial food source to attempt to find more food.
43
How many genes control rover/sitter polymorphism?
1 major gene
44
Which allele is dominant, rover or sitter?
Rover
45
At what stage in life is fruit flies affected by the rover-sitter allele?
Larvae & adults
46
Besides the gene, what else affects rover/sitter behaviour?
Environment
47
Are there homologous genes for rover/sitter allele?
Yes -- in bees, mice, humans
48
Plasticity
Environmental effect on phenotype
49
Environmental effect on phenotype =
plasticity
50
On a reaction norm, what is the genotypic effect?
Distance between one line and the other (up-down)
51
On a reaction norm, what is the environmental effect?
Slope of the lines
52
On a reaction norm, what is the plasticity?
Slope of the line
53
Example of behavioural response to predators?
Fish using refuge by the river bank when there are predators, ans not taking refuge when there are no predators.
54
Example of morphological response to predators?
Daphnia grow helmet when there are predators, but don't grow helmet when there are no predators.
55
Example of a dramatic result of plasticity?
Spadefoot toad can be cannibal / not cannibal depending on if the environment they grow up in was rich in food (carnivore) or not (herbivore). Don't look alike at all. Cannibal ones eat the non-cannibal ones (same species!)
56
Reaction norm describes...
effect of environmental variable (E) on the phenotype (Z) of a SINGLE genotype (G)
57
How does the reaction norm look like?
x-axis = E y-axis = Z Different genotypes appear as different lines on the graph.
58
What does a reaction norm where only genetic differences occur look like?
Distance b/t G lines, but both lines are horizontal
59
What does a reaction norm where both genetic & environmental differences occur look like?
Distance b/t G lines, and the lines have some slope
60
What does a reaction norm where environmental differences play a large role on Z, but G does not look like?
Slope in the lines, but the lines are nearly overlapping
61
How do daphnia reproduce?
Asexual
62
How to quantify daphnia phototaxis in the lab?
Put daphnia in tube and shine light on one end. | See which end it swims towards.
63
What special behaviour does daphnia display?
Phototaxis: move towards or away from light
64
Phototaxis
Movement in response to light
65
Why are daphnia attracted / not attracted to light?
Attracted: food is in the light | Not attracted: predators also in the light
66
What does an adaptive response (evolution) look like on a reaction norm graph?
First point is the same, but second point varies
67
Evolution of a reaction norm
Evolution choose the reaction norm that is the most adaptive. E.g. high predation risk = evolve to avoid actions with high risks of predation
68
What shapes the reaction norm?
Natural selection

BIO220 (24 decks)

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