BIOL205Z in lecture notes cards

Question 1

comparative method

Answer 1

• look at species that have two different eclogies but share the same trait
• or look at species that share an ecology but don’t share a trait

Question 2

evolution of menopause

Answer 2

-humans: some sort of mismatch between the rate at which follicles degrade and lifespan
-killer whales post reproduction representation is close to o.31, cease reproducing at 40 but can live to 70’s/80’s

Question 3

grandmother hypothesis

Answer 3

-post reproductive females promote genetic contribution to further generations
-menopause, outcome of kin selection?
-reproductively active grandmother may impose fitness costs in grandchildren

Question 4

examples of menopause

Answer 4

-killer whales
-baluga whales
-narwhals
-pilot whales

Question 5

pedigree

Answer 5

shows how individuals descended from two ancestral Individuals

Question 6

phylogeny’s

Answer 6

-not individual anymore
-has tips which each represent a single group of known species
-purpose is to reconstruct relatedness between species and when they diverged from one another

Question 7

evolution of infanticide

Answer 7

-a homoplasy as there was no evidence of it in the common ancestor
-occurs in the majority of non-anual breeders, 76% of 97 species
-commited more in stable mixed sex groups

Question 8

synapomorphies

Answer 8

-shared derived homologies
-outgroup doesn’t have the trait
-e.g. lactation, seen in all mammals but no birds

Question 9

symplesimorphies

Answer 9

-shared ancestral homologies
-outgroup also has the trait
-e.g. backbone, seen in all mammals and all birds

Question 10

American vole

Answer 10

• 2 species: prairie and montane
  -one species is monogamous and the other is promiscuous
  -look similar morphologically, but morphological features evolve slower

Question 11

mongoose

Answer 11

-evolved extreme birth synchrony
-reduces risk of infanticide, other mothers will kill pups If they’re born early

Question 12

transposons

Answer 12

-insert extra copies of themselves around the genome
-discovered when looking at mosaic patterns in maize

Question 13

alu element

Answer 13

increases the likelihood of mutations occurring in humans

Question 14

segregation distorters

Answer 14

-kill of sperm that don’t contain the distorter in order to increase their frequency in the next generation
-two tightly linked genes= toxin + antidote

Question 15

X-linked

Answer 15

X chromosomes survive whilst killing off Y chromosomes

Question 16

Malaysian stalked eyes flies

Answer 16

-females prefer males with eye stalks further apart
-eye stalk length is a good indicator of whether males have suppressor gene

Question 17

drosophila

Answer 17

-In populations where females are mating with multiple males, there are less sex ratio distorters in the population
-SGE’s major driver behind evolution of polyandry

Question 18

lions food

Answer 18

-size of pride variable
-abundance of prey so large number of lions is supported

Question 19

tigers

Answer 19

scarce food so only one to two individuals supported

Question 20

monogamous relationships

Answer 20

-splendid fairy wren
- 70% of offspring might not be from parent feeding from parent feeding them
-mute swan
-100% monogamous

Question 21

long tailed manakins

Answer 21

won’t look at male when there is only one of them

Question 22

cultural evolution

Answer 22

-Behaviour picked up in social groups
-Doesn’t lead to changes in gene frequencies directly, but could be genetically good learner

Question 23

teaching in the field

Answer 23

-Bees learning to pull on a string and get sugar solution
oPut that bee back with other individuals and via social networking, they will all know how to get the sugar syrup

Question 24

house sparrow

Answer 24

-males have a badge on their chest
-Size of badge determines how dominant you are
-Scaled 1-5, 5 being the most dominant

Question 25

successful cheats

Answer 25

-Hoverfly looking like wasps, unlikely to be eaten as predator assumes you are a wasp
-Cuckoos laying their eggs in other birds’ nests

Question 26

mobbing call

Answer 26

gets all individuals to join in and attack a predator

Question 27

identity

Answer 27

penguins in breeding groups able to pick up call of chick and mate in a large group

Question 28

metacommunication

Answer 28

dogs will do play bo when it wants to play, so that you don’t mistake their behaviour for aggression

Question 29

goats

Answer 29

-Vocalisation depending on mood
-Sad goat, different frequency
-Happy and sad, same call but different frequency

Question 30

corticosterone on parents behaviour

Answer 30

-if parent is in really bad state, their priorities will change
-parent will provide less care to offspring if they are injected with corticosterone
-go in to emergency life history stage in order to survive

Question 31

hormones and aggression

Answer 31

-Females more aggressive, but testosterone levels higher in males
-Females: lower progesterone, more aggressive you are
-Higher levels of progesterone: priority will be incubation, not aggression

Question 32

Challenge hypothesis

Answer 32

Environment and social behaviour impact production of testosterone

Question 33

Fighting in mice

Answer 33

-Mice who won previously have upped testosterone levels
-Made them more likely to win again
-Drove winners effect

Question 34

Explanations of altruism

Answer 34

-group selection
-social contract models
-selfrish teamwork models

Question 35

insight

Answer 35

the ability of an animals to consider a set of information and to derive from that information a novel solution to a problem