Biology of Mammals Flashcards
Sperm competition in humans
Gallup 2006
Females wait at least 48h after extra-pair copulation before resuming intra-pair copulation.
Changes in post-ejaculatory behaviour to minimise displacement of own sperm
Genital morphology linked to social status
Lemaitre 2012
Bank voles: dominant males have wider bacula.
Benefits for sperm competition and/or cryptic female choice. Could also:
- facilitate better placement of copulatory plugs
- increase female stimulation (and therefore fertilisation)
- increase ovulation
Investment in bacula could be condition-dependent?
Delayed implantation
Kauffman 2009
Energy status may regulate the timing of implantation.
Delayed implantation may have evolved to buffer against pregnancy failure due to energy imbalance in early gestation.
Dog domestication - diet
Arendt 2014
AMY2B gene codes for amylase. Allows dogs to thrive on the high starch diet provided during early domestication. Levels vary across breeds.
Dog domestication - East Asian origin
Savolainen 2002
Data suggests common origin from single gene pool. Greatest diversity found in East Asia so originated there?
Dog domestication - Bering Land Bridge?
Witt 2014
Most thinking is that humans crossed the Bering Land Bridge with dogs. But dogs not in Americas until 110000bp (humans 15000bp) so dogs didn’t arrive with humans?
Cat domestication - Near East
Driscoll 2007
Domesticated in Near East coincided with development of agricultural villages.
Descended from five founders across Near East and then transported by humans across the world.
Horse domestication
Anthony and Brown 2011
Secondary products revolution (riding important).
Important role in sheep/cattle farming.
Later useful in warfare.
Horse harnessing and milking
Outram 2009
Effect of Toxoplasma gondii on human behaviour
Flegr 2007
Those infected with Toxoplasma have higher Testosterone levels.
High T increase risk of Toxoplasma infection?
Or Toxoplasma could manipulate levels of T to impair immunity and increase chance of survival?
bTB in cattle - badger culling
Woodroffe 2006
bTB levels higher in areas where culling occurred.
Disrupted territories = movement.
Detrimental effects of invasions on small native mammals
McEvoy 2008
Tasmanian swamp rats recognised olfactory cues of native quoll (predator) but not of the non-native invasive red fox/domestic cat.
Global warming could increase spread of invasive species
Hobbelen 2013
Hawaiin rock pools
Hawaiin damselfly (predator) vs invasive southern house mosquito (prey).
Global warming could relieve predation pressure and increase spread of invasive species, some of which may be vectors for disease (avian malaria in this case).
Human-elephant conflict
Wollman 2012
Deterrents useful where alternative is available. Solutions include culling, contraception, translocation, wildlife corridors.
Need to unify policies across all elephant range countries and cooperate for translocation.
Translocation efficacy unknown.
Effects of sociality on survival of juvenile horses
Nunez 2015
Feral horse herds gathered and separated. Survival better amongst foals with greater social networks before separation and more contact with original herd members after separation. More important even than weight! Has sociality evolved to help shield individuals from the effects of catastrophic events?
Increased group size alters behaviour of a folivorous primate
Gogarten 2014
Increased group size = decreased time spent feeding and socialising, and increased diet diversity and time spent travelling.
Allows coping with greater scramble competition? Flexibility - increased benefit, decreased cost?
Reproductive delays and sperm competition in bats
Orr 2013
Reproductive delays may facilitate sperm competition. Species with reproductive delays had relatively bigger testes (proxy for sperm comp.)
Locomotor adaptation in rodents
Semi-aquatic Arboreal Fossorial Ricochetal Gliding
Samuels 2008
Semi-aquatic - robust bones, enlarged muscular attachments, short femora, elongate hind feet
Arboreal - long humerus and digits, equally proportioned fore and hind limbs
Fossorial - robust bones, enlarged muscle attachments, long manual claws, reduced hind limbs
Ricochetal - disproportionate limbs, proximal inserion of muscles, elongate tibia/hind feet
Gliding - elongate gracile bones, short processes of the ulna, equally proportioned fore and hind limbs.
Commercial hunting of marine mammals
Arellano-Perala 2014
Ended isolation of peoples around Baja California Seas
Industrial fisheries and tourism = money.
Need to consider relative contributions of fisheries to tourism, nutrition, social welfare, environmental degradation etc.
Devil facial tumour disease and conservation (Genetic diversity)
McCallum 2008
DFTD - loss of genetic diversity threatens populations with disease.
Pathogens with frequency dependent transmission can cause extinction.
Disease/invasive species - modelling effects of grey squirrels and squirrelpox virus on red squirrel populations
White 2014
Native species are driven to extinction both with and without disease, but adding disease speeds it up.
Disease can spread through native species even when invading spp is prevented from establishing.
Benefits of increased density negated by increased risk of disease.
Preventing invading species from establishing in strongolds can protect native spp from exclusion but not from disease outbreaks.
Sylvatic plague vaccination
Abbott 2012
Oxytocin controls birth synchrony in banded mongooses
Hodge 2011
Lengthening photoperiod could be the cue for implantation in fur seals
Temte 1985
