Chapter 1 Flashcards
Why were baboons so important to early anthropocentric researchers like Washburn and DeVore? (2 points)
They are possible models for human ancestors; live in sub-Saharan Africa where fossil trail of human origins begin p10
What interested Phyllis Jay about langurs?
Langurs were anatomically able to consume large amounts of leaves - which were in abundance, making society less hierarchical. Jay focused on socialization and development instead
Langurs were arboreal, unlike other terrestrial colobines.
Who set up the 3 long term studies of the 4 great apes?
British paleontologist Louis Leakey - on chimpanzees, mountain gorillas and orangutans
Who were the 3 primatologists and what ape did they each study?
Jane Goodall - chimpanzees
Dian Fossey - mountain gorillas
Birute Galdikas - orangutans
What is the term that describes those that have the capacity to be active in the night or day?
Cathemeral
What are the 5 early classification themes of primates?
Activity, diet, habitat use and ranging, group size and social/reproductive units
What do activity patterns tell us about primates? (2)
What time of day primates are active; how primates expend their energy (activity budget) - energy minimizers and energy maximizers
What are the four classifications of primates according to their diet?
Insectivores - insects
Faunivores - non-insect invertebrae
Frugivores - fruits
Folivores - nonreproductive parts of plants ie: leaves, bark
What is the difference in home and day ranges for territorial primates and non-territorial primates?
Territorial - home and day range about the same
Non-territorial - home range > day range; range overlaps with other primates but may defend particular food sources
What does group size tell us about primates? (3)
Gregarious vs solitary
Population density - affected by predation and food availability
Cohesiveness (fission-fusion)
What do social and reproductive units tell us about primates? (3)
Socionomic sex ratio
Dispersal - philopatric, matrilocal, patrilocal
Mating systems - monogamous, polygynous, polygamous, polyandrous
Explain the findings from Box 1.1 p20
Charles Snowdon contrasts observations of cotton top tamarins and pygmy marmosets between captive and field studies. Pheromone exposure causes reproductive inhibition in captive; but not field studies
What are the pros of field studies?
Unprovisioned studies can help explore questions about relationship and seasonal distribution of food and primate grouping patterns; provisioned studies can accelerate social interaction for observable patterns
What are the cons of field studies?
We may never know if human presence influences primate behaviour
What are the pros of captive studies?
Allow a controlled environment; individual primate histories are known
What are the cons of captive studies?
May alter the behavior of subjects; observed behavior may be different in the wild
What are the benefits of long-term field studies and individual variation? (2)
Primates have longer life spans and developmental stages, long term study help accumulate observations.
Helps observers distinguish between behavioral patterns and individual variation
What is the benefit of comparison among species as opposed to comparing primates to humans?
Movement away from referential models to strategic modelling. Focus on why primates are different/similar, as opposed to drawing parallels to humans.
What is the benefit of examining other units of comparison? (Study Group)
Individual level study can allow observers to examine individual behavior in different contexts. Individual behaviors can then be merged into group behavior.
What is the benefit of examining populations?
Able to make intraspecific and interspecifc comparisons between species. Able to isolate for environmental or phylogenetic influences on behavior.
What is niche construction?
The influence of social environment as a result of social interactions. This has the ability to increase variation in phenotype expression.
What is an evolutionary trap?
The expression of a behavior that was once relevant in a previous environment, but no longer is.
