Chapter 8 - Behavioral Ecology Flashcards
An animal’s activities are centered on these 3 critical needs
Obtaining food
Finding mates
Avoiding predators
Study of the ecological and evolutionary basis of animal behavior
Behavioral Ecology
Addresses a “how” question
Focuses on events that take place during an animal’s lifetime
Proximate Cause
Addresses a “why” question
Examines the evolutionary and historical reasons for a particular behavior
Behavioral ecologists are primarily concerned with this explanation of animal behavior
Ultimate Cause
T/F Natural selection can cause adaptive evolution if traits that confer
advantage are heritable
True
Process in which traits that confer survival or reproductive advantages tend to increase in frequency over time
Adaptive Evolution
T//F Behaviors are determined by genes and by environmental conditions
True
Proposes that animals will maximize the amount of energy acquired per unit of feeding time
Relies on the assumption that natural selection acts on the foraging behavior of animals to maximize their rate of energy gain
Optimal Foraging Theory
What is the mathematical representation of the Optimal Foraging Theory?
P = E/t
Where P is profitability, E is the energy gained, and t is the time of obtaining and processing the food
States that to optimize its energy gain, an animal should forage in the most profitable patches-those in which it can achieve the highest energy gain per unit of time
Marginal Value Theorem
A foraging animal should stay in a patch until this time when the rate of energy gain in that patch has declined to the average rate for the habitat
Giving up time
T/F, an animal will not accept a lower rate of energy gain if the inter patch distance is greater
False, One prediction of the marginal value theorem is that the animal may accept a lower rate of energy gain if the distance between patches is greater
Optimal foraging theory best describes the foraging behavior of?
Animals that feed on immobile prey and applies less well to animals feeding on mobile prey
Trade-offs that affect foraging decisions may be related to
Predators
Environmental conditions
Physiological conditions
A process in which individuals with certain characteristics gain an advantage over others of the same sex solely with respect to mating success
Sexual Selection
Hypothesis of sexual selection that posits a male that can support a costly and unwieldy ornament is likely to be a vigorous individual whose overall genetic quality is high
Handicap Hypothesis
Hypothesis of sexual selection that posits that the female receives indirect genetic benefits through her sons, who will themselves be attractive to females and produce many grandchildren
Sexy son hypothesis
Any investment by the parent in an individual offspring that increases the offspring’s chance of surviving (and hence reproductive success) at the cost of the parent’s ability to invest in other offspring
Parental Investment
Refers to the number of mating partners that males or females have and the pattern of parental care
Mating System
Male mates with only one female, and she with him
Pairing may last for one or more breeding season
Both parent typically care for the young
Monogamy
One male mates with multiple females
Female usually provides most or all parental care
Male may control access to these females directly or indirectly
Polygyny
One female mates with multiple males
Male usually provides most or all parental care
Female may defend these males directly or indirectly
Polyandry
Both males and females mate with multiple partners in a breeding season
Promiscuity
Emlen and Oring argued that the diverse mating systems seen in nature result from
Behavior of individuals striving to maximize their reproductive success or fitness
Occurs when habitat where food and nest sites (and hence females) were widely separated
Monogamy
Occurs when habitat where food and nest sites (and hence females) were located closer to one another
Polygyny
Advantages of living in groups
- Higher Reproductive success
- Shared responsibilities over caring for young
- Reduced risk of predation
- Improved foraging success
This is when the number of individuals in a group increases meaning the chance of being the one attacked decreases
Dilution Effect
Disadvantages of living in groups
- Greater energy expenditures
- More competition for food
- Higher risks of disease
T/F Group size may reflect a balance between the costs and benefits of group living
True
Ok pahinga saglit jogging muna
Charowt
