Chapter 8 Social Relations Flashcards
Behavioral ecology is best described as ______.
the study of social relations which is focused on how behavior influences the relationship between an organism and its environment
Identify the individual with the highest evolutionary fitness.
A redfish that reproduces once in a single year, but 10% of the population 5 years later is a descendant of this individual.
In terms of evolutionary fitness, social interactions may be most directly important for ______.
sexual reproduction
Identify the groups of organisms with species that commonly reproduce asexually.
bacteria
protozoan
plants
Which of these would be included in behavioral ecology?
Male prairie chickens conducting elaborate mating rituals.
Damselfish protecting their territory on a reef.
Male bluehead wrasses defending their mating territories.
Organisms that have both male and female functions in the same individual are known as ______.
hermaphrodites
Why are social relationships, as studied by sociobiologists, important to an individual?
They can have a direct impact on evolutionary fitness.
In biology, fitness is best defined as the ______.
number of offspring an individual contributes to future generations
Some individuals reproduce at higher rates because they are better at securing mates. This is known as _______ selection.
sexual
Which of the following social interactions are important for sexual reproduction?
Male spiders conducting the proper mating dance of their species to avoid being eaten by females.
Birds migrating northward to warmer climates when food sources are more abundant.
A male praying mantis sacrificing himself to the female while he is mating.
Which of the following is considered a hermaphrodite?
a plant that produces a flower with stamens and pistils
Which of the following would be an example of a limitation on male ornamentation?
a very brightly colored tail in male guppies that prevents escape from predators
According to Darwin, sexual selection could be best described as a ______.
struggle between males for the possession of females
Why do female guppies choose males with ornamentation, which does not directly increase survival?
Ornamentation indicates good health and nutritional state.
Ornamentation is likely to be inherited, so the female’s offspring are likely to inherit the good traits.
In addition to presenting dead arthropods to females, what other method can a male scorpionfly use to attract a mate?
They can secrete a mass of saliva.
What factors may limit ornamentation in males under sexual selection? (Select all that apply.)
The risk of predation with larger, showier feathers
A reduced ability to hunt or forage
How do female scorpionflies benefit when choosing males that provide larger arthropods?
Female fitness is improved due to increased egg laying.
Ornamentation in male guppies may indicate that ______.
ornamented males may have good genes that are inherited by the female’s offspring
Endler used guppies from multiple populations ______.
to ensure that color variation was present in the experimental units so that he could test for natural selection
Self-incompatibility may occur when a ______.
plant has pistils and stamens, but cannot pollinate itself
Based on the results of Thornhill’s experiments, male scorpionflies with the highest mating success ______.
had the largest nuptial gift
What benefits does a male gain by offering larger nuptial gifts to female scorpionflies?
The female is more likely to mate with him.
A larger nuptial gift may improve his fitness because the female is likely to lay more eggs.
Nonrandom mating in plants could result from ______.
female control over fertilization
competition among pollen
Variability in natural conditions may have more importance in pollination than
nonrandom mating.
The evolution of sociality likely arose from the need for group defense ______.
of young
for mates
of good territories
An example of a cooperative behavior may include a ______.
herd of wildebeest defending a young animal against a predator
If a female plant was able to control the fertilization process, this would clearly be an example of ______.
nonrandom mating
Marshall and Fuller (1994) point out that the harsh conditions in nature may have
more importance on the number and size of seeds produced than nonrandom mating.
Sociality, like many behaviors, has a wide range of complexity. Which of the following would not be considered a social behavior within a species?
a group of vultures eating carrion
The evolution of sociality for some groups may have begun with ______.
a group of related individuals defending a single food resource
Cooperation generally involves which of the following?
Individuals assisting others for defense
Individuals exchanging resources
A social system where helpers provide care for offspring that are not their own is known as ______
cooperative breeding
Some of the most complex sociality in a social species occur in ______.
ant colonies
An example in cooperative breeding that has a benefit to helpers may include ______.
experience raising young
Which of the following are considered the major characteristics of eusociality?
multiple generations live simultaneously
sterile, nonreproductive, and reproductive individuals are present
cooperative care of the young
The reproduction of the individual plus the survival and reproduction of individuals it shares genes with is known as ______ fitness
inclusive
An example of a species with cooperative breeding is ______.
green woodhoopoes
