Definitions Flashcards
What is the Marginal Value Theorem (MTV)?
An animal should stay in a feeding patch until the expected net gain from staying declines to the expected net gain from travelling to and foraging in a new patch.
What is Mullerian mimicry?
Two or more unpalatable species converge to resemble each other (e.g., monarchs and queens).
What is Batesian mimicry?
Edible or palatable species resemble an inedible species (e.g., monarchs and viceroys).
What is Mertensian mimicry?
Harmless species resemble something dangerous (e.g., coral snakes and some kingsnakes).
What is anagenesis?
Changes through time producing a series of species, one after the other, known as ‘chronospecies’.
What is cladogenesis/speciation?
The splitting into lineages.
What is evolution?
A change in allele frequency within a population from one generation to the next, brought about by differential reproduction.
What is intrasexual selection?
A form of selection involving competition among individuals of the same sex (e.g., fighting).
What is intersexual selection?
A form of selection involving mate choice.
What is monogamy?
A mating system involving one female and one male, with or without pair-bonding.
What is polygyny?
A mating system where several females mate with one male, either simultaneously or sequentially.
What is polyandry?
A mating system where several males mate with one female, either simultaneously or sequentially.
What is polygynandry?
A mating system where females and males each have several mates, characterized by promiscuity.
What is a behavioral state?
A behavior that persists over an appreciable duration (e.g., grooming, foraging, resting), measured by duration and intensity.
What is a BEHAVIOURAL EVENT?
An instantaneous behaviour of short duration e.g. yawning, scratching.
Measure: latency, frequency, intensity.
What is INSTANTANEOUS SAMPLING?
The Observer notes whether a behaviour is occurring at the sample point.
What is ONE-ZERO SAMPLING?
At the sample point, the observer notes whether a behaviour did or did not occur during the preceding sampling interval.
What are ETHOGRAMS?
A catalogue of descriptions of the discrete, species-typical behaviour patterns that form the basic behavioural repertoire of the species.
What is BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY?
Analysis of animal behaviour in terms of costs + benefits.
What is OPTIMAL BEHAVIOUR?
Trade-off between fitness costs + benefits that provides the maximum net benefit.
What is NASH EQUILIBRIUM?
Solution to a game (most stable move is the one with the best results when the opponent is playing at their best).
What is an EVOLUTIONARY STABLE STRATEGY?
A strategy that if all members of a population adopt, it cannot be bettered by another strategy.
What is a WAR OF ATTRITION?
A competitive interaction where 2 individuals engage in a prolonged contest over a resource, each trying to outlast the other.
What is a SEQUENTIAL ASSESSMENT GAME?
A model that describes how animals engage in contests by gathering information about their opponent’s strength through a series of escalating interactions.
