Evolution Flashcards

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1
Q

Adaptations

A

Biological traits or characteristics that help an individual survive and reproduce in its habitat

  • the working parts of evolution, the functional systems and subsystems
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2
Q

Adaptations perform specific functions that make an organism better suited to its _________

A

Environment

  • adaptations exist to help one thrive in their physical environment
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3
Q

What are the 4 basic mechanisms of evolution

A

Natural selection
Mutation
Genetic drift
Migration

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4
Q

Natural selection

A

The differential survival and reproduction of organisms as a result of the heritable differences b/w them

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5
Q

What are the 3 essential components of natural selection?

A
  1. There are significant individual differences
    - within any population, there is variation among individuals for any given characteristic
  2. These differences affect individuals’ chances of surviving and reproducing, causing differential reproduction
  3. The traits that give rise to differential reproduction have a genetic basis, meaning they are heritable
    - the offspring of successful reproducers will resemble their parents with respect to these variable characteristics
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6
Q

_________ __________ is the process through which natural selection operates

A

Selective transmission

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7
Q

________ heritable traits are selectively transmitted across generations

A

Favourable

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8
Q

The selective transmission of heritable traits results in ____________ changes

A

Population

  • the most suitable traits will be passed on to the next generation
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9
Q

The specific characteristics that are best adapted for survival and reproduction are going to be reproduced at ________ rates

A

Higher

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10
Q

Stabilizing selection

A

Selection against any sort of departure from the species-typical adaptive design

  • this sort of selection tends to keep traits stable over generations
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11
Q

Readily observable natural selection is _______ and ________

A

Minimal and reversible

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12
Q

Fitness (biology meaning)

A

About reproductive success, not physical fitness

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13
Q

Darwinian fitness

A

Average reproductive success of a genotype relative to alternative genotypes

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14
Q

Evolution

A

Change in gene frequencies over generations, in part due to the introduction of new gene variants via mutation

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15
Q

Natural selection can act on mate-finding to produce ________ selection

A

Sexual

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16
Q

Evolutionary pressures change across ______ generations

A

Successive

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17
Q

Sexual selection

A

The component of natural selection that acts on traits that influence an organism’s ability to obtain a mate, resulting in differential reproductive success

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18
Q

Female choice & combat success are subtypes of _________ selection

A

Sexual

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19
Q

Inter-sexual selection

A

Involves an interaction between males and females

  • female choice (mate choice preferences)
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20
Q

Example of inter-sexual selection

A

Peacocks

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21
Q

Intra-sexual selection

A

Involves success in combat with other males

  • male competition
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22
Q

Example of intra-sexual selection

A

Elks

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23
Q

Mate choice preferences

A
  • female choice picks out males with the best resistance to diseases
  • best genes for being healthy
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24
Q

Species can be identified by different species-typical ___________

A

Behaviours

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25
Q

What are the 4 parts of species-typical behaviour

A
  • movement (topography)
  • habitat preference
  • group size
  • social system
26
Q

Natural selection favours the “__________ gene”

A

Selfish

27
Q

What is it called when it has:

Positive effect on actor’s well-being
Positive effect on recipient’s well-being

A

Cooperation

28
Q

What is it called when it has:

Positive effect on actor’s well-being
Negative effect on recipient’s well-being

A

Selfish

29
Q

What is it called when it has:

Negative effect on actor’s well-being
Positive effect on recipient’s well-being

A

Altruism

30
Q

What is it called when it has:

Negative effect on actor’s well-being
Negative effect on recipient’s well-being

A

Spite

31
Q

Adaptations must increase ___________ of the gene, not necessarily the group

A

Success

  • selection must be good for the gene, regardless of how it acts on the group
32
Q

_____________ in groups increase personal success of obtaining food

A

Foraging

33
Q

There is a trade-off between foraging for ________ and scanning for _________

A

There is a trade-off between foraging for FOOD and scanning for PREDATORS

  • foraging in groups ensures more time for foraging over scanning
34
Q

Altruism

A

Behaviour in which the actor incurs a cost to provide a benefit to a recipient

  • altruism can not thrive if it cannot be passed down genetically
35
Q

Altruists ______ their own fitness when helping others

A

Decrease

36
Q

Eusocial Hymenoptera

A

In this level of social organization, most individuals spend their lives serving the colony without reproducing

  • includes all ants, some bees and some wasps
37
Q

Genes for altruism could be successful if they helped _____________ copies of themselves

A

Identical

*Known as INCLUSIVE FITNESS

38
Q

Direct fitness

A

Fitness from personal reproduction

39
Q

Indirect fitness

A

Fitness from the reproduction of close genetic relatives

40
Q

Direct fitness + indirect fitness = ?

A

Inclusive fitness

41
Q

What is Hamilton’s Rule’s equation?

A

rB > C

r = the relatedness of the individuals
- multiplied by the probability that the recipients actually have identical copies of the same gene or coefficient of relatedness
B = the reproductive benefit to the recipients
C = the reproductive cost to the actor

42
Q

How is fitness measured?

A

Measured by the number of the copies of its genes left in the next generation

43
Q

Probability that actor and recipient share gene in question

A

Relatedness

  • ## depends on how genes were inherited
44
Q

What is the relatedness to parents?

A

About 50% to either parent

45
Q

What is the relatedness to full siblings?

A

About 50%

46
Q

What does Hamilton’s Rule predicts?

A

Predicts theoretical adaptive behaviours

47
Q

What explains cases of aggression and abuse in humans?

A

Relatedness

48
Q

Cues of kinship

A
  • Mother’s association
  • Co-residence with other children
49
Q

Alarm calls

A

Altruistic warning of approaching predators

  • females give calls more often when they live near kin
  • males leave kin early and almost never give alarm calls
50
Q

Phenotype matching

A

An evaluation of relatedness b/w individuals based on an assessment of phenotypic similarity

51
Q

Direct reciprocity

A

Situations in which individuals help each other and both benefits

52
Q

Indirect reciprocity

A

Occurs when individuals help others who have helped others

  • when helping others, you get a good reputation for yourself and overall will get more help from neighbors compared to individuals who never helped at all
  • people are more generous and less likely to break the rules when they are observed by others
53
Q

What does evolutionary psychology reveal about human behaviour today?

A
  1. adaptations from the evolutionary past continue to affect our behaviours today
  2. sex differences in reproductive success drive mate selection preference
  3. outcome variance can drive different solutions to the same problems
54
Q

Psychological mechanisms + input from environment = ?

A

Behaviour

55
Q

What are the different adaptive problems different sexes face?

A
  • metabolic demands of reproduction
  • parental investment
  • genetic cuckoldry
56
Q

Sexual over perception bias leads _______ to over-infer sexual interest

A

Males

57
Q

What is a “post-hoc” explanation?

A

Have some type of observations then making a story about it

58
Q

What is a “a priori” prediction?

A

Have some type of theory (the way to do good science)

  • it’s better to have that theory first then collect the data
59
Q

Naturalistic fallacy

A

A leap from IS to SHOULD BE

60
Q

Moralistic fallacy

A

A leap from SHOULD BE to IS