Evolution of Ecology Flashcards
What does natural selection act on
The phenotypes
What is population genetics
The changes in gene frequencies in populations
Molecular evolution is
the history of life recorded in DNA sequence
Systematics is
The evolutionary relationship between species
Palaeontology is
Macro evolution
Evolutionary ecology is
Phenotypes and reproductive success
How is phenotype linked to natural selection
We inherit genes
Natural selection can select for a gene but then gene itself is not the object of selection
Genes themselves are invisible to selection but the protein coded by the genes influences the phenotype of the individual
Selection acts on phenotypes not genotypes
What is natural selection
The differential reproductive success of individuals due to differences in their phenotypes
What is a phenotype
Sum of the biological, physiological, morphological and behavioural characteristic of an individual
What life history strategies influence reproductive success
Age and size at maturity
Number and size of offspring
Sex allocation
Lifespan
What behaviour ecologies influence reproductive success
Mate choice
Parental care
Foraging
Resource competition
Who came up with the extended phenotype
Richard Dawkins
What is the extended phenotype
The main idea is that the phenotype should not be limited to biological processes but should include all the effects it has on its environment inside and outside of the organisms
How does natural selection act in correlation to the extended phenotype
Natural selection does not act directly on physiology or morphology, it acts on behaviour which Richard Dawkins calls the extended phenotype
What is behaviour
The sum of the responses of an organism to internal and external stimuli
Can be learnt or innate
What were tinbergens four questions for behaviour
Control - how does it work?
Ontogeny - how did t develop
Function - what is it for?
Evolution - how did it evolve
What causes aggressive behaviour in male three spines sticklebacks
Seeing a red underside - visual cue
How do blue jays know not to eat monarch butterflies
Learnt behaviour- eat then realise it’s gross spit them out and know not to do it again
What is fitness
A measure of the number of genes contributed to the next generation by an individual
How is fitness often measured
Relative lifetime reproductive success
What does a large repertoire size in male sedge warblers suggest
They’ve lived longer and are stronger
How do belastomatid bugs show parental care
Male swims with eggs in their back - back brooding
Egg guarding
Why do male fiddler crabs with their claws
Wave bigger claw to attract female - bigger claw higher reproductive success
Wave bigger claw to defend its borrow from rival males
Species recognition
How does the Chela of Uca crabs change throughout their life
Juveniles - claws of equal weight (8% of body)
Male adult - major chela grows more rapidly to form 38% of body weight
Female adult - claws remain 8% of body weight
Why do male fiddler crabs wave their major chela for species recognition
Not all species wave their claws in the same way or have the same coloured claws
Ocypodidae
Family name for fiddler crabs
Uca
Genus name for fiddle crabs
Decapoda
Order name for fiddle crabs
