FINAL Flashcards
relating to Tinbergen’s “4 questions” about
behavior. When asking questions such as
1. What mechanisms
activate it?
2. How does it
develop?
what kind of questions are these? ultimate or proximate
proximate
relating to Tinbergen’s “4 questions” about
behavior. When asking questions such as
3. How does it contribute to fitness?
4. How did it evolve? (deeper
evolutionary history)
what kind of questions are these? ultimate or proximate
Ultimate
Vireos are one bird species that are parasite species, they lay their eggs in the nests of another bird (host). researchers want to know what the fitness consequences are for the strategies vireos use to deal with parasitism. Is this an ultimate or proximate level question?
Ultimate
what kind of research approach would be useful for asking questions about how a behavior has/could evolve within a species
Experiments
Ex. examining fitness consequences of social vs. asocial behavior within a species.
Ex. measuring costs/ benefits of a behavior within a species
what kind of research approach is good for asking questions about evolutionary origins of traits, longer evolutionary
time-scale
comparative methods
Ex. comparing fixed differences in social behavior btw species
what are the requirements for evolution by natural selection?
- variable traits (behavior)
- heritable
- fitness
what mechanisms cause evolution (genetic change in a population (change in allele frequencies over time)
- natural selection
- gene flow (migration between populations)
- random processes (genetic drift)
what kind of behavior is genetically hard-wired: can be performed in response to a cue without prior experience
Innate, fixed behaviors
what kind of behavioral plasticity occurs when external stimuli in a given context activateneural and hormonalmechanisms or pathways which already exist inside the organism.
contextual plasticity (non-learning)
what kind of behavioral plasticity occurs when behaviors develop as a result of experience
learning
- Individual learning
- Social learning
what kind of learning occurs when the animal stops responding to a stimulus, or cue, after repeated exposure?
individual learning: habituation
what kind of learning occurs when a behavior induces a punishment or reward—decreases or increases display of behavior
individual learning:
operant conditioning
what kind of learning occurs when Animals learn by observation of, or interaction with, another individual (s)
social learning
what kind of experiment would you conduct if you want to know if a behavior is caused by genes?
Selective Breeding Experiments
Via controlled breeding, artificially select for certain behaviors; see if trait evolves
if you want to know whether a behavior is genetic or enviromentally-induced you should conduct what kind of experiment
common garden (transplant) experiment
Raise individuals from populations with different behaviors in a common environment (ex. lab).
If they display different behaviors = genetic
if you want to determine whether behaviors are innate vs learned (from parents) what kind of experiment should you do?
Cross-fostering (Reciprocal transplant) Experiments
- Start with parents that display different behaviors
- Do reciprocal transplant with young offspring
- Observe offspring phenotype
what is it called when you are measuring the time until onset of first occurrence of behavior
latency
what is it called when you are calculating the # of occurrences of behavior per unit time (rate)
frequency (rate)
what is it called when you are measuring the length of time a single occurrence of behavior lasts; mean
Duration
How do you create an optimal model (3 steps)
- Identify decisions
(ex. to eat a prey item or not, how long to stay in a patch, etc.) - Determine currency for costs and benefits
(ex. net rate of energy intake, energy efficiency, risk of starvation) - consider intrinsic and extrinsic constrains
(ex: travel time, handling time)
What currency is more important when when organism is limited by energy reserves
rate maximizing or efficiency
efficiency
Most energy gained/ energy spent
what currency is more important when organism is limited by time
rate maximizing
Most energy gained/ time
what kind of anti-preditor stratagy occurs when animals use camouflage
crypsis
what kind of anti-preditor adaptation do wasps use
physical/chemical defense
what kind of anti-preditor adaptation do poison frogs use
warning coloration/toxicity
in general, in what kind of species is co-evolution likely to occur?
in species that depend on each other. ex: species that depend on each other for survival
give an example of co-evolution
fish species evolves resistance to pathogen, later the pathogen evolves new mechanism to infect the fish
in the IFD model what is the assumption “animals have complete knowledge of patch quality “ called
ideal assumption
in the IFD model what is the assumption “animals can move between patches freely” called
Free
how should animals distribute themselves in the IFD
Animals should distribute themselves to maximize their personal payoff
what are the three assumptions of IFD
- ideal
- free
- animals equal competitors
- Animals should distribute themselves to maximize their personal payoff
what is the difference between IFD and IDD
in the IDD First settlers exclude later arrivers
what are the five benefits of defending territories
-foraging advantages
- increased number of mates
- offspring rearing (you reared in superior sites)
- decreased risk of predation
- decreased risk of parasitism/disease.
list two costs of defending a territory
- injury
- less foraging diversity
one weakness of observational study
more difficult to test for specific variables
one weakness of manipulative experiments
they are a less accurate representation compared to what is actually occurring in nature
four grouping benefits individuals have when it comes to anti-preditor addaptations
- dilute risk of attack
- predator confusion
- communal defense
- improved vigilance for preditors
two foraging benefits for group living
- better food finding (information centers)
- better food capture (group hunting)
costs associated with group living
- Increased probability of detection by predators
- Increased transmission of parasites/diseases
- Increased chance of cuckoldry (female “adultery”)
if you wanted to test predator confusion how would you test the predator
measure the time taken to locate prey
if you wanted to test a predator for diluted risk of attack what would you measure in the predator
the percent of prey eaten or attacked by predator
what kind of selection occurs when Favors traits related to surviving, investing in reproduction, successfully rearing offspring in a given place
Environmental Selection
what kind of selection occurs when there is male-male competition for mates
intrasexual selection
Because females are often the “choosers”, usually traits in males evolve to attract females (what is this called)
Intersexual Selection (Female choice)
list two strategies males use to increase the chance that their sperm out-competes the sperm of other males
- Remove sperm from other males (ex. dragonflies)
- Mate guarding
list two indirect benefits females get from choosing males with attractive features
- better genetics for offspring
- sexy son hypothesis
6 Direct benefits for female choice
-Food
-Protection
-Access to territories or nests
-Help raising young
-Reduced risk of disease -transmission
what is the hypothesis associated with Female preference for trait that is arbitrary (not adaptive)
Sexy son hypothesis (indirect benefit)
what is the Insurance Egg Hypothesis
Extra egg provides insurance against clutch failure
when does siblicide occur two reasons
- Asynchronous hatching
- In some species, early eggs given more testosterone
according to trivers-willard hypothesis, mothers of high condition should invest more heavily in sons or daughters
sons
when does egg insurance evolve
when there is a high risk of nest failure
polygamy is most likely to evolve when reasources or mates have a ? spacial distribution and individuals of the opposite sex are active in ?
clumped/ moderate asynchrony
when males mate with several females what is that called
polygyny
when females mate with several males what is that called
polyandry
when both males and females mate several times with other individuals it is called what
promiscuity
intrasexual competition should increase among females (polyandry) tend to monopolize (where is OSR skewed?)
females
intrasexual competition increases among males (polygyny) tend to monopolize (where is OSR skewed)?
towards males
what would least likely favor the evolution of monogamy
prolonged gestation and lactation periods in females
males defend resources essential for females (indirect control)
what is resource defense polygyny
- Females gregarious for reasons
unrelated to reproduction - Males control access to females directly
what is Female (harem) Defense Polygyny
- Mates or resources cannot be economically monopolized
- Males aggregate, sort themselves out based on dominance status
- Females choose males based on male status
what is Male Dominance Polygyny
Females compete/ defend
resources necessary for males
what is Resource Defense Polyandry
Females limit access to
males through their interactions
Female Access
Polyandry
Rules individuals use to recognize kin
- recognition by spatial distribution
- recognition by social learning
- phenotype matching
selection favors individuals who help their relatives produce offspring along with their own
inclusive fitness
how is inclusive fitness calculated
indirect+direct fitness
true or false: helpers should provide twice as much help to their full sibling as they would to their half-sibling.
false
true or false: when given a choice between helping a cousin or a half singing, a helper should help their cousin
false
when should cooperation evolve? four reasons
- kin selection: Altruism can evolve (indirect benefit)
- By-product benefits: Behavior is selfish, but cooperation arises as a by-product
- enforcement: If defecting is punished or cooperation is rewarded
- Reciprocal cooperation: Help another individual because that individual can help you back later.
what cooperation reason evolved as an indirect benefit?
kin selection: Altruism can evolve (indirect benefit)
four conditions are needed for the rare reciprocal cooperation
- interact repeatedly (opportunity for reciprocity)
- the benefit of receiving aid must outweigh the cost of donating it
- distinguish
cooperators from free-riders - Cooperation cannot be explained by more
simple mechanisms
individuals retain potential to exhibit full range
of behaviors throughout their life (castes are flexible)
what is totipotency
Castes are fixed
what is Obligate eusociality
what kind of animals are in specialized castes
breeders and helpers (little or now reproduction)
how did eusociality evolve
- kin selection hypothesis
- haplodiploidy hypothesis
sisters are more related to each other than they are to their offspring. - monogamy hypothesis
If females mate with > 1 male then worker will be more closely related to her own offspring than siblings
what is required for eusocialty to evolve
monogamy
required for
eusociality to evolve
by kin selection
when does polyandry evolve in eusociality
Polyandry evolves
after workers have
lost totipotency
