General Ecology Chapter 4 Flashcards
Behavior
observable response of organisms to external or internal stimuli
Behavioral ecology
study of how behavior contributes to the differential survival and reproduction of organisms
Ethology
scientific studies of animal behavior focused on the specific genetic and physiological mechanisms of behavior called proximate causes
Ultimate causes
particular behavior evolves in terms of its effect on reproductive success
Alturism
behavior that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself
Group selection
the premise that natural selection produces outcomes beneficial for the whole group or species
Coefficient of relatedness
the probability that any two individuals will share a copy of a particular gene by descent is a quantity called r
Inclusive fitness
used to designate the total number of copies of genes passed on through one’s relatives, as well as one’s own reproductive output
Kin selection
Selection for behavior that lowers an individual’s own fitness but enhances the reproductive success of a relative
Hamilton’s rule
altruistic gene will be favored by natural selection when rB> C; B- benefit received by recipient; C- cost incurred by donor
Haplodiploidy
System of sex determination
Reciprocal alturism
cost to the animal of behaving altruistically is offset by the likelihood of a return benefit
Game theory
branch of mathematics and economics that studies interactions between agents
Evolutionarily stable strategy
behavioral strategy that if adopted by a population cannot be invaded by any other strategy
Many eyes hypothesis
living in groups individuals may decrease the amount of time each spends scanning for predators and increase the amount of time they have to feed
Optimality modeling
predicts that an animal should behave in a way that maximizes the difference between the benefits of a behavior and its cost
Fisher’s principle
sex ration is more often about 1:1
Promiscuous
each female and each male mating with multiple partners during breeding season
Monogamy
each individual mates exclusively with one partner over at least a single breeding cycle and sometimes for loner
Polygamy
either males or females mate with more than one partner in a breeding season
Polygyny
one male mates with more than one female but female mate with one male
Polyandry
one female mates with several males but males mate with one female
Mate guarding hypothesis
male stays with female to prevent her from being fertilized by other males
Male assistance hypothesis
males remain with females to help them rear their offspring
Female-enforced monogamy hypothesis
females stop their male partner from being polygynous
Leks
birds and mammals males display in designated communal courting areas
Sexual selection
promotes traits that will increase and organism’s mating success
Handicap prinicple
ornaments such as excessively long tail feathers function as a sign of an individual’s genetic quality because the bearer must be able to afford this energetically costly trait
In a diploid organisms, the coefficient of relatedness, r, between father and daughter is
0.5
In haplodiploid organisms, fathers are related to sons by:
0
Which organisms do not have a haplodiploid mating system:
Termites
In a polygynous mating system:
One male mate with with many different females
Selection that lowers an individual’s own fitness but enhances that of a relative is known as:
Kin selection
The many eyes hypothesis suggest prey flock because:
Bigger flocks make it more likely that one individual will spot a predator
Hamilton proposed that an altruistic gene will be favored by natural selection when:
rB>C
In meiosis, any gene has what percentage chance of entering an egg?
50
In naked mole rats mothers are related to daughters by what percentage?
50
Female peahens select male peacocks based on:
Tail feather adornments
