Grasslands: Behavioural ecology 2 Flashcards
Describe optimal foraging
Taking the minimal amount of risk for the maximum energy gain to lead to the maximum reproductive success
Describe optimum prey size
The most profitable prey item (most amount of energy gained by unit of energy invested to obtain it)
What are the implications of an increase in territory size?
Requires more energy to defend (which is usually done by display rather than fighting when body size is similar). Territory benefits increase. Suggests there is an optimum territory size.
What do fighting strategies depend on?
Frequency. The stable strategy is cost and benefit dependent.
What is the most common sex ratio seen in animal populations and why is this unnecessary?
1:1 but fewer males and needed for reproduction that females
What are the four mating systems?
Promiscuity, polygyny, monogamy, polyandry
Describe polygyny
One male with multiple females. More common in mammals. Can be resources based if there’s a resource that a male can dominate. Included harems and communal courting.
Describe monogamy
1 male and 1 female. Typical of birds. May be related to mate guarding, which guarantees paternity as the male invests energy to rear and protect them
What is common in polyandry?
Egg predation. The females compete for rank.
What types of sexual dimorphism are seen in different mating systems?
In monogamous species males and females are a similar size. In polygynous species males are bigger, in polyandrous species females are bigger.
What concept was recognised by Darwin?
Sexual selection promoting traits that increases an organisms mating success
What is intersexual selection?
Where one sex choses mates based on an attractive feature
What is intrasexual selection?
Members of the same sex compete to make with a member of the opposite sex
What does intrasexual selection result in?
Adaptations for fighting
Intrasexual selection can be risky so when is it done?
When the males are similar enough to be competition for each other.
