human behaviour and ecology Flashcards
What is assortative mating?
A form of non random mating in which pair bonds are established on the basis of a particular phenotypical trait
What is positive assortative mating?
When people choose to mate with those phenotypically similar to themselves
What is negative (dis assortative) mating?
When individuals with dissimilar phenotypes or genotypes maye with one another more frequently than expected under random mating
What is an altruistic behaviour?
A behaviour that conveys and individual fitness cost to the actor and a fitness benefit to the receiver
What is an adaptation?
Traits that offer an advantage in a given environment
What are the types of adaptations?
structural
physiological
behavioural
What are some examples of species wide adaptations?
Stereoscopic vision, opposable thumb, voice
What are some examples of population specific adaptations?
Body shape, lactose tolerance
What is acclimation?
Very short term (minutes to hours) response to an environmental stressor
What is acclimatisation?
Short term (days to weeks) response to an environmental stressor
Genetic adaptation vs. Cultural adaptation
Modification: genetic/evolutionary vs. Behavioural/developmental
Transmission: Vertical (parent to offspring) vs. Vertical and horizontal
Speed: very slow (random mutation) vs rapid (goal directed
Direction: relatively irreversible vs. Reversible
What are some similarities between cultural and genetic adaptation?
both provide advantages for a given environment
- both results in changes over many generations
Define convergent evolution
The independent evolution of similar traits within a species
Define a cline
a measurable gradient in a single characteristic (or biological trait) of a species across its geographical range.
Define cultural adaptation
the process of adjusting to a new culture and feeling comfortable within it
What is the first law of thermodynamics?
energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be converted from one form to another
Second law of thermodynamics
posits that the transfer of energy involves some released as heat.
What is Leibigs law of the minimum?
the growth of an organism is limited by the most scarce resource, or limiting factor, available at any given time.
What is a limiting factor?
a variable or factor that constrains a population’s growth or size
What is a regulating factor?
a force that keeps a population of living things in check, preventing it from increasing or decreasing in size over time.
What is Bergman’s rule?
in cold climates, large body mass increases the ratio of volume-to-surface area and provides for maximum metabolic heat retention in mammals and birds
What is Allen’s rule?
endothermic animals living in colder climates have relatively shorter appendages than do closely related species in warmer climates.
Proximate explanations of behaviour
the immediate causes of behavior, and are based on the mechanisms that directly underlie the behavior.
Ultimate explanations of behaviour
concerned with the evolutionary benefits of a behavior, and how it has contributed to an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce
Female contribution to offspring
Genetic Contribution
Nurturing the Zygote
Gestation and Development
Hormonal Support
Maternal Care and Lactation
male contribution to offspring
Genetic Material
Sex Determination
sperm Motility and Fertilisation
Epigenetic Influence
Resource Provision
Hamilton’s rule for kin selection
Altruistic behavior is likely to evolve when the benefit to a relative, weighted by how closely related they are, is greater than the cost to the individual doing the helping. In other words, an organism will help a relative if it means that, overall, more of their shared genes have a chance to survive and be passed on.
