Kin Selection Flashcards

1
Q

what is behavioral ecology?

A

survival value and reproductive potential of behaviors

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2
Q

what do we expect from evolution?

A

that there will be natural selection of behaviors that benefit survival

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3
Q

how can ecology effect behaviour?

A

the best behavior depends on the ecology eg distribution of food

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4
Q

why study from a phenotypic perspective?

A

shows long term evolution. genetic models get stuck at evolutionary dead ends without adapting to new environments.

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5
Q

outline the streetcar theory of evolution.

A
  • each trait governed by several different genes
  • evolution hits road blocks
  • resumes when mutations introduce new genetics
  • can look at phenotypic evolution
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6
Q

what do we expect from direct fitness?

A

that one individual outperforms another, expect selfish individuals

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7
Q

what goes against classical evolution?

A

cooperation and altruism

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8
Q

why is altruism hard to explain?

A

one individual helps another individual but at a cost

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9
Q

what is altruism?

A

any behavior that is costly to the reproduction of the actor but beneficial to the recipient

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10
Q

what is cooperative breeding?

A

off spring receive help from additional group member (helpers)

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11
Q

what is group selection?

A

selection happening at a group level - individuals doing things for the good of the group. if they have cooperators and altruists may do better as a whole.

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12
Q

what is are some problems of group selection?

A
  • mutations that are not cooperative
  • has to happen at the same rate for it to work
  • kin selection can explain everything that group selection can
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13
Q

what will happen if there are mutations that are not cooperative?

A

an individual will be receiving help but no helping others - they’re doing better and will increase

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14
Q

what is kin selection?

A

helping individuals that are related to you

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15
Q

how can altruism be explained by kin selection?

A

altruism ensures the improved transmission of genes as long as the individual being helped is related. it will help there survival or reproductive success and the altruism gene propagates

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16
Q

explain parental care?

A

direct fitness. maximizes their genetic contribution to future generations.

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17
Q

what is the coefficient of relatedness?

A

genetic similarity between social partners relative to the rest of the population

18
Q

what is the actor?

A

doing the behaviour

19
Q

what is the recipient?

A

being helped

20
Q

what is inclusive fitness?

A

direct fitness and indirect fitness - the actor will get rx the extra offspring

21
Q

what is Hamilton’s rule?

A

theory - knowing when an individual should help/not help a relative

22
Q

what can happen if family members help each other to survive?

A

gene proliferation

- the gene causing altruistic behavior could increase in frequency

23
Q

outline the equation to go with Hamilton’s rule

A

B/C > 1/r

24
Q

what does Hamilton’s rule equation predict?

A

when altruistic acts will be favored by selection

25
Q

what is an alternative form of the equation?

A

B/C > (r actor to own offspring)/(r actor to recipient offspring)

26
Q

what is r?

A

r = coefficient of relatedness

27
Q

what is B?

A

b= benefit to recipient

28
Q

what is C?

A

c = cost to actor

29
Q

what does the second form of the equation need to be used?

A

when looking at haplo - diploid family trees

30
Q

what happens when breeding territories are limited?

A
  • c can be close to 0

altruism pays when an individual can’t find breeding territory on their own

31
Q

describe Belding’s ground squirrel as evidence for kin selection

A
  • Unrelated ground squirrels kill each other’s offspring - relatives do not
  • Their alarms are given only when relatives are nearby
32
Q

what does sibling rivalry cause?

A

parent offspring conflic

33
Q

why does sibling rivalry and parent offspring conflict occur?

A
  • siblings want to out compete each other
  • parent wants them both to do well
  • offspring want to manipulate the parents
34
Q

where have studies found there is increased selfishness?

A
  • when brood mates are more likely to be half siblings

- compared begging displays of species of passerine birds

35
Q

how are humans evidence of kin selection?

A
  • older kin encourage younger kin to behave more altruistically toward each other
  • grandmothers invest more in grand-offspring than grandfathers
  • maternal grandmothers invest more than paternal grandmothers
36
Q

how can hamiltons rule explain spite?

A
  • in spite C is positive and B is negative
  • means that r needs to be negative
  • means that the recipient is less related to the actor than the average population is
37
Q

who is spite aimed at?

A
  • those who are unlikely to share the spite gene
  • those who are furthest away genetically
  • harming those who compete with relatives helps relatives
38
Q

outline the green beard hypothesis

A
  • green beard genes are unlikely to be common because they can be out competed by false beards
  • green bears are like altruistic traits
  • individual can take the cost but not receive the benefit
  • can be tricked
39
Q

what are the different forms of kin recognition?

A
  • treat anyone in the home as kin
  • those you grow up with are kin (form of imprinting)
  • partly by learning and partly by ‘phenotype matching’
40
Q

give an example of kin recognition in female ground squirrels

A
  • use odors from oral and dorsal glands as a cue of relatedness
41
Q

what happens if kin discrimination is not possible?

A
  • behavior evolves in response to the average relatedness between interacting individuals
42
Q

what could be the result of limited dispersal?

A

could lead to a high relatedness locally and this would favor indiscriminate altruism (without kin discrimination)