Lecture 14

Question 1

How is behaviour like every biological trait

Answer 1

has evolutionary basis

Question 2

How does biology differ from other sciences

Answer 2

several ways to answer questions about ‘causation’ - the processes underlying not only behaviour, but all biological phenomena

Question 3

What have studies of birdsongs revealed?

Answer 3

• how songs are encoded in the brain (song centre regularly grows new cells)
• when and how birds learn songs
• what songs are for in nature
• helped understand how neurone work, how brain develops, how learning process works, why some things are learned rather than built in as instinct

Question 4

What are the 4 ways of answering causation

Answer 4

1. phylogeny
2. Fitness
3. Mechanism
4. Development

Question 5

What does phylogeny say about causation

Answer 5

• explanation about evolutionary history

Question 6

What does fitness say about causation?

Answer 6

• effects on survival and reproduction
• ‘why’ or ‘ultimate explaination

Question 7

What does mechanism say about causation

Answer 7

• description of how it works
• ‘how’ or ‘proximate’ answer

Question 8

What does development/ontogeny say about causation

Question 9

What are proximate answers

Answer 9

concern mechanisms - the developmental, neural, hormonal, psychological, and anatomical responses to HOW something is the way it is

Question 10

What are Ultimate Answers

Answer 10

concern evolutionary reasons WHY somethings became the way it is

Question 11

What is behavioural ecology

Answer 11

• study of behaviour in its natural, ecological context, emphasis on understanding its fitness consequences

Question 12

What did behavioural ecology bring the importance of?

Answer 12

distinguishing carefully between the different kinds of explanations for biological causation into sharpest focus

Question 13

What are some natural behaviours that use natural selection to understand them?

Answer 13

foraging, mating, migration, communication, social behaviours…

Question 14

What is sexual selection

Answer 14

arising from competition for mates
- forms of weaponry and combat between males for access to males?
- bright colours and elaborate displays from males to attract females

Question 15

Who is Paul Sherman

Answer 15

1988 paper
- behavioural ecologist
- how many disputes in biology about causation were futile since the types of answer were different, so both sides of the unnecessary argument could be correct

Question 16

Who was David Sloan Wilson

Answer 16

• Evolution for Everyone
• topic of infanticide

Question 17

Who is Sarah Hrdy?

Answer 17

Theory of mammalian infanticide
- objections to evolutionary ideas about behaviour )not limited to political inclinations or religious affiliations)

Question 18

What are debates like infanticide, rape, diseases, other human behaviour based off of conclusions

Answer 18

illogical conclusion that if something is natural it can be justified = absurd

Question 19

How would anaerobic bacteria react when oxygen rises

Answer 19

1. live in places with little oxygen (mud of marshes and tidal flats, in gut)
2. adapt and ‘keep up’

Question 20

How have humans undergone a very short timespan of about 10,000 years two major environmental transitions

Answer 20

1 hunting gathering lifestyle -> agricultural societies -> urban industrial environments

• behaviour evolved in environmental context different in many important respects from that in which most now live

Question 21

What are some explanations of causation

Answer 21

1. mechanisms - how, causal, proximate
2. ontogeny - development
3. phylogeny - evolutionary origin
4. natural selection - why, functional, ultimate (why evolution has favoured this particular mechanism)

Question 22

How do stellar and organic evolution differ?

Answer 22

1. universe = ancient and constantly changing (yes)
2. Ongoing change is steady and gradual (yes)
3. common descent of stars (no)
4. new stars are always being formed (yes)
5. natural selection (no)

THERE IS NO ‘WHY’

Question 23

What is the selfish herd effect

Answer 23

each individual seeks safety by reducing the ‘domain of danger’

Question 24

what are benefits of group living

Answer 24

• selfish herd effect
  -foraging benefits

Question 25

What are foraging benefits

Answer 25

group hunting enables some predators to catprure prey too large or too dangerous to tackle alone
- enhance finding food, also costs = exposure to parasites
- safety to better detect predators

Question 26

What are cons of living in groups

Answer 26

higher exposure to parasites

Question 27

What is altruism, how does it evolve

Answer 27

• may behave in ways that benefits others at some expense to themselves
• maybe offspring?? closely related??

Question 28

What is eusociality

Answer 28

considered most derived level of organization of social organization
1. cooperative brood care
overlapping generations within a group
Division of labour into reproductive and non-reproductive groups, often with specialized behavioural or morphological subgroups (castes)