Lectures 10-18 Flashcards
What did Herbert Spencer believe about evolution?
Rival to Darwin
Organism changes as it interacts with its environment but once the organism reaches an equilibrium, change is no longer necessary
What did Herbert Spencer believe about mother nature?
the act of reproduction limited the development of the female sex
Is it true that females are static?
No, females are active participants and undergo evolutionary changes as do men
What are the findings of the fruit fly experiment?
Females evolve and make choices and have strategies on reproduction and nurturing offspring
What is the female Heron, gulls, eagles strategy?
Lay 2 eggs days apart and commence incubation immediately after first egg is laid
The first chick is older than the second and the parents are able to care for both chicks since they have different ages
What is a then cause of the birds hatching their eggs days apart?
One chick may attack the other and no parent will intervene. Food aggression is the issue
Is there a benefit for mother birds laying their eggs days apart?
Found that mothers with chicks of identical age were twice as likely to lose all their chicks compared to controlled chicks
What species eats their young?
Female wolf spiders, mice
Why will females eat or abandon their young?
- Stress
- Babies aren’t healthy
- Mother is mutant: can’t smell their offspring
What is it called when mothers eat their babies?
Filial Cannibalism
Why is filial cannibalism a viable strategy?
Can coexist with parenting and can help select appropriate parenting behavior that provides the most fitness units
How does female coercion work in bees?
The queen gives off a chemical pheromone to all the female workers
What is the Bruce effect?
When females terminate their young or pregnancy when a new male takes over
What happened when a virgin female rat was injected blood from a mother rat?
When the female was presented with young pups (unrelated) she started to care for them
What do women produce during pregnancy?
Prolactin (increases 40-50%)
How do men testosterone react to women’s pregnancy?
Men have been reported to have lower testosterone (reduced aggression towards baby, more bonding)
How long is the window of infertility?
~14 months so woman can care for baby
What is parent-offspring conflict?
Natural selection favors the selfish offspring, always demanding a little more than the female wants to give
the selfish offspring will have more resources, better health
mother wants to move onto next offspring, offspring does not want her to move on and continues to be nurtured
What are the advantages and costs of parent-offspring conflict
pros:
- fetus gains from mom’s immune system
- mother gains from fetal immune cells
cons:
- some fetuses are aborted, after mom gains her immune boost (choose selfish)
-some mothers can suffer from autoimmune diseases
What is the Maternal Effect?
Mom is giving information to offspring, and this information is not orchestrated from offspring genes
- Maternal effect is not maternal inheritance
- effect can have pros and cons
What is the maternal effect in Fish?
More nutrients in eggs when food is scarce so offspring are fatter
How does the maternal effect work in canaries?
Mothers pass down testosterone in the eggs which causes variation in the group
How does mom’s rank impact female effect?
low ranking baboon mothers were less likely to survive due to harassment than sons (sons will leave)
How is the maternal effect seen in humans?
If a woman is pregnant with limited food during early part of pregnancy, the infant may be born at a (relatively) normal birth weight
Low Calorie breakfasts favor conception of a girl. T or F?
True (girls are low energy sufficient)
How does kinship work in biology?
- Kinship only through blood
- favors the spread of genes that can increase indirect fitness
What is kin selection?
Strategy whereby an organism will help relatives survive and breed (sometimes at their own personal determent)
How do male turkeys help their older brothers mate?
The younger brother will do nothing as the older brother flaunt and struts
How do genes promote altruistic behavior? (Hamilton’s rule/formula)
C < (r)B
B = fitness benefit to recipient
C = fitness cost to actor
r = coefficient of relatedness
Why do female ground squirrels give more alarm calls? (Altruism example)
They are surrounded by kin, females stay in natal area
What are some Eusocial animals?
-Thrips
- Aphids
- Shrimp
What is eusocial?
highly social, residing in large groups or colonies with different roles within the group
What is typically in a eusocial colony?
- reproductive female, surrounded by sterile workers
- sterile workers, care for young, tend colony
- colony with individuals that cooperate in caring for offspring that overlap in generations
Which animals are hymenoptera (eusocial)?
Bees, Wasps, ants
What does a haploid unfertilized egg turn into?
A male
What does a diploid fertilized egg become?
A female
What is the degree of relatedness in sisters?
(nonhuman)
r = 0.75
Why do female workers invest in female workers?
They share more genes and show heightened eusociality
What happens when an old queen dies?
A sister becomes queen, fed royal jelly
What is haploidiploidy?
One sex haploid, other sex diploid
Why doesn’t haploidiploidy explain eusociality?
Not all colonies have sisters with 0.75 relatedness
there are eusocial insects that both sexes diploids (termites)
What mammal is eusocial?
Naked Mole rat
- all males and females are diploid
Do males have paternal parental certainty?
NO
What is a chimera?
animal that has two or more sets of cells that came from genetically distinct cell populations (different zygotes)
What is Woman the Gather idea?
Women were the core food providers and may well have invented the first tools to facilitate the gathering of plants and animal protein
Why did Linda Marie Fedigan disagree with the “Women the Gatherer”?
dismissed as a “feminist” challenge to the male hunting model “Man the hunter”
What is Glynn Isaac’s “Food Sharing Hypothesis”?
There is a sexual division of labor between women and men
How do chimp deal with sexual division of labor?
Both males and females learn to fish, but females spend more time and are better foragers
What is it called when female lions have false cues in pregnancy?
Anovulatory cycle
Why might females hide their signals?
Arms race between the sexes and way to increase fitness
Why is it important babies and todders join play groups?
cut the risks of getting seriously ill since exposed to pathogens
What is it called when women have offspring without men?
Parthenogensis
How the Anglerfish reduce itself to a sperm package (chimerism)?
male attaches to female, parasite, they fuse together and become a hermaphrodite
What were Harvard President Larry Summer’s reason for the gender gap?
- women not interested in making the sacrifices required by high powered jobs
- men have more intrinsic aptitude for high level science
- women may be victims of sexist discrimination
How does Dr. Leonard Sax think we should approach sexes and education?
girls and boys should be taught separately since boys often have difficulty in school
What happen when rat pups are returned to a stressed mother?
She licks them excessively (oxytocin)
What are the main biological differences between men and women?
- Men have larger hearts
- Women have more body fat
- Women have fewer red blood cells
- Women have less type II muscles (fast twitch)
- Women are not able to store as much energy
T or F, as men age testosterone levels decrease
True
What are pheromones?
Substances that are endogenous (produced within the body) from exocrine glands, released through ducts and communicate information between conspecifics often air born
What do pheromones communicate?
sexual attraction, can alter estrous cycle
How are hormones and pheromones different?
Hormones are excreted into the blood stream for a target area within the body
Pheromones released through ducts
How do sex hormones interact with pheromones?
sex hormones can stimulate the production of pheromones
hormones can orchestrate an animal’s response to a pheromone
What is the Testosterone Hormone-Pheromone link? (mice)
There is a male mouse pheromone that causes males to attack one another
there is a female mouse pheromone that inhibits aggression by males
What is a scent?
contains different chemicals (including pheromones)
- scent can include fatty acids, hormones, sweat, old cells, pheromones
reveal apsects of diet, sex, and health
Where are pheromones produced in fish?
Alarm special cells
- released when injured
Where are pheromones produced in insects?
Glandular epidermal cells beneath the cuticle
Where are pheromones released in mammals?
exocrine glands known as apocrine glands (sweat glands)
Where are the pheromone receptors found in insects?
antennae
Where is the pheromone receptor found in amphibians, reptiles, and most mammals?
Vomeronasal organ
Do humans have Vomernasal organ?
No functioning VNO in humans
- new world monkeys, yes
- old world monkeys and apes, no
Do humans respond to phermones?
yes, in human olfactory mucosa
What types of pheromones are in humans?
- sexual pheromone (sexual attraction, mating)
- Primer pheromone (induces real change)
- Social (signal) pheromone (information)
Why are sexual pheromones needed to be a certain size?
If too large can’t float but if too light will dissipate too quickly
How do sex pheromones work in the Tobacco moth?
male produces a sex pheromone and the females are receptive and seek out the largest male (most pheromones)
Where are boars sex pheromones?
in breath (saliva) androsternol
T or F, human also produce androstenol?
True in sweat
What is the Vandenbergh Effect in primer pheromones? (mice)
When a pheromone in a male mouse’s urine is encountered by a young female mouse, she matures sexually so she can mate with the new male
What is the bruce effect in primer pheromones?
If pregnant mouse smells urine of a new male she will abort or reabsorb her young
What is the Whitten effect in primer pheromones?
when a pheromone in the male mouse’s urine causes all the females to cycle at the same time
What is the Lee-Boo effect in primer pheromones?
When a pheromone in a female urine’s causes all the females in a crowded condition to suppress their cycles
What are some social signaling pheromones?
- oder trial (insects)
- Alarm pheromone (insects)
- Recognition pheromone (ants)
-Funeral pheromone (ants) - Queen pheromone (honeybees)
- Marking territory (mammals)
What is the maternal mouse phermone?
Keeps the pups close to mom so they don’t wander away, close to mom and her milk supply
What fish uses the alarm pheromone?
European Minnow
- released when injured
How is music/sounds used for animals?
- impress your peers
- to defend a territory
- to warn others of danger
- attract a mate
Which species uses drumming? How and what is it used for?
Monkeys drum when traveling to coordinate movement, long distance communication
-make chimp group sound large
-indicate territory is taken
-reveal rank in group
How do Indri lemurs use sound in nature?
- maintain territory
- guarding mate (enforces monogamous bond)
- impress peers
How do Humpback Whales use song?
Males sing more during breeding season
all humpback whales sing as they navigate water and migrate and can identify specific group of whale
How do elephants use their “infrasonic” calls?
outside human hearing
- males detect female infrasonic calls when females in estrous
- allows males to find females that are scattered
- coordinate movements of elephants (find food, groups, water, mates)
How do many insects exhibit sound?
Stridulation (rubbing together body parts)
What are some insects that engage in stridulation?
Field Crickets: rub their wings
How do mosquitoes communicate through sound?
Females vibrate their wings within earshot of male who are also vibrating wings
- male and female are harmonic when in the mood
- researchers now know females aren’t deaf
What do bird vocalizations mean?
- alarm calls, predator detection (less melodic)
- clear off territory calls
- attract females
How does the bird’s soundbox, the syrinx work?
soundbox is at lower position with two bronchi
- birds can make sound in both bronchi
- each bronchi can make different sounds and put them together to travel
How does Cowbird use songs to attract mates?
Male birds sing short sequences, high frequency whistle
also sing and dance at the same time
How are female Zebra finches the picky sex?
Young male learns songs of other males, will learn father’s song
young female will listen to father song and compare the males if they are similar to father’s song (she is the judge)
Why do some birds duet?
I. Male-Male duet: rival males can duet, allow females to compare (sexual selection)
II. Male-Female duet: a mated pair sing to sound as one, bonded, maintain territory
How do Cockatoos make music?
use tools like branches
Which birds are the most complex sound birds?
Australian Lyrebird (mimic)
What percentage of humans share base pairs with common chimps and bonobo?
99%
What is EEMH?
European Early Modern Human
T or F, humans are sexually dimorphic?
True
How does food scarcity impact common chimp mating?
they are promiscuous, adult males eat first and rarely share with females
How are female bonobos bonded?
through sexual activity, not through bloodlines, sex used to resolve conflicts over food
Are male bonobos bonded?
no, more egalitarian (not male dominated)
Who is more aggressive bonobos or chimps?
chimps,
- aggressive with neighborhood groups
- males share meat with males not with females
What mating system does humans have?
pair bonded-monogamous, polygynous (serial monogamist)
T or F, humans have estrous signals?
False, men think about sex without having an ovulating woman nearby
Human don’t have sharp canine but have fists
T or F, testes size is a proxy for sperm count?
True
What does this polygyny trait translate to for humans:
sexually dimorphism height, body weight
male-male contests: males made to fight over women
What does this polygyny trait translate to for humans:
testes, moderately larger
sperm competition
What does this polygyny trait translate to for humans:
clenched fists considered a fighting tool
since human is bipedal, this fist to fist fighting more probable
What does this monogamous trait translate to for humans:
canines not sexually dimorphic
few male-male contest
T or F, majority nonhuman primates are polygynous
True
Why might men seek out more long-term mating (monogamy)?
invest more in offspring, so offspring can survive and carry out genes
What is GGSS?
Good Genes Sexual Selection
How do women exhibit GGSS?
-if males do not assist in infant care
-if women need asistance in care of offspring, will evaluate a man based on resources and long-term parental care
Which sex lives longer?
The sex that care more for the children (trick question)
- overall women/females
How long have modern humans been in existence?
160,000 years
What is New Sociobiology?
Selection pressures have shaped animal social behavior to be advantageous (adaptive-with payoff)
T or F, humans are animals that have genes linked to their behavior
(gene based & learned based)
True
Why is it important for humans to understand new sociobiology?
By illuminating how similar we are to other animals, we can exercise conscious control over our behavior
What does E.O Wilson believe about human behavior?
believes aspects of human behavior that are orchestrated by genes
- we should recognize our biological predisposition and deal with them head on
What does E.O Wilson believe about free will?
Our actions are determined on genetic influences, not so much free will
What does the chemical Cortisol impact?
linked to mood changes and emotional arousal
What is the t-shirt test?
Women reacting to pheromones from men
- decide if t-shirt smell as sexy or not
- Women picked shirts from males with dissimilar MHC complex
What is MHC?
Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)
- involved in the immune system and are the most diverse between individuals
associated with resistance to HIV/AID, malaria, etc
T or F, testosterone can dampen immune system
True, men end up sick more often
What does the Pill do and contain?
contains estrogen and progesterone
- inhibits ovulation, makes it difficult for sperm to travel
What is a woman in a “false pregnancy” looking for?
A man with similar MHC or a man who may share genes and may help care for child
What is the paternal investment theory?
the sex that invests more in its offspring will be more selective when choosing a mate, and the less-investing sex will have intra-sexual competition for access to mates.
What is the differential parental investment theory?
females should look for long term mates that are willing to invest in resources for their offspring when paternal care is necessary for survival
What does symmetry in the body indicate?
Symmetry in body and face indicate normal development without perturbations regarding stress, nutrients, toxins, etc
Is ovulation concealed in humans? strip club test
No
What did Darwin determine about females and sexually selected traits?
saw it as proof females did have a sense of aesthetic
What did Wallace believe about female mate choice?
Female mate choice is based on sensible but no aesthetic grounds
What is an animal that uses aethestics for mating?
Pufferfish building sand sculpture for mating
How does the runaway selection hypothesis work in humans?
First larger brain helped with survival then a gene for female choosiness comes along so female wants large brained creative son
Bower Bird, why are they important?
Very elaborate decorated structures
- largest brain
- complex
- most elaborate decorated structure by animal
What is the mating process for the Satin Bower Bird? (transference)
Have a bachelor pad filled with sticks and other plastics
- as decorating increases, less ornamentation on body. body is not the only object females judge on
What does Geoffrey Miller say about courtship and what it reveals?
Courtship displays are an expensive use of time and can therefore reveal quality
What does courtship display?
- self-expressive
- cost time and energy (health, intelligence, and creativity)
- Most have no survival benefits
- Show strong individual differences
What are the cultural courtship model predictions?
- Should be strong sexual dimorphism in the cultural display (males have extra testosterone)
- Production of this cultural display should increase rapidly at puberty, peak at young adulthood, and gradually decline over adult time
(woman can display, but it benefits females to be the choosy sex)
What does Geoffrey Miller think about male-female competitiveness?
Men are predisposed to be competitive
women also competitive, but competitive behavior is slightly dampened based on the necessities to carry out successful reproduction
Geoffrey Miller thinks the human brain is a both a survival machine and a courtship machine
Runaway Trait
What is the theory behind post-partum depression?
Because Prolactin levels are still high as progesterone and estrogen plunge quickly after birth
hostility needed to protect the baby
What does breastfeeding inhibit? (Lactational Amenorrhea)
Breastfeeding your infant around the clock inhibits the release of hormones that initiate the ovulation cycle
What is an example of parent-offspring conflict?
In humans:
fetal hormones are released to increase placental blood flow
maternal hormones are released to counteract these fetal hormones
How do Rh factors in blood attribute to parent-offspring conflict?
If mother is Rh negative and the baby is Rh positive then some of the baby’s blood (with added protein) will enter the mother ‘s system and cause antibodies from the mother’s system to destroy the baby’s red cells and kill baby
What are the two tenets of kin selection?
- help kin over nonkin
- Help close kin over distant kin
What is direct fitness in terms of kin relation?
have your own offspring
What is indirect fitness in terms of kin relation?
Help offspring of genetic relatives
How did Lydia and her sister form a chimera?
According to her doctors, Lydia’s chimera is manifested in her ovaries;
the 4 gametes, 2 eggs and 2 sperm merged into 2 nonidentical twins
T or F, when ovulating women found androstenone to be pleasant smell?
True
What are women picky about in men?
Symmetrical body and face and scent
What are/aren’t men picky about in women?
Men don’t find the scent of a women to making her more or less attractive
In the lap dance experiment, what were the end result? (who got what tips)
Dancers not on pill and fertile got most tips ($335)
Dancers not on pill and on period got least ($185)
dancers on pill made less than dancers on cycle
When are women pursuing creative endevours?
-they have a child-care system
- family planning (birth control)
- fewer deaths from pregnancy (medical advances)
How do men respond to stress?
Tendency to “fight or flight”
How do females respond to stress?
Women often “tend and befriend”
(talk it out, need resources, women can’t outrun danger)
Why do women excel in ultra-endurance competitions such as marathons?
Women have more fat than men which allows them to store more energy
What happens to a male mouse who is castrated in terms of the testosterone hormone-phermone link?
That male does not produce the male mouse pheromone that is linked to aggression
How do moths use pheromones?
Because it is night and they can’t see while flying, the pheromones help antennae to guide the moth
How to butterflies use pheromones?
Help males and females find each other to mate
navigation
How are female fruit fly pheromones aphrodisiac? (experiment explain)
- can breed without suspected pheromone
researchers offered males with and without pheromone
males preferred females with pheromone
How can a mating strategy be a conditional strategy?
Strategic Pluralism
- men will seek out short term offspring to father numerous offspring (polygonous)
- men could also seek out more long-term mating to invest more in offspring and carry genes out
Similarities and differences between chimps and bonobos?
similar:
- promiscuous mating
- highly social, breed in groups
differences:
- Chimps patriarchal, Bonobos egalitarian
- chimp males only mate with females when female in estrous, bonobos always have sex
How many years ago did the human lineage split with chimp lineage?
6 million years ago
How does the bola spider engage in dishonest signaling?
bola spider mimics the female sex pheromone of a moth species
because the male moths are attracted to that pheromone, they end up eaten by the spider
What is the role of women in cultural courtship
pick a clever, intelligent mate
True (genetic) monogamy is rare (why?)
Fitness benefit to spreading genes
What are the male chaffinch experiment?
two cases:
case A: bird in isolation has simple song
case B: exposed to male tutor song during first weeks of life then song is more complex and it improves on it with adding own song
Why are monogamous nonhuman primates monomorphic in body size?
A large male body is expensive, use it or lose it
when the sexes are similar in body size, more egalitarian
What is altruism
unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others
