Module 4 Exam Review Flashcards
Fixed action pattern
a simple, relatively unchangeable behaviour that usually goes to completion once it has been elicted
migration
a regular, long-distance change in location
4 step chain of communication
signaller- signal- medium- recipient
pheromones
speciific secreted substances that bind to a receptor to trigger a specific response
associative learning
reflects the ability of individuals to link cause and effect
risk sensitive foraging
risk sensitivity is expected to be influenced by how desperate the forager is for food
high hunger- risk prone
low hunger - risk averse
sexual selection
natural selection arising through preference of certain characteristics in a mate
- behaviour indicates genetic quality
parental care of offspring conflict
- Interests of the offspring are best served if the parent invests to the point that success of the offspring is maximized
- Difference between parents and offspring is what constitutes optimal investment results in parent offspring conflict
why species aggregate in groups
- everybody is there for the same resource
- better protected from predators
actor
individual that initiates the behaviour
recipient
individual that the behaviour is directed at
is cooperation and selfish behaviour favoured by natural selection
yes
is altruistic and spite favoured by natural selection?
no
hamiltons rule
(relatedness x #of beneficiaries) - Cost >0
fixed action pattern example: migration*
- responsive to environmental cues
- stimulus: incoming cold, no resources available, changing daylight amounts
- physiological mechanism: can measure the physiology that allows migration (track the circadian pattern, magnetic fields can track orientation)
- experience: it must be innate (natural tendencies), and learned
Intraspecies communication
Chemical/physical communication between members of the same species (ie. physical: fruit flies mate by ‘tapping’ (WHATEVER THAT IS REFERRING TO….), chemical: gypsy moths release a volatile chemical to males for mating)
Interspecies communication
Interacting with individuals of other species (cross-species communication) (ie. odours released to attract pollinators)
Human Influences on communication
Examples: water becoming murky due to pollution decreases visual communication for some fish, noise pollution disrupts some birds communications (increase frequency of territorial song to compete with anthropogenic noise)
Types of social interactions
Altruism: one will sacrifice fitness for another
Cooperative: fitness benefit for both
Spite: fitness loss for both
Selfishness: one party benefits @ expanse of the other
Inclusive fitness
Total fitness of an individual is related to individual fitness and relatives (remember: fitness = offspring)
Relatedness determines degree of altruism you are willing to put in
Altruism A for B is favoured if:
relatedness of A and B x benefit of recipient B > cost to actor A
Why live in groups?
clustering of appropriate habitat
patchy resources
mating aggregations
protection from predators (safety in numbers)
more eyes and sensors to detect predators
more individuals can defend against predators
lower chance of becoming prey; more other targets
protection from predators (selfish herd)
Case Study: Vampire Bats
- will share food with another bat in hopes they would do the same even if they are not related
- to INC fitness of non-relative it cannot be a cost
BUT benefit is reciprocity (hungry bat will get fed if reciprocity is likely.. from same area, etc
Case Study: Ground Squirrels (prairie dogs)
kin selection
- prairie dogs issues alarm calls when it sees badger
- exposes itself to predation but alerts other dogs of danger
- dogs more likely to give alarm calls (twice as likely) if they were with relatives
- dogs just as likely to give alarm calls if with parents vs siblings
- when dogs moved away but not have kids yet, unlikely to give calls
- once they have kids, they become likely to give calls again
Frequency Dependance
- fitness consequences of behaviors depend on frequency of individuals exhibiting that behavior
- game theory for resource distribution
- aggressive domination (hawk), submissive (dove)
- when two individuals fight for resource, there is a cost (reduced fitness)
hawk vs dove, hawk wins, dove runs away
- hawk enjoys resources, wins fitness
dove vs hawk, hawk wins, dove runs away
- does not gain any fitness
dove vs dove, share with other dove
- fitness gained is divided by two
hawk vs hawk
- one gets resource but both will suffer cost of fighting and reduced fitness (1 in 2 chance of winning, 1 in 2 chance of losing)
when hawks is <80% of population, they have higher fitness
when hawks is >80% of population, doves have higher fitness
Hamilton’s Rule
fitness = individual fitness + fitness of relatives
- B = benefit to recipient
- C = cost to actor
- r = relatedness of recipient to actor
- altruism happens when Br-C > 0 - inclusive fitness
- involves individual and relatives fitness
- if altruistic gene carried by related individuals and individual, altruistic behaviour spreads
Calculating Relatedness
- multiply probabilities on same path
- add paths together to get total
ex. full siblings
1/2 x 1/2 for actor –> mother –> recipient
1/2 x 1/2 for actor –> father –> recipient
1/4 + 1/4 = total for recipient
Eusociality
- one female (queen) does all reproducing
- workers care for queen and offspring, will never reproduce
- relatedness between sterile works is 3/4
- workers share mother and father
- 1/4 chance sister has same allele from mother
- 1/2 chance sister has same allele from father (father is haploid)
- 1/4 + 1/2 = 3/4 - sterile works more related to sisters than their own offspring (offspring only have 1/2)
- kin selection favours raising more sisters rather than offspring
cooperative
Kin Selection in plants
individuals grow close to each other
interact with each other through roots and above ground
seeds often fall close to mother
suggest individuals interact / identify with related individuals
Ecology
- distribution and abundance of organisms (abiotic and biotic)
- structure and function of ecosystem (trophic interactions, energy flow (food webs), biogeochemical cycling)
- multiple spatial and temporal scales (millimeters to thousands of kilometers, seconds to millions of years, different scales of investigation)
- evaluating and solving environmental problems
Spatial and Temporal Variation in Solar Energy
life depends on energy from sun hitting on sphere
global variations in solar radiation per unit of area on Earth
equator gets most sun rays strike perpendicularly
sun ray and Earth contact usually oblique
air temp decreases 0.5-0.7 degrees for every degree of latitude (110km)
Creation of Air Circulation and Precipitation
- atmosphere traps water
- solar radiation near equator creates air circulation and precipitation
- sun energy causes air to rise at equator
- air flows towards poles
- as air move sup, air cools and its water vapor becomes rain
- dry air pushes back to Earth and creates deserts at 30o north/south latitude
- air then flows back towards poles at 60o north/south latitude, releases precipitation
- cold dry air then goes towards poles and create a cold desert
- predictable global wind patterns created
- climate influenced
Wind Patterns
Earth rotates on axis
land near equator moving faster than land at poles
causes winds to deflect from vertical latitudinal patterns (Coriolis effect)
winds come from poles and blows east to west in the tropics
air is slow compared to speed that land is moving at
at temperate zone above 30o, wind is from west
has affects on movement of solar energy and water vapour
Ocean Currents
water moves because of wind patterns and Earth rotation (movement of water deflected/interrupted by land )
water is good at retaining heat
ocean currents redistribute solar energy
Pacific Coast of western North America (land cooled by cold California current (north to south), part of North Pacific subtropical gyre)
Western coast of Europe (gulf stream carries warm water from equator to coast)
Maritime provinces of Canada (icy Labrador current flows south from coast of Greenland, colder than Western Europe even though it is more south latitudinal)
Seasons
caused by Earth’s tilt (axis tilted at 23.5o)
half of orbit, northern hemisphere tilted towards sun
- other half of orbit, southern hemisphere tilted towards sun
seasons also happen at equator and closer latitudes
due to hot air rising from equator and losing moisture when it rises
when northern hemisphere faces sun, rays hit sun directly north of equator (at 0 degrees)
causes wet season north of equator, dry season south of equator
- opposite happens when southern hemisphere faces sun
