our place in nature

Question 1

define species

Answer 1

A group of individuals capable of reproducing and producing fertile offspring together

Question 2

define genus

Answer 2

a group of related species

Question 3

what should biological classification reflect

Answer 3

phylogeny, not current phenotype

Question 4

how are taxonomic groups established

Answer 4

monophyletic - share common ancestor

Question 5

how are phylogenies often established

Answer 5

shared derived characteristics - examining presence and absence help to determine when certain characteristics occured

Question 6

why is important for genetics to also be used in phylogenies

Answer 6

some characteristics evolve multiple times or can be lost

Question 7

how are fossils used for establishing phylogenies

Answer 7

-useful for dating how or when changes occur
-usually used to confirm phylogenetic hypotheses

Question 8

what are the subcategories of apes

Answer 8

lesser apes/gibbons
great apes

Question 9

what are included in the great apes

Answer 9

orangutans
chimpanzees
gorillas
humans

Question 10

how has evolution of chimps to anatomically humans been investigated

Answer 10

fossil evidence - homo sapiens cranium from Sahelanthropus tschadensis

Question 11

what may be linked to an increase in brain size from chimps

Answer 11

increased tool use

Question 12

where are homo sapiens thought to originate

Answer 12

Africa
movement to Asia and Europe in last 6 million years

Question 13

how did the spread of AMH occur

Answer 13

admixture or replacement

Question 14

where does evidence for AMH come from

Answer 14

morphology, genetics of living and DNA

Question 15

what are other major changes that occurred in hominin evolution

Answer 15

meat eating
tool use
life history - energy not strictly reserved for food and reproduction

Question 15

what is bipedalism and how did it influence human evolution

Answer 15

movement using two limbs, allows for food sources to be found more easily

Question 16

why did meat eating occur

Answer 16

higher protein required as complexity increase - meat fastest way to do

Question 17

Tinberg’s question of function

Answer 17

consequences of behaviour for survival

Question 18

Tinbergen’s question of mechanism

Answer 18

how is the behaviour controlled

Question 19

Tinbergen’s question of ontogeny

Answer 19

how does it develop through a lifetime

Question 20

Tinbergen’s question of phylogeny

Answer 20

do closely related species also have the capacity for this behaviour

Question 21

what question is evolutionary psychology usually interested in

Answer 21

function

Question 22

how does evolutionary psychology approach functional questions

Answer 22

-human behaviour assumed to be adapted to previous environments
-a behaviour is adaptive if environment similar to EEA, maladaptive if not

Question 23

what does evolutionary psychology rely on the assumption of

Answer 23

evolution being a slow process

Question 24

issues with the approach

Answer 24

evolution can occur much quicker
unlikely to be one EEA

Question 25

what does human behavioural ecology consider

Answer 25

Differences between environments due to variance in adaptations to current environment

Question 26

what does human behavioural ecology help to account for

Answer 26

cultural variations

Question 27

what does cultural evolution refer to

Answer 27

Cultural norms are adaptive to the environment in which the culture came about, but can change with a changing environment

Question 28

value of functional questions

Answer 28

complimentary to other questions