Presentations

Question 1

Honeyguides and honey gatherers

Answer 1

Honeyguides and humans have developed a complex relationship where both species benefit. Honeyguides show humans to bee nests, and humans open up the hives for honeyguides, giving them access to honey.

Question 2

Red-billed oxpecker vampires

Answer 2

Oxpeckers might not actually benefit their host. They didn’t decrease tick counts, and they prolonged healing time of wounds. They may actually be reopening/creating wounds, because they feed on blood.

Question 3

Parasitic cowbirds/mafia

Answer 3

Cowbirds destroy the nests of birds who reject their eggs. They also destroyed nests to create future parasitism opportunities. This behavior might hinder the evolution of host-rejection behavior.

Question 4

Cost of deception in rhesus monkeys

Answer 4

Rhesus monkeys often call when discovering food. Female monkeys call more than males. Vocal discoverers received less aggression than silent discoverers, and in females, they ate more. Also, silent discoverers were approached most by non-kin.

Question 4

Kleptoparasitism in drongos

Answer 4

false alarm calls increase opportunities for fork-tailed drongos. They called more often when stealing small food items, or when stealing from larger species.

Question 5

Pre-dawn infidelity in superb fairy wrens

Answer 5

Extra-pair paternity is common in fairy wrens. Females who crossed more territory boundaries during forays had clutches with multiple extra-pair sires. Gives healthier and more adaptable offspring.

Question 6

Teaching in meerkats

Answer 6

Meerkat helpers engage in “opportunity teaching” and facilitate learning by giving pups live prey and nudging them. This teaching accelerated pups’ handling skills.

Question 7

Fatherhood and testosterone

Answer 7

Higher levels of T in single, childless men predicted greater likelihood of becoming partnered in the next few years. T declined once men became fathers, was lowest in men who participated in childcare.

Question 8

Foot size and physical attractiveness

Answer 8

Humans may have evolved to find smaller feet in women more attractive, indicating youth and nulliparity. Evidence suggested an evolutionary hypothesis. study wasn’t that good though.

Question 9

Lizard threat display handicap endurance

Answer 9

Duration of a lizard’s threat display indicates its endurance capacity. Producing threat displays decreased lizard endurance and increased lactate concentration. Threat displays act as quality handicaps.

Question 10

Lion infanticide

Answer 10

Temporary infertility and enhanced mating are advantageous to females after a new takeover/infanticide. This attracts new male coalitions, females want the best one so there’s longer between takeovers. Fertility returns, have new cubs with new males.

Question 11

Geladas/bruce effect

Answer 11

The bruce effect is advantageous to geladas. 80% of pregnancies were terminated after male takeover (offspring would otherwise be susceptible to infanticide).

Question 12

Chimps share meat

Answer 12

Chimps hunt and share meat for social purposes and male-male bonding. Hunting takes place mostly when food is abundant.

Question 13

Chimps hunt with tools

Answer 13

Tool use in hunting was observed, and mainly in females and immature chimpanzees.

Question 14

Transient masculinization in fossas

Answer 14

Female fossa masculinization is transient – most pronounced in juveniles, diminishes when they reach sexual maturity. It was not due to androgen levels. Helps avoid male sexual harassment and territorial female aggression.

Question 15

Canary song quality, egg size, sex

Answer 15

Larger eggs were more likely to contain males, and sexier songs produced larger eggs. But sexier songs did not produce more males. Shows that females can manipulate egg size/investment, but maybe can’t control sex.