problem 5

Question 1

dominance hierarchies

Answer 1

some individuals are “higher” in rank than others + are constantly able to displace others from a resource, the rank is dynamic + can be challenged (by fighting) + reversed

Question 2

social-brain hypothesis

Answer 2

idea that maintaining social relationships requires devoted brain mechanisms, thus, social species will tend to have larger brains compared to non-social ones. A bigger brain size must therefore have evolved as a result of bigger group size

Question 3

stepsirrhines

Answer 3

Suborder of primates that includes the lemuriform primates in Africa, Madagascar, …

Question 4

haplorrhines

Answer 4

“dry-nosed” primates, suborder of primates containing the tarsiers as a sister of the strepsirrhine

Question 5

prosimians

Answer 5

Group of primates that includes all living + extinct strepsirrhines + haplorrhines

Question 6

platyrrhines

Answer 6

Group of primates that includes the new-world apes, marmosets + tamarins, distinguished by having nostrils that are far apart + directed forwards or sideways + typically have a tail

Question 7

catarrhines

Answer 7

Group of primates that include the old-world apes, characterized by having nostrils close together with an opening in front of the face

Question 8

brachiation

Answer 8

mode of locomotion involving swinging from branch to branch using only arms

Question 9

hominins

Answer 9

intermediate forms between chimpanzees + the humans today, not a single evolving lineage; rather there is a branching of multiple forms, many of which go extinct + only some of which are on the line leading to living humans

Question 10

out-of-africa model

Answer 10

states that AMH (anatomically modern human) is a new species that replaced the other living hominins without interbreeding

Question 11

cultural intelligence hypothesis

Answer 11

Argues the human’s unique cognitive skills is mainly due to species-specific set of social-cognitive skills for participating + exchanging knowledge in cultural groups

Question 12

general intelligence hypothesis

Answer 12

larger brains enable more efficient use of all cognitive operations

Question 13

adapted intelligence hypothesis

Answer 13

Cognitive abilities evolve in response to relatively specific environmental challenges (either ecological challenges or social challenges –> Social Brain & Cultural Intelligence Hypotheses)

Question 14

bottleneck effect

Answer 14

Sharp reduction in the size of a population due to environmental events (such as earthquakes, floods, …) or human activities (such as genocides)

Question 15

pleistocene

Answer 15

Ice Age = geological epoch that included the world’s most recent period of glaciations

Question 16

holocene

Answer 16

current geological epoch which began after the last glacial period, warm period

Question 17

allometry

Answer 17

an increasement in size doesn’t have to result in an increasement of its parts. One variable Y (i.e. brain size) can be related to a more fundamental one X (i.e. body size) by the following equation where C + k are constants. Y = CXk

Question 18

encephalisation quotient (EQ)

Answer 18

departure of brain size from the allometric line, defined as:

(actual brain weight)/(brain weight predicted from allometric line)

Question 19

chihuahua fallacy

Answer 19

intelligence is too complex to have such a simple relationship. Just like small dogs (chihuahuas) the body can be bred smaller but the brain size is less variable

Question 20

basic metabolistic rate (BMR)

Answer 20

rate of energy expenditure per unit time by endothermic animals at rest. Metabolism comprises the processes that the body needs to function

Question 21

machiavellian intelligence hypothesis

Answer 21

what differentiates primates from all other species (+ hence, what might account for their especially large brains) was the complexity of their social lives + environment. Since the term Machiavellian was misleading for many, it got replaced by the social brain hypothesis (SBH)

Question 22

principle of parsimony

Answer 22

is basic to all science + tells us to choose the simplest scientific explanation that fits the evidence. In terms of tree-building, that means that, all other things being equal, the best hypothesis is the one that requires the fewest evolutionary changes

Question 23

apomorphies

Answer 23

traits that are defining for all species afterwards, a novel evolutionary trait that is unique to a particular species + all its descendants + can be used as a defining character for a species/ group in phylogenetic terms

Question 24

homology

Answer 24

similarity resulting from common ancestry (i.e. bones in hand + arm)

Question 25

convergent evolution

Answer 25

gain of new, similar features independently (trait that develops independently)