SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR U3 Flashcards
State the behaviours animals have adapted to when living in social groups
The main behaviours adopted by animals when living in social groups are:
social hierarchy
co-operative hunting
social defence
Describe social hierarchy within a social group
Social hierarchy is a rank order within a group of animals consisting of dominant and subordinate members.
Dominant individuals carry out ritualistic (threat) displays whilst subordinate animals carry out appeasement behaviour to reduce conflict.
Social hierarchies increase the chances of dominant animal’s favourable genes being passed onto offspring.
Animals can often form alliances in social hierarchies to increase their social status within the group.
Examples
the pecking order in chickens
the social groups of wolves
Describe how co-operative hunting aids survival
Co-operative hunting may benefit subordinate animals as well as dominant ones, as they gain more food than by foraging alone.
Less energy is used per individual and enables larger prey to be caught and increases the chance of success.
Examples
lions preying on large buffalo
killer whales (Orca) hunting blue whales
Describe social defence strategies and how its aids survival
Social defence strategies increase the chances of survival as some individuals can watch for predators whilst others can forage for food.
Groups adopt specialised formations when under attack protecting their young.
Examples
Meerkats standing guard to allow others to forage for food
Large adult Walruses forming a circle surrounding young in the middle when under attack from polar bears.
Describe altruistic behaviour
Altruistic behaviour harms the donor individual but benefits the recipient.
Reciprocal altruism is when the roles of donor and recipient later reverse often occur in social animals.
Describe kin selection
Behaviour that appears to be altruistic can be common between donor and a recipient if they are related (kin).
The donor will benefit in kin selection in terms of the increased chances of survival of shared genes in the recipient’s offspring or future offspring.
Describe the different roles of social insects
Examples of social insects are:
bees
wasps
ants
termites
There are only a few individuals that contribute to the society reproductively (Queens and drones). Most members of the colony are sterile workers who co-operate with relatives to raise relatives. This increases the chances of the survival of shared genes.
Examples of other roles of workers can include:
collect pollen
defending the hive
carrying out waggle dances to show the direction of food
State the importance of parental care in primates
Primates have a long period of parental care to allow learning of complex social behaviours.
Describe some of the complex behaviours shown by primates to support the social hierarchy
Complex social behaviours support the social hierarchy. This reduces conflict through ritualistic displays and appeasement behaviour.
In primates this is shown through: Grooming, Facial expressions, Body posture, Sexual presentation
Alliances will also form between individuals, which are often used to increase social status within the group.
