Social behaviours

Question 1

why do animals communicate

Answer 1

defend / mark territory
scare away predators / rivals
avoid conflict
attract a mate
show state of mind

Question 2

how do animals communicate

Answer 2

visual signals
vocal signals
scent or chemical signals
electrical signals
tactile signals

Question 3

chemical communication

Answer 3

scent
pheromones (testosterone, oestrogen)

Question 4

tactile communication

Answer 4

used to:
- reinforce pair bonding
- guide offspring
- aggression + defence
- sexual signals

Question 5

metacommunication

Answer 5

signals that change the meaning of the following behaviour

Question 6

intraspecies

Answer 6

within members of the same species

Question 7

interspecies

Answer 7

between members of different species

Question 8

social behaviour

Answer 8

interactions that occur between two or more animals

Question 9

asocial

Answer 9

animals that rarely perform social behaviours

Question 10

what is the purpose of social behaviour

Answer 10

to improve survival and to reproduce

Question 11

hierarchies

Answer 11

a system in which members of a social group are ranked according to relative status or authority (helps with conflict reduction)

Question 12

what are the social hierarchies?

Answer 12

linear + complex

Question 13

Linear hierarchies

Answer 13

each animal is dominated by higher-ranking group members and, in turn, dominates lower-ranking members.

Question 14

complex hierarchies

Answer 14

Complex dominance hierarchy occurs where a group has a social structure controlled by a dominant. (alpha) member and is ordered but differs from linear in that it has the following feature(s) with at least one

Question 15

what do animals fight for in the wild?

Answer 15

territory
mates
food

Question 16

agonistic behaviour

Answer 16

social behaviours associated with fighting (can include threat displays, submission behaviours + appeasement)

Question 17

examples for agonistic behaviour

Answer 17

threat displays, submission
King Cobras will battle to throw each other to the ground in disputes, rather than bite each other.

Question 18

affiliative behaviour

Answer 18

behaviours that increase or reinforce social bonds, or are beneficial to the social group

Question 19

examples of affiliative behaviour

Answer 19

allogrooming, play, physical closeness, communication

Question 20

altruism

Answer 20

behaviour of an animal that benefits another at its own expense.

Question 21

examples of altruism

Answer 21

Vervet monkeys
Alarm calls - alerts social group to the presence of a predator, potentially endangering themselves.