sociality, signalling and communication Flashcards
what is optimal group size
groups are beneficial up to the size where the costs of group living outweigh the benefits. this is inherently unstable due to changing environment
what is territoriality, its pros and cons
defending a specific area by an individual or group. it has feeding, survival and mating benefits but requires energy
what is economic defendability in regards to territory
optimality of benefit and cost which takes into account the resource availability. frequent re-evaluation is most efficient
when should territory occur
when there is an intermediate availability of resources. it there is scarcity or abundance then it is not worth expending the energy which would be more valuable elsewhere
what are dominance relationships
a way of saving energy where there is disparity in competitive ability eg age, experience, matrilineal rank
how do dominance relationships arise
statistical outcomes of chance encounter, confidence effect and bystander effect
what is resource holding potential RHP
dominance with regards to the ability of an individual to retain a resource they currently control. this can be communicated eg dark breast of a Harris sparrow
what is reproductive skew
this arises from dominance relationships where those with higher rank are more likely to reproduce
what is a cue
an unintentional transfer of information to an unintended receiver eg footsteps
what is a signal
an intentional transfer of information from sender to receiver to elicit a particular behavioural response
how is transmission of signal affected
by attenuation and the modality of the signal (sound, smell etc)
when can honest signals be ‘ensured’
when they are constrained by physical features, when the signal is condition dependent or when the sender and receiver are related
how is kin signalling achieved
template matching, cues or familiarity based on spacial location
how do alarm calls beneficial
directly eg deter attack, synchronised response, protect mate etc or indirectly eg kin selection
what are the two types of alarm call
discrete or public (include the predator to deter attack)
