Societies and reproduction - part 1 Flashcards
what is the goal of reproduction?
Maximize offspring in the next generation
From the perspective of inclusive fitness theory, what is the goal of reproduction?
to maximize copies of your genes in the next generation
Conceptually, it can be easier to focus on the ______________________________ than number of offspring.
accumulation of gene copies
how can gene copies be accumulated?
- direct reproduction (own offspring)
- indirect reproduction (offspring of related individuals).
what is reproduction in a social context about
maximizing direct and indirect reproduction
________________________ is always maximized by being ________________ individual(s) within the larger society.
- Direct reproduction
- the reproductive
what allows a “reproductive skew” or a complete division of labor?
Monopolization or control of a key social resource
define reproductive skew
Uneven distribution of reproduction among multiple breeding individuals in a society.
In all but clonal societies, differences in relatedness to offspring creates _________________________________
conflict over reproductive skew
_____________________ for successful maintenance of the society and successful reproduction (for the genes for sociality to evolve).
Conflict must be resolved
what is the “tragedy of the commons”
For any shared resource within a social group (a “commons”), there is a pressure for each individual to take a little more, to increase direct benefits, until the resource is overexploited and all individuals get diminishing returns, or nothing
what does social evolution require
mechanisms that prevent a “tragedy of the commons” with respect to shared resources and reproductive output
processes of group maintenance:
- limitations of exploitation from outside
- Limitations of exploitation from inside
processes of group maintenance - limitations of exploitation from inside
- Self-limitation.
- Coercion.
processes of group maintenance have resulted in what
the evolution of a diverse array of reproductive strategies and life cycles
Key defense against exploitation of a social group by outside intruders is _____________________
recognition of self vs. non-self
Self vs. non-self requires ______________________ — non-trivial task when “self” is a large social group.
a reliable recognition system
Categories of recognition systems
- Individual-level recognition.
- Group-member recognition.
- Kin recognition
are recognition systems perfect?
no, they are imperfect and can be exploited
Individual recognition relies on what
unique individual cues (visual, olfactory, auditory) and capacity for the individual brain to remember them.
where is individual recognition common and why
its common in mammal societies bc they have well-developed cognitive abilities and memory
what is a fundamental aspect of mammal social structure.
Persistent and complex individual-level relationships
what does the the paper wasp Polistes fuscatus use for individual recognition
variable facial features
paper wasps - ___________ of social partners lasts for up to a week and is _______________________________________
- memory
- maintained day to day by ongoing social interactions
why is individual recognition important
- intruder recognition
- as part of the maintenance of social interactions for group members
Instead of individual-level recognition, all group members can recognize ___________________________
a consistent group-level cue.
Olfactory cue may be _____________ and _____________________________
- partly genetic
- partly environmental
why is the olfactory cue partly genetic
if it was 100% genetic there would be failures
where is group member recognition common and why
social arthropods bc the group shares a common olfactory cue
________________ component emerges as a consequence of ____________________________.
- Environmental
- shared social space and food resources
nestmate recognition in ants is based primarily on what
“hydrocarbon profiles” (complex oils) on the cuticle (exoskeleton)
Fire ants are ____________ and frequently ___________________________________.
- territorial
- encounter individuals from neighboring territories
what is nestmate recognition in fire ants critical for
maintaining colony boundaries and integrity of the reproductive social unit
what are the three Hydrocarbon profile components
- species specific (genetic)
- colony specific (genetic)
- modified by colony environment, including shared colony food.
what does experimental standardization of diet across fire ant colonies do
- removes aggression to individual intruders (environmental influence)
- but aggression remains among large groups (persistent genetic component).
what does kin recognition rely on
the presence and detection of reliable cues for relatedness
Kin recognition is the ________________ form of social recognition and hardest to study
least well-known
why is kin recognition likely to be the least common form of social recognition
bc of constraints on both presence and detection of reliable cues — plus strong selection to obscure kin recognition cues.
Categories of self-limitation of cheating
- Self-limitation via negative frequency-dependence
- Self-limitation via excessive costs to the group
Self-limitation via negative frequency dependence
If the direct benefits gained by cheating decrease as frequency of cheaters increases, cheating will not be selected within the population.
Self-limitation via excessive costs to the group
If cheating negatively impacts group reproductive output (total direct and indirect benefits of social group), cheating will not be selected.
Group members can manipulate others to _______________ the ______________ on conflicts of interest, stabilizing the society.
- decrease or eliminate
- power to act
Forms of social coercion can be placed into the following three categories:
- Dominance.
- Punishment.
- Policing.
Dominance allows individuals to establish what
- “reproductive skew”
- or complete monopolization of reproduction within the society.
what happens to reproductive skew if reproductive monopolization is not achieved
reproductive skew typically follows a dominance hierarchy
Dominance position is determined by what
asymmetries in the dominance interactions
explain the asymmetries in the dominance interactions
- High ranking individuals accumulate wins in dominance interactions
- while lower ranking individuals suffer more losses.
What kind of symmetries between individuals might determine the outcome of dominance interactions?
- Asymmetry in power between dominants and subordinates
- Asymmetry in fitness consequences of escalated fighting
Asymmetry in power between dominants and subordinates
- Dominants are larger, older, and/or stronger
- Parents and offspring
asymmetry in power between dominants and subordinates - dominants are larger, older, and/or stronger
Exploitation of these initial asymmetries typically determine the initial establishment of dominance rank.
asymmetry in power between dominants and subordinates - parents and offspring
Parents, and especially mothers who tend to be closer to offspring, are always larger and stronger than offspring, at least early in life.
Asymmetry in fitness consequences of escalated fighting.
Loss by some individuals has greater implications for indirect fitness
define punishment
A coercive behavior that has direct or indirect benefit to the punisher by deterring the victim from acting selfishly in the future.
punishment is a form of coercion with the goal of _____________________________
long-term/permanent manipulation
Punishment can be established as a what interaction
- one-to-one
- one-to-many
- or many-to-one interaction.
define policing
A coercive behavior that provides an indirect benefit to the policer by preventing a cheating social act, without necessarily deterring future cheating.
Policing is typically achieved as a what interaction
- many-to-one
- or a many-to-many interaction.
why does policing not require social dominance
because the policers outnumber the cheats and it is returning an indirect benefit.
The indirect benefit means that policing can be ___________________ that can be _____________ the individual needing to __________________________________
- a short-lived act
- beneficial without
- maintain direct reproductive gains or elevated social status.
