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Year 3: Primate Ecology and Behaviour > Socioecology > Flashcards

Socioecology Flashcards

1
Q

When do primates form polyspecific associations?

A

When there is mutual benefit to both species

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2
Q

What benefits are there from polyspecific association? Give 2

A
  1. Predator protection

2. Increased foraging success

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3
Q

Give an example of polyspecific association.

A

Saddleback tamarins and emperor tamarins

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4
Q

How can saddleback and emperor tamarins forage together without competitive exclusion occurring?

A

They have different foraging and locomotor styles, i.e. different ecological niches

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5
Q

Which parts of the canopy do a) saddleback and b)emperor tamarins forage in?

A

a) Understory

b) Canopy

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6
Q

Often insects lost by emperor tamarins are caught by the saddleback tamarins below. True or false?

A

True

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7
Q

How is the relationships between saddlebacks and emperors mutualistic?

A

Saddlebacks watch for predators from below, and emperors for predators from above.

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8
Q

Give another common polyspecific association seen in the wild.

A

One between (brown) capuchins squirrel monkeys

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9
Q

Why do capuchins and squirrel monkeys associate?

A

For increased foraging success and predator evasion.

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10
Q

How do capuchins and squirrel monkeys avoid predators?

A

There are more eyes and ears watching, both species respond to the other’s alarm calls and capuchins will sometimes mob predators.

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11
Q

Is affiliative behaviour ever observed between capuchins and squirrel monkeys?

A

No, in fact the caps are often mean to the squirrels

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12
Q

If there are scarce resources what does selection favour?

A

Behavioural and morphological traits that fare better in competition

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13
Q

Why does resource competition have more impact on females than males?

A

Because females have higher investment in producing offspring

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14
Q

When does scramble competition occur?

A

When a resource CANNOT be monopolised

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15
Q

Why can a resource not be monopolised?

A

Because it is dispersed over a large area

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16
Q

In scramble competition, does every group member have equal access to the resource?

A

Yes

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17
Q

There is a threshold to scramble competition. Why?

A

After a certain number of individuals access to the resource decreases

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18
Q

When does contest competition occur?

A

When a resource CAN be monopolised.

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19
Q

Why can a resource be monopolised?

A

It occurs in discrete patches so cannot be shared.

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20
Q

Why does contest competition occur for females?

A

Because the fertilisation of an egg cannot be shared.

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21
Q

In contest competition, who benefits most from resources?

A

Dominants, as they can restrict the access of subordinates to resources.

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22
Q

Whose reproductive success is favoured in contest competition?

A

Dominants

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23
Q

In scramble competition resources are high quality and concentrated in one place. True or false?

A

False, they are low quality and highly dispersed

24
Q

In species with scramble competition, is there an advantage to having high rank?

A

No as food cannot be monopolised

25
Q

Species with scramble competition have what kind of societies?

A

Egalitarian

26
Q

Scramble competition is often for nutrient-poor food. Species with scramble competition have longer what?

A

Feeding times and day ranges

27
Q

Although there is a threshold at which group size becomes disadvantageous in species with scramble competition, what is the advantage to having a larger group?

A

Predator protection (forms a trade-off with decline in energy)

28
Q

How can you describe the societies of species with contest competition?

A

Despotic, dictatorial, unequal

29
Q

Contest competition is for what kind of food?

A

Nutrient-rich

30
Q

In species with contest competition lower ranking members have the same food intake as higher ranking. True or false?

A

False, their food intake is lower

31
Q

What behavioural trait is selected for in species with contest competition?

A

Feed until sated to ensure greater share of food, i.e. shove everything into their mouths until they can’t carry any more

32
Q

In species with contest competition foraging-related aggression is common. How do females cope with this?

A

Feed away from others

33
Q

Kin cooperation is favoured in species with scramble competition. True or false?

A

False, it is favoured in species with contest competition. Relatives become allies in resource control.

34
Q

What is the result of foraging aggression in species with contest competition?

A

Displacement.

35
Q

In between-group contest, which groups gain access to resources?

A

Larger groups

36
Q

Do primate societies always follow the social structure predicted by ‘food = female distribution = male distribution’?

A

No.

37
Q

What is menarchy?

A

A female’s first menstrual bleed

38
Q

In Western European humans, the age of menarchy has reduced from ~14 to 11. These individuals are sexually mature but they are not…?

A

Socially mature

39
Q

Why is it thought a lowering in the age of menarchy has occurred in western civilisations?

A

These countries are richer and have more abundant resources

40
Q

Female reproductive success is inexorably linked to what?

A

Foraging success

41
Q

If a female has access to more resources she can do what?

A

Reproduce at an early age

42
Q

Why is reproduction so expensive to females?

A

They need energy to feed themselves and the foetus during pregnancy, and still maintain enough body fat required to nurse when the infant is born

43
Q

How much higher is the female’s energy requirement during lactation?

A

2-5 times higher.

44
Q

What constitutes a ‘high quality’ diet?

A

Readily digestible, energy-rich food

45
Q

What is a ‘growth diet’?

A

Diets that are not available all the time but can be used to fuel reproduction

46
Q

What is a ‘fallback/subsistence food’?

A

Foods that are consumed when the preferred food is not available

47
Q

What adaptations do folivorous primates have for eating leaves? List 3.

A
  1. Shearing molars
  2. Strong chewing muscles
  3. Elongated digestive tract to increase processing time/area
48
Q

Some folivores have developed extra strong teeth and muscles, why?

A

To get past plant defences like shells and husks

49
Q

As well as physical, plants produce chemical defences. Which chemical groups to these belong to?

A

Tannins and alkaloids

50
Q

Are these always toxic?

A

No, they can be medicinal in the right dose

51
Q

Young leaves are high in toxic compounds and are avoided. True or false?

A

False, mature leaves are toxic

52
Q

Why do red colobus monkeys eat charcoal?

A

To neutralise plant toxins

53
Q

Females and males of the same species often eat different foods. True or false?

A

True

54
Q

Why might females and males of the same species often eat different foods? Give 2 reasons.

A
  1. To avoid inter-sexual competition
  2. Because they have different energy requirements

(the latter is preferred, no one is really sure)

55
Q

Why do species exhibit behavioural adaptations instead of morphological? For example, why do red colobus monkeys eat charcoal to neutralise plant toxins, why don’t they just eat noon-toxic plants? Give 2 reasons.

A
  1. Because it is quicker to develop a new behavioural phenotype than a new behavioural/physiological.
  2. Behavioural repertoires are flexible whereas morpho/physiological constraints are not. Primates are incredibly adaptable because of their behavioural flexibility.
56
Q

It can be assumed that nutritional uptake reflects the food availability and security of the environment. Therefore species living in similar environments always behave in the same way. True or false?

A

False, there are always exceptions, can also depend on factors like competition and predation etc.

Year 3: Primate Ecology and Behaviour (16 decks)

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