The Evolution of Habitat Selection, Territoriality and Migration Flashcards
Ideal Free Distribution Theory
animals can assess habitat and choose a location based on resource availability and the best fitness outcome
Key assumptions:
1) habitat suitability decreases as the density of individuals increases
2) all individuals settle in the habitat most suitable to them (“ideal”)
3) all individuals within a habitat have identical expected fitness(“free”)
Economic Defensibility of Territories
Arbitrary Contest Resolution Hypothesis
resident always wins
Resource holding power (potential)
capacity of an individual to defeat a competitor for a useful resource
Payoff Asymmetries
residence place a higher value on the territory than a rival
Dear Enemy Effect
familiar neighbors fight less
Sex-biased dispersal – Inbreeding Avoidance
Females less likely to disperse than males (particularly in mammals).
Conditional Strategy give migratory example
European black birds. Choose not to migrate as they get older (more dominant)
Predictions followed: Conditional Strategy
*1. The birds should have the ability to change tactics.
*2. Socially dominate birds would choose the superior tactic.
*3. The superior tactic should result in higher fitness gains.
Evolutionarily Stable Strategy
set of behaviors that when adopted by a proportion of the population cannot be replaced by any alternative behavior. Game theory, the fisher and the pirate.
Conditional Strategy
explains the coexistence of multiple behavior strategies for animals in the same population with behavior flexibility
Hawk/ Dove Game
One of the earliest game theory models of the evolution of aggression. Hawk is favorable when the cost of fighting is relatively low and the value is high. Dove favorable when the cost of fighting increases.
Frequency-Dependent Selection
the rarer phenotype is favored.
Bronze Frog
Reflected Ideal Free Distribution Theory in an experimental setup.
territorial behavior, give cost benefit examples
Territorial individuals discourage free movement of animals in an effort to monopolize high-quality sites.
Costs: Time spent defending the site, Energy spent defending site, risk of injury, risk of losing the site to a superior competitor
(vs. sharing)
Benefits: * Access to
resources, Spacing - parasite avoidance, Site fidelity familiarity with resources, refuges, etc.
male chimps
territorial behavior example. Patrol in groups and will risk their lives fighting rival groups.
Yarrow’s spiny lizard
experiment showed testosterone is correlated to territorial behavior. They are usually peaceful when females are not sexually active because it is not favorable otherwise.
Golden-winged Sunbirds
Economic defensibility of territory. Have a decrease in foraging hours when holding territory, overall saving.
Red-Shoulder Widowbird
Pretty bird gets territory, but they still get territory even when color is removed. Indicating the color is an honest signal.
Make Tarantula Hawk
demonstrates Payoff Asymmetries since if they leave for over 3min they are more likely to lose territory than if they stay.
Dispersal
is an ecological process where animals move away from the population where they were born and settle in another location and/or within a new population.
Cost- travel energy, new predators, establish new territory
Benefit- new opportunities
Migration
movement away from a location
and then returning to that same location.
evolution: Short distance migration likely preceded evolution of long distance migration. Sometimes birds stop migrating behavior. ex. V formation is an example of reciprocity while migrating
Migration choices of red-eyed vireos
is dependent on body condition, faster over the ocean or slower over land. Route chosen depends on wieght.
Evolutionary Game
an evolutionary approach to the study of adaptive value in which the payoffs to
individuals associated with one behavioral tactic are dependent on what others in the group are doing
