Predation and Sociality Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards about predation and sociality based on lecture notes.

Predation

An interaction in which one species (predator) kills and eats the other (prey). It has a positive effect on population growth for the predator but a negative effect on the prey.

Predator-prey population cycles

Close-knit cycles between predator and prey populations, influenced by predation.

Evolutionary arms race

The co-evolution of defense mechanisms in prey species due to predation, leading to an ongoing evolutionary competition.

Predator sensory adaptations

Advanced sensory structures in predators, such as the Ampullae of Lorenzini in sharks, to detect prey.

Aristotle’s Lantern

A feeding structure used by sea urchins (Echinoderms) to consume algae.

Operculum

A structure on the dorsal side of the foot in most aquatic snails that closes the aperture of the shell when the snail retracts, providing defense and preventing drying out.

Mullerian mimicry

A form of mimicry where both species are toxic and have evolved to look like each other, advertising danger to deter predators.

Batesian mimicry

A form of mimicry where one species is a harmful model, and the other is a harmless mimic.

Trichomes

Hairs on leaves or plant structures that deter herbivores.

Predator swamping

A strategy where prey exist at high population densities briefly, reducing the odds that any one individual is eaten.

Eusociality

A complex social structure among animals involving cooperative brood care, division of labor into reproductive and non-reproductive groups, and overlapping generations.

Kin selection

Individuals in a colony are related (share genes), so an individual’s fitness remains high even if they don’t reproduce but care for siblings.

Honey Bee Communication

The 'waggle dance' communicates the location and quality of distant food sources. The 'round dance' communicates the location and quality of nearby food sources.