Intraspecific Relationships - Co-operative Interactions and Behaviours

Social Groupings, Co-operative Interactions and Behaviours, Hierachial Behaviour, Territorality, Reproductive Behaviour, Courtship Behaviours

What are the behaviours of Solitary animals?

Spends majority of their life alone, often in defended territory; Only seeks others for breeding purposes; Drive away offspring shortly after they become independent

When is being solitary and advantage?

When resources are scarce or scattered over a large area

What are the behaviours of animals in unstructured social groups?

Everyone acts for their own benefit; Little cooperation between members

Why is being in an unstructured social group an advantage?

Provides protection from predators by reducing possibility of being preyed on individually

What are the behaviours of animals in structured social groups?

Resources and activities divided between members; Members are mutually dependent on each other;

What are Eusocial Social groups?

Where a single female produces the offspring and the non-reproductive individuals care for the young

What are Presocial Social Species?

Where large groups are based around a single breeding pair

What is the requirement for Group living to exist in a species?

The advantages of group living to its members must outweigh the disadvantages of group living for it to occur

What are the advantages of group living?

Assistance with rearing offspring, Greater ability and defence against predators, Greater ability to find food, Learning opportunities for young, Mate Availability, Protection from physical environment, Regulation of population numbers through controlled access to mates/resources

What are disadvantages of Group Living?

Increased intraspecific competition, Increased chance of the spread of disease and parasites, Access to mates may be restricted to only high ranking individuals, Increased risk of infant mortality in some groups by other adults

Define Cooperative Behaviour

When two or more individuals work together to achieve a common goal

What are types of Cooperative Behaviours?

Altruism, Cooperative Attack, Cooperative Defence, Cooperative Foraging, Kin Selection

What’s the benefit of Cooperative defence?

Decrease individual risk of predation, Increases the chances of a successful defence

Define Kin Selection

Altruism towards relatives

What is the benefit of Kin Selection?

Promotes survival of genes which relatives have in common if offspring survives to maturity

Why does cooperative attack occur?

To gain access to new resources

What are the benefits of cooperative attack?

Increases chance of success of the attack

Why does cooperative foraging occur?

Less energy used in finding food

What is the benefit of cooperative foraging?

Increases chances of finding or capturing prey/food

How does cooperative foraging evolve in a species?

When the benefit to a single hunter is less than the benefit of hunting in a group

Define Altruism

Is self-sacrificing behaviour towards other individuals, benefiting the other individuals and the group overall

How are hierachies determined in a group?

Sex, age, experience, size, strength

What are the benefits of Hierachial behaviour?

Minimises conflict within the group so less time and energy is spent on fighting; More time energy is used for foraging/hunting, breeding, raising young and defending territory

Define Dominance Hierarchy

The organisation of individuals in a group according to their status within that group

How does Hierarchical Behaviour benefit high-ranking individuals?

Higher reproductive success due to increased mating frequency; Access to better resources so individual is healthier, thus increasing their survival chances and reproductive capacity; Dominant females produce more surviving offspring; Offspring have better fitness and survival rate; High ranking parents provide better protection to their offspring, ensuring high survival rates

How does Hierarchical Behaviour prove to be a disadvantage to high-ranking individuals?

High metabolic rates; High levels of stress hormones; Overall reduces survival rate; Need to consume more food to maintain fitness and activity levels; Defending territory, females, offspring and resources is costly in terms of energy

What is the requirement for Territoriality behaviour to exist in a species?

The energy expended in defending the territory is outweighed by the benefits

Define Home Range

An area containing essential resources shared with others of the same species

What determines the size of home ranges?

The size of an animal, availability of resources, age and experience

What is the difference between home ranges and territories?

Home ranges are not defended while territories are

Define Territory

An area occupied and defended by an individual, breeding pair, or a group depending on the species

What determines the size of territories?

Density of population, Health, Maturity, Seasons, Strength

Why are territories density dependent?

High population density increases competition for resources

What are the benefits of having a territory?

Provides owners a safe place to court, mate, and rear their young; Increases reproductive success; Able to attract a mate

How does the location of one’s territory affect their survival rate?

Outer territories are more likely to encounter predation, taken over by newcomers/those lacking territories, decreases survival rate

What are the requirements for fertilisation to be successful?

Release of sperm and ova must be as close together physically, Activities of both sexes must be synchronised, Requires enough energy

What are the two main reproductive strategies?

r-selection and K-selection

What are the benefits of r-selection reproduction?

Little energy and time spent in raising offspring

Little risk to parents

What are the cons of r-selection?

Offspring has low survival rates

What is the difference between r-selection and K-selection in terms of reproductive effort

In r-selection, reproductive effort is spent in producing offspring rather than parental care; In K-selection, reproductive effort is spent on raising offspring rather than producing lots of offspring

What are the benefits of K-selection?

Offspring produced have high survival rate which increases as they receive more food and/or protection

What are the disadvantages of K-selection?

Parental survival rate decreases

Define Altricial Young

Offspring born blind and helpless so are totally dependent on their parent/s during the early stages of life

Define Precocial Young

Offspring are born in an advanced state; can run, walk, and stand immediately after birth

Define courtship behaviours

A series of repeated ritualised activities and responses between a male and female

What are the benefits of courtship behaviours?

Females can select those with the best alleles so her offspring are most likely to be strong and healthy; Allows for testing of the gene pool; Shows that the approaching organism poses no threat to the female; Increases chance of successful breeding; Acts as a reproductive isolating mechanism