Primate Behavioral Ecology and Conservation Flashcards

Flashcards about primate behavioral ecology and conservation.

Adaptations for harvesting food

Anatomical and behavioral features that help primates obtain food, such as the aye-aye's finger or tool use.

Primate Sociality

All primates are social, but not all are gregarious, and groups are generally closed to strangers.

Social behavior

Designed by selection to affect others, important for social structure.

Costs of being social

Increased energy expenditure, aggression, and infectious disease transmission.

Resource Defense Hypothesis

reproductive limits differ among females; access to food, males; access to fertile females.

Important Primate Foods

Fruit, leaves, and prey, providing carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

Proteins

Limited in the environment, making finding them a nutritional priority.

Plant defenses

Plants might have toxins and digestion inhibitors as defenses.

Body size

Larger bodies need more energy and protein.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Rate at which energy is used up or exchanged in life processes, measured in kcal/hour, at rest.

Mass-specific Metabolic Rate (MSMR)

The inverse measure of efficiency; =BMR/W.

Kleiber's Law

Larger animals are more efficient; they don’t require as much energy per body mass as a smaller animal.

Hamilton's Rule

Hamilton’s Rule: altruism favored when rB > C (relatedness × benefit > cost).

Reciprocal altruism

Cooperation between non-kin if benefits are mutual over time.

Kin networks importance

Close kin show more frequent cooperation: grooming, alliance, protection.

Multilevel Selection

Natural selection can act at both individual and group levels.

Machiavellian Intelligence

Social intelligence evolved to navigate complex relationships; involves manipulation, deception, coalition-building.

Multi-Gene Effects

Animals with different behavior show different patterns on gene expression across the genome.

Heritability

How much variation in behavior correlates with genetic variation, typically 0.5 on a 0-1 scale for traits in wild animal populations.

Martins definition

Focuses on living primates, way of life, and Sensory systems.

Secondary sexual characteristics

Traits not directly involved in reproduction but influence mate attraction

Sexual selection

Traits evolved through sexual selection because they provide a mating advantage

Operational Sex Ratio (OSR)

The ratio of sexually active males to sexually receptive females.

Sperm competition

Occurs when females mate with multiple males

Infanticide advantage

Eliminates infants still nursing, bringing females back into estrus sooner

Dominance

hierarchical status that affects access to resources and mates.

Juvenile period

time between weaning and reproductive maturity

Encephalization Quotient (EQ)

brain size relative to expected brain size for body size

Neocortex Ratio

the neocortex size relative to the rest of the brain

primates brains neurons

primates have more tightly packed neurons, especially in cortex

Ecological Intelligence Hypothesis

Big brains evolved to solve ecological challenges: locating food, avoiding predators

Social Intelligence Hypothesis

Large brains evolved to handle complex social worlds: strategizing, recognizing relationships, social comparison.

Theory of Mind (ToM)

attribution of mental states (beliefs, desires, intentions) to others

Method of Exclusion

must rule out genetic differences and environmental explanations

Tradition

A behavior shared in a social unit, persistent, learned socially.

The Biodiversity Crisis

Scientists are increasingly concerned due to significant environmental changes since early field studies (1950s–60s).

Extinction

The current extinction rate is much higher than background levels

IUCN assesment

The IUCN assesses these four endangerment based on: Rate of population decline, Geographic range, Population size and isolation, Population trend analysis

Threats: Habitat Destruction

Slash-and-burn agriculture disrupted by population density

Threats: Hunting

Facilitated by roads and logging

Changing Human Lifestyles

reduce demand, incentivize conservation, address fragility of tourism

Rates and risk of predation

risk of predation is not low, Group-living helps individuals minimize risk

Competition and Cooperation Between Species

There's Niche separation, diet overlap, and density compensation

Female reproduction: reproduction

most primate females spend little time in monthly cycling, seasonal cycle

Feeding competition and (Female) social relationships

The nature of their social relationships can vary

Demographic structure

affect social behavior: Influence via partner availability

Polygyny

one male monopolizes a cluster of females, and is only one to mate with them

Polyandry

one female mates with multiple males

Communication Definition

Involves one animal using an evolved signal to influence, modify, or manipulate the behavior of another