ANTHRO 105 Exam 2 - Stage 4: Ecology and Social Life

36 terms for Ecology slides 8-23 and 50-81. Study definitions -> type terms. Use the reading for predator defenses, plant defenses, socioecology, group types, rank, dispersal, and reproductive strategies.

Socioecological model

A framework linking food distribution and predation risk to female distribution and relationships, male distribution, and social organization.

Vigilance

Monitoring the surroundings for potential danger, including predators.

Dilution effect

Reduction in an individual's share of predation risk when an attack affects only a limited number of members of a larger group.

Interspecific (polyspecific) association

Association among individuals of different species, potentially providing benefits such as complementary predator detection.

Plant secondary compounds (secondary metabolites)

Plant substances outside basic primary metabolism, many serving defensive roles such as deterring feeding or disrupting digestion or physiology.

Plant physical defenses

Structural barriers to herbivory, such as thorns, spines, or tough tissues.

Plant chemical defenses

Compounds that make feeding costly by inhibiting digestion, poisoning consumers, or otherwise deterring consumption.

Bamboo lemur

A Malagasy lemur associated with feeding on bamboo, including cyanide-containing foods, illustrating specialized tolerance and plant-consumer interactions.

Cyanide

A toxic compound that interferes with cellular respiration; relevant to the bamboo-lemur feeding example.

Coevolutionary process

Reciprocal evolutionary change between interacting lineages as each creates selection pressures on the other.

Generalist

An organism using a relatively broad range of resources; dietary breadth can help distribute exposure to different plant toxins.

Specialist

An organism using a relatively narrow range of resources, often with adaptations for exploiting them.

Anthropogenic

Caused by human activity.

Anthropogenic change

A human-caused alteration of environmental conditions, such as agriculture, urbanization, habitat fragmentation, or climate change.

Simplified socioecological model

The lecture's reduced framework connecting food and predation with female distribution/relationships and male distribution to explain social patterns.

Pair bonding

A persistent social association between two partners; does not by itself prove exclusive genetic mating.

Solitary or semi-solitary

Social organization in which adults often forage separately while retaining social contacts and overlapping ranges; not complete absence of social life.

Polyandry

A mating system in which one female mates with multiple males.

Polygynandry

A mating system in which multiple males and multiple females each have multiple partners.

Polygyny

A mating system in which one male mates with multiple females.

Alloparental care

Care of an infant by individuals other than its mother, such as fathers, siblings, or other group helpers; some sources use the narrower nonparental definition.

Dominance interactions

Encounters with asymmetrical outcomes, such as consistent winning and submission, used to infer dominance relationships.

Dominance matrix

A table recording outcomes of interactions between pairs of individuals; row and column labels identify winners and losers.

Rank

An individual's relative position within a social dominance hierarchy.

Dispersal

Departure from the natal group or area to settle or reproduce elsewhere.

Male philopatry

A pattern in which males tend to remain in their natal group or area.

Female philopatry

A pattern in which females tend to remain in their natal group or area.

Dominant

The individual that consistently wins or receives submission relative to another in a dominance relationship.

Subordinate

The individual that consistently loses or submits relative to another in a dominance relationship.

Affiliative behavior

Friendly or relationship-maintaining behavior, such as grooming, contact, or social support.

Aggressive behavior

Threatening or antagonistic behavior, including threats, chases, or attacks; injury is not required.

Intergroup encounters

Meetings or interactions between members of different social groups, ranging from tolerance or avoidance to aggression.

Between-group interaction

Interaction involving members of different social groups.

Within-group interaction

Interaction among members of the same social group.

Mating system

The pattern of mating relationships among individuals, distinct from simply who lives together.

Reproductive strategy

A suite of traits and behaviors affecting mating, offspring production, care, and lifetime reproductive success; not necessarily conscious planning.