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lectures 1-10
what are the 4 aspects of Tinbergen’s four questions?
Mechanism, Development (Proximate), Function and Evolutionary history (Ultimate)
what is proximate in terms of Tinbergen’s four questions?
The causes of a trait during a single lifetime
what is ultimate in terms of Tinbergen’s four questions?
The evolutionary causes of a trait (Does it affect reproductive success? How did it evolve?)
What is an example of a mechanism question?
Do hormone levels predict activity level and patterns of movement?
What is an example of a development question?
How do vocalizations change through development (in birds)
What is an example of a function question?
Do larger antlers lead to more mating events? (reproductive success)
What is an example of an evolutionary history question?
Where did the monarch’s migratory behaviour come from? (ancestral vs. derived traits)
What is behavioural ecology?
evolved strategies maximizing fitness based on cost and benefits
What is an anthropomorphism?
Viewing animals as people
What is anthropocentrism?
observing animals from a human perspective (with humans being superior from animals)
What are anecdotes?
using single observations as evidence
what is the issue with design and interpretation of studies?
other alternative hypotheses must be considered
how can we study behaviour?
through observational studies (observe first then experiment) or experimental studies (deliberate manipulations, field experiments)
how can behaviour be measured?
identifying patterns, clear definitions, quantities, sequences of behaviour, identifying outcomes
What is an ethogram?
a catalogue of behaviour patterns of a species that indicate probabilities of a given sequence of behaviour patterns
what is the difference between a hypothesis and a prediction?
a hypothesis is not directional, a prediction is a way of determining if the hypothesis is true (specific and directional) and is applied to specific circumstances
what is a comparative study?
it examines association between naturally occurring variables among evolutionary independent units
what are the three criteria for adaptive evolution to occur?
heritable variation in a trait, variation in reproductive success, natural selection (neutral evolution)
what drives natural selection?
Lifetime reproductive success. Fitness = relative reproductive success (better than the others but not the best)
why do traits evolve?
because they improve the reproductive success of individuals and their offspring
what are the implications of evolutionary theory?
evolution is blind, short-term, no long-term goal, no long-term consequences, proceeds as a branching tree (not a ladder)
what are examples of contemporary and rapid evolution?
antibiotic resistance, commercial fish body size decrease, human resistance to lactose
what is an adaptation?
a character favoured by natural selection for its effectiveness in a particular role
what is adaptive behaviour?
behaviour that increases reproductive success
what is it called if the behaviour is adaptive and is an adaptation?
current adaptation
what is it called if the behaviour is not adaptive and is an adaptation?
past adaptation
what is it called if the behaviour is adaptive and is not an adaptation?
exaptation (pre-adaptive)
what is it called if the behaviour is not adaptive and is not an adaptation?
dysfunctional by-product
what is an extended phenotype?
adaptations that extend beyond the body and behaviour (ex: spider-webs, beaver dams)
what is niche construction?
The active role of behaviour in evolution
what are gene-environment interactions?
when genes go along with the environment to produce a specific phenotype (reed warblers mobbing cuckoos when others do)
what is developmental plasticity?
the ability of an organism to change its behaviour in response to the environment during development
what is inclusive fitness?
an individual’s genetic success is derived from behaviour that promotes genetic contribution to future generations
examples of behaviour not always being adaptive
trade-offs for pleiotropic effects (don’t want other phenotypes when one gene codes for many), historical and genetic constraints
what is a trade-off?
optimizing one trait which may have negative effects on another (one increased at expense of other)
what are some constraints to traits evolving?
if the trait cannot occur at all (natural selection works with what it has), time, gene flow
What can be used to measure reproductive success?
acquisition of resources, body condition, survival, reproduction in one breeding season
what determines the predation risk R?
rate of encounter with predators (E), probability of detection, initiation, pursuit and being killed (Pd, Pp, Pc, Pk) (multiplied together)
How can patterns of behavioural evolution be deduced?
using strong interference, phylogenetic comparison and phylogenetic analysis
what can it mean if similar character states evolve independently in similar circumstances?
character states are adaptations
what is phylogenetic comparison?
creating a phylogenetic tree based on chromosomal variation and incorporating it to the analysis
what is phylogenetic analysis?
mapping behavioural traits onto a phylogenetic tree, and finding most parsimonious tree
what is cognition?
study of mental lives of animals, encompassing learning, memory and thought
aspects of cognition
spatial navigation, numerical abilities, self-recognition, communication, tool use, learning, memory, behavioural flexibility
what aspects of numbers do animals understand?
relative number judgements, absolute number judgements, using them for ordering, quantities
what do animals learn for spatial representations?
dead reckoning (direction and distance without landmarks), landmark use, environmental shape, cognitive maps
Learning definition
change in an animal caused by a specific experience at a certain time, that is detectable later in the animal’s behaviour
what are the costs of learning?
delayed reproduction, increased juvenile vulnerability, greater brain size & complexity, developmental fallibility (making mistakes)
what are the benefits of learning?
adjusting to changing (but predictable) world, attracting mates
what are the costs of group living?
disease transmission, conspicuousness to predators, competition within the group
what are the benefits to group living?
anti-predator defence, improved foraging efficiency
(predation risk and food distribution are major drivers)
what is game theory?
when costs and benefits of each option are not fixed, but depend upon the choices of others
what is social learning?
learning facilitated by observation of, or interaction with, another animal or its products
what is selfish gene theory?
successful genes are those that pass on many copies of themselves to future generations
what is cooperation in terms of animal selfishness?
acting to increase reproductive success of another individual
what is altruism in terms of animal selfishness?
cooperation at a cost to your own benefit (ex: sacrifice)
what are the four hypotheses for the evolution of cooperation?
Mutualism: individual benefit
Kin selection: inclusive fitness
Reciprocity: good turn paid back at later time
Enforcement: not cooperating is repressed or cooperation is rewarded
Conservation biology can be broken into what 3 categories?
population biology, population genetics and ecology
what is conservation biology?
the study of how populations and their habitats respond to anthropogenic change
what is the problem with current research in conservation behaviour?
there are many threats but not many solutions
what is an example of behavioural responses to anthropogenic change?
humans cause increased stress hormone levels (even more than when around predators!)
what can help conservation behaviour?
captive breeding and reintroductions and relation of behaviour to 5 drivers of conservation crisis
what are the five drivers of conservation crisis?
habitat fragmentation (MAIN DRIVER), exploitation, pollution, invasive species, climate change
effects of habitat fragmentation
isolated and inbred populations
effects of exploitation
targeting specific individuals can cause evolutionary change
effects of pollution
chemical, noise and light pollution affect behaviour → warning signal of adverse physiological and demographic consequences of pollution
effects of invasive species
behavioural knowledge of invasive species can help achieve eradication. Manipulations (such as training) can ameliorate adverse effects of invasive species
effects of climate change
changes of breeding seasons, phenotypic plasticity. for long-term adaption, one phenotype can be favoured over another
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