AB exam 4

Kin Selection

Cooperation specifically helps kin increase fitness (inclusive fitness)

Reciprocity

(reciprocal altruism) “I scratch your back, you scratch my back”

Byproduct mutualism

cooperation is a byproduct of the cost an individual would incur if it did not cooperate

-immediate net benefits of cooperation out weigh the costs

Group selection

cooperation can increase the fitness of all individuals in the social group

Reciprocal altruism

Exchange of altruistic acts

-can be crucial for some animals to survive

-might be a returned favor in future/hiearchy

Tit for Tat (TFT)

a strategy for how reciprocal altruism is achieved, in most biological systems

-punishing individuals who don’t appear to the rules (share back)

-cooperate on 1st interactions & follow along, if wanted for afterwards

Evolutionary Stable Strategies (ESS)

an individual employing strategy A must do better against another individual employing strategy A than any other strategy

Prisoner’s Dilemma

your reward depends on the behavior of the other player

-remain silent= cooperate with your partner

-confess= cheat/defect

Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT)

is a framework for understanding the choices animals make when foraging

-pick the best possible food source based on things like food quality, feeding time, & predator presence

-focuses on short-term decisions

-predicts optimal diets

Marginal Value Theorem

can be used to create testable predictions of how long an animal should stay in a given food patch

-greater time between patches, the longer a forager should stay

-forager should leave current patch when energy intake rate within the patch diminishes below average energy-harvesting rate

risk averse

animals that are filled with desire (satiated) are less likely to take risks when foraging

-every additional food item has less value

Risk prone

animals that are hungry are more likely to take risks when foraging

-every additional food items is worth more

risk insensitive

every additional food item is value equally

4 ways you can avoid predators

camouflage

quiet

choosing safe places to live

cavity nests

Active camouflage

a change in the animal that helps it camouflage

-animal adjusts its behavior

Passive camouflage

camouflage that is “always on” and is natural

uniform camouflage

single skin color

mottled camouflage

small dark splotches

disruptive camouflage

large dark & light stripes or areas

Flight Initiation Distance (FID)

as a measurement of fearfulness of predators

-”fight or flight”

Schooling, flocking, herding

individuals within groups move in a coordinated fashion

-advantages: of more eyes to watch for predators & low likelihood of being predated

Approaching predators

is a viable defense strategy in some cases

-typically movement towards predators interrupted momentarily

-especially common when prey animals are in large groups

Feigning death

pretending to be dead to avoid predators

-most animals won’t eat dead animals

Signaling to predators

to show that they are aware of their presence, warn them they will fight back

-signals can be visual & auditory

Mobbing

when animals spot a predator, they join together, more toward danger, & aggressively attempt to chase the predator away

-common with birds; can contain various species of birds in one mob