Lesson 25 - Behavioral Ecology

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts from Lesson 25 on Behavioral Ecology, focusing on animal communication, altruism, kin selection, mating systems, and types of behaviors.

Altruism

Behavior that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself.

Inclusive fitness

Total number of copies of genes passed on through one’s relatives or as one’s own offspring.

Kin selection

Behavior that lowers an individual’s own fitness but enhances the reproductive success of relatives.

Reciprocal altruism

Behavior where an organism provides a benefit to another with expectation of receiving a benefit in return.

Hamilton’s Rule

Altruism is favored if rB > C, where r is relatedness coefficient, B is benefit to recipient, and C is cost to donor.

Fixed Action Patterns

Involuntary, automatic sequences of behavior triggered by a specific stimulus.

Migration

Seasonal, long-distance movement of animals typically driven by genetic and environmental cues.

Imprinting

A form of learning occurring at a specific life stage where young animals form attachments.

Classical Conditioning

Associative learning where an animal learns to associate a neutral stimulus with a significant one.

Operant Conditioning

Behavior shaped by rewards or punishments.

Cognitive Learning

Learning that involves understanding, problem-solving, and reasoning.

Polygyny

One male mating with many females.

Polyandry

One female mating with many males.

Monogamy

One male and one female forming a pair bond.

Promiscuity

Both males and females having multiple mating partners.

Coefficients of Relatedness (r)

Probability that any two individuals will share a copy of a particular gene.

Sexual Dimorphism

The differences in appearance, size, or other characteristics between males and females of the same species.

Eusociality

A social structure where workers help a queen raise offspring.