Behavioral Adaptations for Survival

finding prey

Predators that are good at ____________ are favored by natural selection

selection pressure

any cause of reduced reproduction in some portion of a population

escape predation

Prey are selected for their ability to ____________

evolutionary arms race

what is the evolution of a predator driving the adaption of a prey and vice versa an example of?

adaptive trade offs

most behaviors where animals must make decisions come with ___________

mobbing behavior

many adults cooperate to fend off a much larger/stronger predator

no

Should we expect perfectly effective mobbing behavior?

lack of appropriate mutation, pleiotropy, coevolution

what are constraints on perfect adaption?

relatively better

Genes for phenotypes that are _____________ than other phenotypes become more frequent in a population

a heredity trait that is spread bc of natural selection from past to present and is currently spreading relative to alternative traits due to natural selection

what is an adaptation?

cost-benefit

Testing whether one phenotype is better than alternative phenotypes has involved a ___________ approach

benefits must be greater than costs and the benefit to cost ratio must be greater than all alternative traits

what must happen for a trait to be an adaptation?

parasite infestation, less predation risk

potential cost of a high density gull/skua population? benefit?

predation, offspring develop faster due to less parasites

potential cost of low density gull/skua population? benefit?

selective pressures

If a given trait is adaptive for one species, then it should be adaptive for another species subject to the same _______________

divergent evolution

what type of shift resulted in ground nesting behavior?

no

If mobbing behavior in black-headed gulls is an evolved response to predation on gull eggs and chicks, then should other gull species whose eggs and young are at low risk of predation exhibit mobbing behavior?

the simplest explanation with the fewest undocumented assumptions is preferred

what does the principle of parsimony state

no

does the principle of parsimony mean that simpler explanations are correct?

fewest

base on the principle of parcimony: The best estimate of character evolution is the one that requires us to postulate the _________ evolutionary changes

convergent evolution

distant ancestry with a shared inepentently evolved behavior

divergent evolution

shared ancestry with different behaviors

masting

reproductive strategy that takes advantage of safety in numbers

safety in numbers principle

why do butterflies sun themself in large groups?

blending into background

what is crypsis?

the background

what is the effectiveness of crypsis dependent upon?

yes

can conspicuousness be an adaptation for prey animals?

aposematic coloration

bright coloration broken up with dark colors, often warns of poison

secondary defense mechanisms

defense mechanisms that come into play at the time of an attack

stotting

series of jumps or hops performed int he presence of potential predators

alarm signal hypothesis

hypothesis that stotting has evolved to warn other conspecifics especially close relatives that there is a predator near

social cohesion hypothesis

stotting behavior developed to get individuals to join a group for safety in numbers

confusion effect hypothesis

stotting behavior breaks focus on individuals making it harder to target

sign of unprofitability hypothesis

stotting is advertising that it is young, agile ect to a predator so it would be a waste to pursue it over easier prey

sign of unprofitability

which hypothesis for stotting has the most support?

fear screams

loud vocalizations that animals engage in at the time of capture

optimality theory

states that: among alternative behavioral phenotypes, the one with highest benefit to cost ratio should be favored by NS

X

which phenotype is the adaptation?

different fitness units

why is measuring B and C difficult?