behavioral ecology

exam 4

chemical communication

scent marking

auditory communication

sound production

visual communication

male competition for impressive displays leads to elaborate and ornamentation

tactile communication (touch)

social bonding, dominance, grooming, mating

renowned geneticist, mathematician, and prolific author. established a unification theory of Mendelian genetics and Darwinian evolution called “the modern synthesis”

John Burdon Sanderson

Altruism

a behavior that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself

reciprocal altruism

a behavior where an organism provides a benefit to another with the expectation of receiving a benefit in return at a later time

the book “The Selfish Gene”

popularized the “gene-centered” view. introduced the term “meme”

Hanuman langurs

males kill infants when they take over groups of females from other males. If not nursing, females become sexually receptive, so the new male can father offspring sooner.

a paradox….

If a certain alleles increase altruism, it should be selected against. Selfish alleles should make an individual more likely to have greater fitness

coefficient of relatedness, r

probability that any two individuals will share a copy of a particular gene

inclusive fitness

designates the total number of copies of genes passed on through own offspring and one’s relatives

kin selection

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

r

coefficient of relatedness of donor to recipient

B

benefit to recipient measured in units of fitness

C

Cost incurred by the donor measured in units of fitness

datana caterpillars

brightly colored, bad taste, assume a specific pose when threatened

alarm calling

A greater risk of being eaten by a predator, but warns others in the population

eusociality

workers (females) help queen raise offspring but have none of their own

fishers principle

explains the roughly equal sex ratios observed in most sexually reproducing species

monogamous

partners form a lasting pair bond

polygyny

one male commands a harem of many females

polyandry

one female mates with several mates

sexual dimorphism

Sexes have different appearances

resource based polygyny

patchy distrubution of resource and female visits for resource

harem mating structure

females naturally congregate and male controls area

communal courting

Males display in leks (communal courting areas), and females mate after males display

intersexual sexual selection

A member of one sex chooses a mate based on certain characteristics. female mate choice, based on color or courtship displays

intrasexual sexual selection

members of one sex compete for partners, and the winner gets most of the matings. females do not actively choose between mates

innate behaviors

strong genetic component, independent of environment, hard wired

learned behavior

result from environemental conditioning, flexible and dynamic

reflex action

an involuntary and rapid response to stimulus

kinesis

the undirected movement in response to a stimulus

taxis

the directed movement towards or away from a stimulus

fixed action pattern

a series of movements elicited. by a stimulus such that even when the stimulus is removed, the pattern goes on to completion

migration

long-range seasonal movement of animals

obligate

animals always migrate

facultative migration

animals choose to migrate or not migrate

incomplete migration

Some of the population migrates, while others do not

imprinting

specific life stage and is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of. behavior

classical conditioning

animals learn to associate a neutral stimulus with a significant one

operant conditioning

animals learns behaviors through rewards and punishments

cognitive leanring

The process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experiences, and the senses involves mental processes such as thinking, knowing, and memory.