Behavioral Ecology and Fitness Concepts

Flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture on behavioral ecology and fitness.

Tinbergen’s 4 Questions

A framework for understanding animal behavior; includes questions about how it works (proximate), how it developed (proximate), what it is for (ultimate), and how it evolved (ultimate).

Fixed Action Patterns

Inflexible sequences of behavior that are triggered by specific stimuli and carried out to completion.

Imprinting Behavior

A form of learning whereby some animals form attachments during a critical period early in life.

Fitness

Defined as survival plus reproduction; it determines an individual's ability to pass on genes to the next generation.

Natural Selection

The process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

Sexual Selection

A form of natural selection where individuals with certain inherited characteristics are more likely than others to obtain mates.

Mate Competition

The rivalry between individuals of the same sex for access to mates.

Parental Care

Any behavior towards offspring that increases the chance of the offspring's survival at the cost of the parent's ability to invest in other offspring.

Kin Selection

A form of selection that favors the reproductive success of an organism's relatives, even at a cost to the organism's own survival.

Hamilton’s Rule

A mathematical formula to determine when it is beneficial for an animal to engage in altruistic behavior, defined as r * B > C, where r is the coefficient of relatedness, B is the reproductive benefit, and C is the reproductive cost.