L16 - Cooperation

✅ Bullet-Point Summary

Examples of Cooperation (Intra- & Inter-specific)

Female elephants help raise offspring of other females; communal care and protection.
Ravens and wolves: ravens guide wolves to prey → wolves access food, ravens feed on leftovers.

Definition of Cooperation

Cooperative behaviour = interaction in which all participants gain a net benefit.
Common across many taxa and contexts: foraging, predation, anti-predator behaviour, mating, play, aggression.
Examples:
- Helping in birthing
- Social grooming (allogrooming) in primates, elephants, dogs, dolphins.

Functions of Social Grooming

Ectoparasite removal
Social bonding, tension-reduction, maintaining group cohesion (especially among dominant individuals)

Four Evolutionary Paths to Cooperation

1. Reciprocity (Reciprocal Altruism)

Proposed by Robert Trivers (1971).
Individuals exchange beneficial acts over time.
Requires:
- Repeated interactions
- Ability to recognise individuals
- Punishment of cheaters (scorekeeping)
Example: Vampire bats sharing blood meals (Wilkinson 1984).
Game theory used to model evolution of reciprocity.

2. Byproduct Mutualism

Cooperation emerges because not cooperating produces immediate cost or penalty.
No temptation to cheat.
No need for memory of partners.
Example: House sparrows’ chirrup calls on large indivisible food items:
- Attract others for safety
- Benefit > cost of sharing

3. Group Selection (Trait-group Selection)

Selection acts at two levels:
1. Within-group
2. Between-group
Groups with more cooperators outperform less-cooperative groups.
Example: Acromyrmex versicolor ants:
- Multiple unrelated queens found colonies
- One queen becomes high-risk forager; all share food equally
- Cooperative nests produce more workers → more successful
- Removing forager queen → colony failure

4. Coalitions & Alliances (Polyadic Cooperation)

Coalition: ≥2 individuals cooperating against another individual/group.
Alliance: long-term coalition.
Seen in:
- Primates, hyenas, wolves, lions, cheetahs, dolphins.
Example:
- Male dolphins form alliances to herd females; superalliances possible.
- Baboons: males solicit aid by head-turning.
- Chimpanzees: males form coalitions against dominants.

Inter-specific Mutualisms

Mutual cooperation between different species.
Example: raven–wolf feeding cooperation.

✅ 30 MCQs (with Answer Key Below)

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. Cooperation is defined as:

A. Behaviour that benefits only one partner
B. Interaction giving net benefit to all participants
C. Behaviour that only increases group size
D. Actions performed only by related individuals

2. Female elephants helping raise others’ offspring is an example of:

A. Interspecific mutualism
B. Intraspecific cooperation
C. Manipulation
D. Predation

3. Ravens guiding wolves to prey is an example of:

A. Byproduct mutualism
B. Intraspecific cooperation
C. Interspecific mutualism
D. Cheating behaviour

4. Social grooming in primates primarily functions to:

A. Increase foraging efficiency
B. Reduce fertility
C. Remove ectoparasites and strengthen bonds
D. Establish territory

5. Robert Trivers is associated with:

A. Group selection
B. Kin selection
C. Game theory
D. Reciprocal altruism

6. Reciprocity requires:

A. Large groups
B. Immediate reward
C. Individual recognition and repeated interactions
D. Genetic relatedness

7. Vampire bats sharing blood meals exemplify:

A. Group selection
B. Byproduct mutualism
C. Reciprocity
D. Cheating

8. In reciprocity, a major challenge is:

A. Lack of partners
B. Cheating
C. Absence of predators
D. Excessive food availability

9. In byproduct mutualism, individuals cooperate because:

A. They are genetically related
B. They keep track of cheaters
C. Not cooperating reduces immediate fitness
D. It is maintained by punishment

10. Sparrows calling at large food items illustrates:

A. Reciprocity
B. Group selection
C. Byproduct mutualism
D. Cheating

11. A key difference between reciprocity and byproduct mutualism:

A. Only reciprocity requires repeated interactions
B. Only BM involves cheating
C. Only BM is long-lasting
D. Only reciprocity occurs in groups

12. Group selection involves selection at:

A. DNA and protein level
B. Individual and species level
C. Within-group and between-group levels
D. Predator and prey levels

13. In Acromyrmex ants, the foraging queen:

A. Gains all the colony food
B. Bears all risk but shares benefits
C. Is dominant to others
D. Is always replaced by others

14. Colonies with cooperative queens:

A. Produce more workers
B. Fail more quickly
C. Are less efficient
D. Have only one founder

15. Removing the foraging queen results in:

A. Increased foraging by others
B. Colony success
C. Garden failure & worker reduction
D. Immediate queen replacement

16. A coalition is defined as cooperation between:

A. Parent and offspring
B. Predator and prey
C. ≥2 individuals against another
D. Only genetically related individuals

17. Alliances differ from coalitions because they are:

A. Short-term
B. Long-term
C. Interspecific
D. Always aggressive

18. Male dolphins form:

A. Temporary dyads
B. Long-term alliances and superalliances
C. Female–male dominance pairs
D. Predator avoidance units

19. Baboons solicit coalition support by:

A. Vocal displays
B. Head-turning toward a partner
C. Aggressive lunges
D. Grooming exchanges

20. Coalition behaviour is an example of:

A. Dyadic interaction
B. Polyadic interaction
C. Solitary behaviour
D. Random interaction

21. Social grooming is considered a:

A. Competitive behaviour
B. Cooperative behaviour
C. Anti-cooperative strategy
D. Neutral behaviour

22. Wolves benefit from ravens because ravens:

A. Deter predators
B. Lead them to prey
C. Groom them
D. Increase pack size

23. Ravens benefit from wolves because:

A. Wolves protect their nests
B. Wolves leave large carcass leftovers
C. Wolves groom them
D. Wolves feed them directly

24. In reciprocity models, game theory is used because:

A. It simplifies genetics
B. Payoffs depend on partners’ behaviours
C. It removes social factors
D. It ignores cheating

25. Coalition and alliance behaviour is especially common in:

A. Solitary carnivores
B. Amphibians
C. Primates and dolphins
D. Fish

26. A trait-group is defined as a group where:

A. All individuals share genes
B. All individuals affect each other’s fitness
C. There is one dominant leader
D. Only relatives cooperate

27. Byproduct mutualism removes temptation to:

A. Stay in groups
B. Cheat
C. Groom others
D. Reproduce

28. The house sparrow chirrup call is used mainly when:

A. Food is small and portable
B. Food is large and indivisible
C. No predators are present
D. The bird is injured

29. In reciprocity, individuals must:

A. Forget past interactions
B. Use scorekeeping
C. Avoid repeated encounters
D. Fight frequently

30. Inter-specific cooperation is commonly known as:

A. Manipulation
B. Mutualism
C. Kin selection
D. Byproduct selection