Introduction to Biological Anthropology Exam #2 Mizzou Cowgill

What is a lemur?

-Diverse -Primate only found in Madagascar -stores fat in its' tail

When were the earliest ape language experiments? What did they focus on?

1950's. Focused on teaching chimps to say actual words. Viki said 4 words.

What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

Collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean

What is bushmeat? Why is regulating it complicated?

Meat from wild animals for human consumption. Consumption of bushmeat is cultural.

What are dominance hierarchies?

Members of a social group interact to create a ranking system. They compete for access to limited resources and mating opportunities. Multimale/multifemale groups

What are the three groups of mammals? Where do primates fit?

Monotremes, marsupials and placental. Primates are placental.

What is the ecological model of primate intelligence? What is some of the evidence for this model?

Primates have mental maps of their landscapes. They can hide and find food several hours later in complex landscapes.

What is tactical deception?

Social manipulation - lying - using theory of mind to deceive other individuals

What are the main types of primate social organization?

Solitary, monogamy, polyandry, polygyny, multimale/multifemale

What is vocal communication? What are some examples of it? What purpose does this serve? What primates engage in it?

Species recognition, alarm calls, false calls, finding appropriate mates, territorial calls, distress calls by juveniles. Howlers, bushbabies, gibbons and indris

Why do we study primates?

To learn more about our own biology & cognition and to develop models of human origins

What are the main types of primate locomotion?

Vertical clinging and leaping (VCL), quadrupedalism, brachiation, knuckle-walking, bipedalism

What are the four types of primate communication?

Visual, tactile, olfactory, auditory

What is mate guarding? What likely causes it?

When a mate stays close to their mate to guard off intruders or other possible mates

What is a home range?

Area where they live that is not well defined - overlaps with the home range of other neighboring groups

What are characteristics of New World Monkeys?

-Arboreal -Prehensile tails -wide-spaced, oval nostrils -has 3 premolars

What are characteristics of Haplorhines?

-Greater reliance on vision -reduced snout -dry nose -nails -no tooth comb -complete orbital closure -fused mandibular symphysis -large brain generally -large body generally

What is an aye-aye?

-Specialized dentition -percussive foraging -one long thin finger -re-evolved claws

What is a tarsier?

-long ankle bones -short body -head that can be rotated 180 degrees -large ears -constantly in motion -eyes larger than their brain -nocturnal

What do other Baboons look like? Any interesting facts about them?

-long snout with furrowed eyebrows -world's largest monkeys

What do Marmosets and Tararins look like? Any interesting facts about them? What is their social organization like?

-look the same in Dif colors - a dog or mad scientist look kind of -specialized feeding niches -saps and gum -claws -polyandrous groups with single female

What are some characteristics of apes?

-no tails -largest brain to body ratio of primates -generally large body size -brachiator anatomy -Y-5 molar

What is a bushbaby?

-small -fast -VCL -urine-washing -unique call with lots of diversity

What is theory of mind? How can we test if different animals have it?

Ability to recognize beliefs, feelings, motivations, and knowledge and also recognize that others' feelings may differ from your own

What is olfactory communication? What are some examples of it? What purpose does this serve? What primates engage in it?

Communication through smells. Mostly Strepsirhines. Can communicate identity, sex. Urine washing, stink fights, pheromones, sniffing pads

What is tactile communication? What are some examples of it? What purpose does it serve? What primates engage in it?

Communication through touch. Chimps grooming one another. Used to establish dominance and bonds and also used to comfort. Apes and baboons engage in it

What is visual communication? What are some examples of it? What purpose does it serve? What primates engage in it? What are some examples of how it can be used in kin selection or deception?

Communication through visual displays. Monkeys and apes have the highest ability to do it. Eye contact is key and important. Use body-posture to look bigger or display emotions.

What is bimaturism and forced copulation in orangutans?

Difference in developmental timing between males and females of the same species. Forced copulation is when female looking males will rape females because they won't mate with them. This happens in solitary social organizations because it can only happen once - the female will know not to trust them after the one time.

What characteristics define the primate order?

Generalized anatomy, clavicle retained, trunk erectness, generalized hand, opposable thumb, flat nails, orbital convergence, stereoscopic vision, color vision, enclosed orbit, generalized dentition, k-selected, large brain, post orbital bar

Why is there variation in home range size and whether or not a primate will defend a territory?

Group size, food availability, body size, resource defense, mate defense, cost & benefits

What are the 3 major types of habitat destruction? Describe them.

Habitat Degradation- habitat that may remain intact but is incapable of functioning properly Habitat fragmentation- spatial separation of habitats from a previous state of greater community Habitat Destruction- no longer able to support the species present resulting in displacement

What is infanticide? What likely causes it?

Killing an infant when a male takes over a social group and wants to mate with those females - has to get rid of the offspring from the past male - polygynous social group

What is a "stink fight"? What primate does this?

Lemurs - smear scents on tails and fling them towards others

Why are primate infants often brightly colored?

To be seen by their mothers and kin which is useful in protecting from infanticide attacks

Who was Washo? Kanzi?

Washo learned ASL and Kanzi learned words on keyboards

What are Gorillas like? Where do they live? What is their social organization like? What do they eat? How do they move?

-Live in African mountains and rainforests -Vegetarian diet -Knuckle-walking locomotion -polygynous or one male/multifemale

What are Bonobos like? Where do they live? What is their social organization like? What do they eat? How do they move?

-Live in Central Africa -Primarily frugivorous -Knuckle Walking with more bipedal locomotion -multimale/multifemale - female dominant

What are Gibbons like? Where do they live? What is their social organization like? What do they eat? How do they move?

-Live in Southeast Asia -Mostly frugiorious -brachiation locomotion -mostly monogamous with low sexual dimorphism

What are Orangutans like? Where do they live? What is their social organization like? What do they eat? How do they move?

-Live in Southeast Asia -mostly frugiorious -arboreally quadrumanus -solitary

What are common chimpanzees like? Where do they live? What is their social organization like? What do they eat? How do they move? What sort of tools do they use? What is their capacity for language like?

-Live in West and Central Africa -Knuckle-walking locomotion -omnivores -use sticks to fish for termites -multimale/multifemale - male dominant -THEY EAT OTHER MONKEYS

What are the characteristics that define Strepsirhines?

-Most are nocturnal -have a tapetum lucidum -wet nose -tooth comb -unfused mandibular symphisis -lack of complete post-orbital closure -large ears with reliance on hearing -scent glands -grooming claw

What are characteristics of Old World Monkeys?

-Nostrils -2 premolars instead of 3 -all diurnal -variety of sexual swellings and body decor

What do Howler monkeys look like? Any interesting facts about them?

-Red chunky boys -super loud calls because of their large hyoid -most distributed of the new world monkeys\ -mostly eat leaves

What do Capuchin monkeys look like? Any interesting facts about them?

-They have a white, scrunched face -unusual brains, with extra sulca on their brains -use tools in the wild

What do Gelada baboons look like? Any interesting facts about them?

-They have big ol fangs -They flip their lips up when they get aggressive -Bright red coloring on chests bc they sit and pick grass often so their sexual swellings adapted to be on the front of their bodies

What do Squirrel monkeys look like? Any interesting facts about them?

-They look like bald lil baby boys -multimale/multifemale social group -males convert their estrogen to testosterone and swell up -bigger males like smaller males generally

What is a loris?

-Very slow -poison saliva -dominance -adaption to allow prolonged muscle contraction while feeding

What is sperm competition?

Competition between sperm of two or more males for the fertilization of an ovum. More the male nuts - the more likely the offspring will be others. Happens when female mates with multiple males.

How does the evolution of certain behaviors relate to the primate social organization they evolved in?

Examples: mate guarding, infanticide, dominance hierarchies, sperm competition, bimaturism and forced copulation

What is a territory?

Exclusively occupied by a group and defended by its members; the area of overlap with neighboring groups is small and is a source of conflict

Who was Travis the chimpanzee?

Famous TV chimp that mauled one of the owners' friends, leaving her blind and causing damage to the face and body. Shot dead by police when tried to attack an officer.

Where do primates live?

Mostly Tropical Regions. New world monkeys typically live in Asia and Africa and old world monkeys typically live in Africa and Central America

What is unique about the marmoset and tamarian mating and social system?

One mating female and many males. Other females are in the group but their only purpose is to help care for the offspring. - in embryos they swap DNA

What is culture? Do you think primates have it? What is the evidence of this? How do you know this?

Specific to a group - transmitted by social learning. Yes, primates have it. An example is Japanese Macaques and sweet potato washing

What is the social model of primate intelligence? What is some evidence of this?

When primates evolve to deal with living in large groups. They need to know who is who and need to know how they fit in their social group (dominance hierarchies)

What is zoonose?

disease/infection from animal to human