EEB 100 Midterm
Best time to imprint
13-16 hrs for ducklings
Why we may not see adaptations?
1• Evolutionary time lag - Humans and motorcycles, fatty foods, etc. 2• Lack of heritable variation - Pigs will never fly 3• Developmental constraints - You have to crawl before you walk 4• Gene flow between populations under different selection regimes 5• Fluctuating selection 6• Correlated traits - Selection can not eliminate a trait that has another function
Evolution by natural selection will occur if:
1• There is variation between individuals 2• In heritable traits 3• That affect survival and reproduction
scramble competition
: males don't attempt to defend territories, rather they search for receptive females and try to mate with whomever they encounter
If Vg= 0, then h2=____
0
r values of full sibs, (half sibs, uncle/aunt-niece/nephew), cousin-cousin
0.5 0.25 0.125
Meerkat sentinel behavior is a selfish act. Select one: A. Proximate B. Ultimate
B. Ultimate
Promiscuity (polygynandry)
Both males and females can have > 1 mate
Evolutionary time lag
Evolution has not eliminated those that make poor choices (i.e. humans and motorcycles)
H2 is a ________ measure
POPULATION
apparent altruism
The idea that altruistic acts are actually cooperative The donor will eventually benefit
Quantitative genetics
Variation due to genetics and environmental components
If Ve increases, then h^2 ______
decreases
For Hamilton's Rule to predict not killing equation
rb - c > 0
Examples of sex role reversal
waterbugs and sandpipers both, male cares for the children
Genes for behavior (e.g., learning) is a shorthand for
"a change at this genetic locus affects the expression of this behavior".
Polygamy
(multiple marriages) one or both sexes can have > 1 mate
monogamy
(one marriage) both sexes have 1 mate - Lifelong (as seen in some seabirds; geese) - Serial (birds which form new pairs each season)
Inter-sexual selection
(usually) mate choice by females - Non-genetic, direct benefits - Fishers runaway process - Good genes - Pre-existing biases
Adaptation
- A characteristic that confers higher fitness on individuals than any other existing alternative exhibited by other individuals within the population - A trait that has spread, or will spread, or is being maintained in a population as the result of selection
Assumptions of Marginal Value theorem
- Animals are maximizing energy intake (E/Tt) - Energy was the appropriate currency - Proper constraints identified - Animals are a central place forager
Error management theory (EMT)
- If judgments are made under uncertainty, and the costs of a false positive and false negative errors have been asymmetric over evolutionary history, - Then selection should favor a bias towards making the least costly error A theory of selection under conditions of uncertainty in which recurrent cost asymmetries of judgment or inference favor the evolution of adaptive cognitive biases that function to minimize the more costly errors. Better safe than sorry vs. Nothing ventured, nothing gained?
Costs of sociality
- Parasites and pathogens Greater competition for resources and reproductive competition - Vulnerability to infectious disease
Costs of behavior
- Time - Energy - Opportunity - Risk of predation
• Generation time effects
- prey usually have shorter generation times than their predators prey defenses may evolve faster than predator counter-defenses
Vigilance (many eyes)
- together prey detect predators with greater reliability or at greater distances
Secondary sexual characters
- traits that distinguish the two sexes of a species, but are not directly part of the gamete-producing or receiving systems - they are derived by sexual selection - these characters are typically absent or not expressed to the same degree in females as in males
Benefits From Grouping
-Acquiring food -Reducing predation risk - thermoregulation
Costs of T
-Immune function -Interference with behavior (e.g., juncos) High T isn't always a good thing. This is why animals often have a mating season, because T costs too much
Benefits of behavior
-Increased access to energy - Increased access to mates - Decreased risk of predation
Fitness
A measure of the genes contributed to the next generation by an individual—often quantified as the number of offspring an individual has Leaving most offspring
We expect learning when:
-There is no way to predict the relevant conditions (Food distribution, exact types of predators) -The cost of learning or learning the wrong thing is not extreme
If Ve=0, then h2=___
1
Organizational effects of testosterone in rats
1) T is required for normal adult sexual behavior 2) Its removal => female-like behavior 3) intrauterine position also has an effect
Demonstrating hormone function
1. • Correlations between hormonal levels and size of glands and/or behavior 2. Remove the hormone and eliminate behavior/trait 3. Re-instate the hormone and restore behavior/trait
Darwinian Puzzle
A Darwinian puzzle is a trait that appears to reduce the fitness of those that possess it.
Good genes hypothesis
A female mates with more thn one male bc her social partner is of lower genetic quality than her extra-pair partner, whose genes will improve offspring viability or sexual attractiveness
Common garden
A place in which (usually conspecific) organisms, perhaps from different geographic populations, are reared together, enabling the investigator to ascribe variation among them to genetic rather than environmental differences. Originally applied to plants, but now more generally used to describe any experiment of this design.
resource dispersion hypothesis
A polygynandrous system may arise because limited optimal resources may force more than one breeding pair within a territory Female dispersion influence the male dispersion
Batesian mimicry
A type of mimicry in which a harmless species looks like a species that is poisonous or otherwise harmful to predators. - Predators learn to avoid model and the mimic benefits from this learning - Problem: if predators must learn to respond to model, too many mimics may break the system
Schneider et al. (2003) found that male mice are highly likely to attack their own litters, rather than caring for their young. If, however, the progesterone receptor gene is removed from their genome, the mice cannot detect progesterone in their bodies and they do not exhibit infanticidal behavior toward their offspring. Select one: A. Activational effects B. Organizational effects
A. Activational effects This is an activational effect because the immediate response to progesterone (or lack thereof) determines whether the males will be infanticidal.
A researcher decides to train mice to climb to the into a protective shelter when a cat is released into the cage. Before releasing the cat in the cage, every time the researcher plays Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Eventually the mice learn to head to their protective cage when they hear Beethoven's 5th Symphony before they even smell or see the cat. What kind of learning is this an example of? Select one: A. Classical conditioning B. Operant conditioning C. Latent learning D. Sensitization E. Habituation
A. Classical conditioning
An individual that decides to move to a habitat that has fewer resources and less competition for those resources rather than a location with a high amount of resources and a much higher level of competition is employing what concept: Select one: A. Ideal free distribution B. Group selection C. Optimal foraging theory D. Frequency-dependent selection E. This would not be observed in nature
A. Ideal free distribution
Hospitals group infected people together such that the rate of disease co-infection increases. Select one: A. Increase the virulence B. Decrease/have no effect on the evolution of virulence
A. Increase the virulence Because there are multiple competing strains and pathogens together and overuse of antibiotics.
Vaccines created such that they are most effective against the most common strain of a pathogen, and not the most currently virulent. Select one: A. Increase the virulence B. Decrease/have no effect on the evolution of virulence
A. Increase the virulence To reduce virulence, should vaccinate against the most virulent strains, not necessarily the most common.
Which of the following is true about mating systems? Select one: A. Male reproductive success is limited most by access to females, not food. B. Female dispersion is directly correlated with resource dispersion which does not take predation into account. C. If resources are patchy, females will aggregate in certain areas and polyandry will most likely arise as the mating system. D. In uniform female dispersion, monogamy is unlikely to occur. E. None of the above.
A. Male reproductive success is limited most by access to females, not food.
All primates appear to fear snakes or snake-like objects before ever encountering a real snake. Select one: A. Phylogenetic or historical B. Functional advantage or benefit C. Ontogenetic or developmental D. Expression triggering
A. Phylogenetic or historical A, this is sensory bias that originates from shared primate ancestry.
When a Wildebeest starts walking in the wrong direction it will bump into other wildebeest in the herd and learn which direction it needs to walk. Select one: A. Proximate B. Ultimate
A. Proximate
It makes sense to separate the results of an experiment from the scientific conclusion of a research project because: Select one: A. The data were collected not as an end in and of themselves but to help evaluate a hypothesis. B. The scientific conclusion should refer to what ought to have been collected in the way of data, not the actual data themselves. Future research directions should be included in the discussion but it is important to explain what can be learned about the results obtained in the current study. C. The dictionary defines a scientific conclusion as a proven result, and the results of an experiment are rarely completely certain. D. It is good to keep all the experimental items, the design of the experiment, the methods used, the expected results and the actual data collected, in one single category.
A. The data were collected not as an end in and of themselves but to help evaluate a hypothesis.
A parent-offspring regression for a particular phenotypic trait yields a regression line of y = 0.5x + 0.4 (with an r2 = 0.6). A selection experiment on the same trait gives a predicted response to selection of 0.6, and a selection differential of 2. Given these facts which of the following is true? Select one: A. The parent-offspring regression results in a higher estimate of heritability than does the selection experiment. B. The parent-offspring regression results in a lower estimate of heritability than does the selection experiment. C. The parent-offspring regression results in an equal estimate of heritability to the selection experiment. D. None of the above are true.
A. The parent-offspring regression results in a higher estimate of heritability than does the selection experiment.
Males in different populations are exposed to different songs, an experience that influences the kind of song that the birds learn. Select one: A. genetic-developmental explanation B. sensory motor explanation C. adaptive value explanation D. relating to evolutionary history
A. genetic-developmental explanation
The differences among dialects are environmentally determined, not genetically controlled. Select one: A. genetic-developmental explanation B. sensory motor explanation C. adaptive value explanation D. relating to evolutionary history
A. genetic-developmental explanation A, genetic-developmental mechanism. Although the trait is not genetic, this still explains how the trait arose (environmental factors).
Organizational effects of hormones
Act during development to prepare for later use. ex. injecting testosterone to female squirrels at birth
Behavioral Ecology
An evolutionary and ecological approach to studying behavior. As currently practiced, it is multi-disciplinary and integrative.
polygyny threshold model
An explanation for polygyny based on the premise that females will gain fitness by mating with an already paired male if the resources controlled by that male greatly exceed those under the control of unmated males. Fitness of 2nd female sharing a male on high quality territory is equal to the fitness of female who nest monogamously on low quality territory
What is an animal
Animal = anything that can evolve or is subject to the forces of natural selection
Habituation
Animal learns NOT to respond after repeated encounters with a benign stimulus decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.
Parasite-host co-evolution (An application of darwinian medicine)
As hosts evolve new ways to fight parasites, parasites evolve new ways to exploit hosts
Which of the following is FALSE about conspecific attraction? Select one: A. Conspecific attraction is used in both hunting and conservation tactics. B. Conspecific attraction is a strictly visual cue. C. Animals use conspecific attraction as a cue that an area is suitable to settle. D. Conspecific attraction is a non-independent habitat choice.
B
Suppose female lizards with reddish throats produce more eggs than females with orangey throats. Why might the females with orangey throats persist in the population, is it possible that the orangey throats are an evolved adaptation? Select one: a. No, because the orangey throats are a byproduct of the need for variation in this species, a critical requirement for the evolution of adaptations by natural selection. b. Yes, because females with orangey throats could still have more offspring that live to reproduce than females with reddish throats. c. No, because there is no guarantee that females with orangey throats are the best for the long-term preservation of this species. d. We cannot tell because we are not told whether reddish females outnumber orangish females in this species.
B. Fitness is determined by the number of offspring that survive to reproduce. It is possible that females with orangey throats are producing less eggs but a larger proportion of those eggs are surviving. Also remember that natural selection acts on the individual rather than the species.
Lemmings leave where they are living when population densities get very high because they have better chances of reproducing in places where the population density is lower. Select one: a. for group selectionist hypothesis b. for Darwinian natural selectionist hypothesis c. for other
B. The lemmings in this scenario are making decisions motivated by their individual reproductive potential.
If an adaptation is the product of natural selection, the trait will: Select one: A. Provide a net reproductive gain for individuals that possess the attribute. B. Raise the reproductive success of individuals more than any other alternative that has appeared in the species over evolutionary time. C. Enhance the survival of the fittest individuals in the species. D. Help preserve the species as a whole against the risk of extinction. E. Maximize the survival chances of family members within the species.
B. Raise the reproductive success of individuals more than any other alternative that has appeared in the species over evolutionary time. B is correct, it is important to remember that adaptations are RELATIVE to other alternatives in the population. A is not necessarily wrong, but it is not the best choice compared to answer B. For C, survival of the fittest is an incorrect measurement of success. The most successful individuals are those that pass on the most genes. For D and E, natural selection acts on the individual level, not the group level. The correct answer is: Raise the reproductive success of individuals more than any other alternative that has appeared in the species over evolutionary time.
Kangaroos perceive safety in the open because they can better detect predators and therefore increase their chance of survival. Select one: A. Proximate B. Ultimate
B. Ultimate
The behavior is the product of a special set of muscle contractions. Select one: A. genetic-developmental B. sensory motor C. evolutionary history D. adaptive value
B. sensory motor
Young adult white-crowned sparrows are motivated to match their song as closely as possible to that of their neighbors. Select one: A. genetic-developmental explanation B. sensory motor explanation C. adaptive value explanation D. relating to evolutionary history
B. sensory motor explanation
Is sound steady for moths if bat above or below?
BELOW bc ears below the wings
What is batesian mimicry dependent on?
Batesian mimicry is frequency dependent: only works when relatively few mimics
Why is Fisherian Runaway selection more likely to evolve sexual ornaments in males rather than females?
Because eggs intrinsically cost more than sperm, there is an initial bias for females to have higher parental investment. Therefore, they are more likely to be choosy about mating. This increases the variance in reproductive success among males (only the more attractive males may mate). Therefore, the males are more likely to be the sex with the higher variance and any 'attractive' mutation increases a male's fitness far more than a female's. Hence these mutations accumulate in males.
___________ are subject to selection and may evolve
Behavioral mechanisms are subject to selection and may evolve
Altruism and altruistic behavior
Behaviors that have a fitness cost to the actor but a fitness benefit to the recipient
Starling foraging behavior
Central Place Forager Nest in one location and have to forage in another location
Why do the genetic traits for male ornament size and the preference in females for ornamented males become genetically linked and coevolve in Fisherian Runaway selection?
Both ornament and preference have to be genetically influenced. Thus the offspring of ornamented fathers and females showing mating preferences will have the genes for both ornaments and choosiness. Therefore, they will co-occur in all offspring of such matings and be genetically inherited together. Mutations that increase the ornament size or the strength of the preference will be favored by FRS and similarly become rapidly genetically linked. WOMEN have sexier sons, and the females preference for that trait also increases
What are some of the difference morphologically do males have?
Brighter colors - More elaborate weaponry - Specialized and more elaborate signals
Most behavioral biologists are skeptical about group-benefit group selection because: Select one: a. This hypothesis is an untested theory for the time being. b. The theory has been proven to be false. c. If hereditary characteristics benefit a group but harm an individual's chances of reproducing, they will be eliminated over time no matter how good they are for the group. d. No one has been able to show how traits that increase a group's chances of surviving could ever spread through a population by group selection.
C. Individuals who sacrifice their fitness for "the good of the group" will have lower reproductive success than those who act selfishly and will thus eventually be eliminated from the population. Also remember that scientific studies support or negate hypotheses. Theories are not proven one way or the other. (Although most studies do not support this theory)
A baby Bieber bird has to hear adult Bieber birds singing in the 1st month of its life in order to learn its species-specific songs. Select one: A. Phylogenetic or historical B. Functional advantage or benefit C. Ontogenetic or developmental D. Expression triggering
C. Ontogenetic or developmental C, explains how the trait arose from genetic-developmental mechanisms.
A dog makes a better pet if it is raised within a human family. Select one: A. Phylogenetic or historical B. Functional advantage or benefit C. Ontogenetic or developmental D. Expression triggering
C. Ontogenetic or developmental C, this insinuates that dogs raised in the wild will not behave as we would want them to as pets. Thus, their pet-like behavior is shaped by genetic-developmental mechanisms.
Suppose you are taking money out of an ATM in a dangerous neighborhood. Which of the following anti-predator behaviors should you employ? Select one: A. Under-estimate the amount of risk in the current circumstance, so you do not expend energy maintaining costly antipredator behaviors B. Create a highly specific defensive skill to thwart a certain type of attacker. C. Reduce risk by limiting exposure or by being vigilant. D. Treat all signals equally so you do not miss an important indication of approaching danger. E. All of the above
C. Reduce risk by limiting exposure or by being vigilant
Which of the following is false about the "umwelt": Select one: A. Knowledge of the "umwelt" concept can be critically important for the conservation of species B. Every species possesses a different "umwelt". C. The "umwelt" describes the resources a species needs to survive. D. None of the above.
C. The "umwelt" describes the resources a species needs to survive.
By being able to sing the local dialect, a male is able to communicate territorial ownership of a breeding site to rival males more effectively. Select one: A. genetic-developmental explanation B. sensory motor explanation C. adaptive value explanation D. relating to evolutionary history
C. adaptive value explanation
What does runaway sexual selection show us?
Coevolution of male trait and female preference
Cooperation within groups and between groups
Cooperation- within a group, works against cooperators as they are outproduced between groups, cooperation can be beneficial as they can produce more offspring as a group
Hamiltons Rule
Costly behaviors will be favored when: Br > C where B = benefit r = coefficient of relationship C = cost An alternate formulation: B/C > rdonor to own offspring/rdonor to recipients offspring By expressing this as a ratio, we see that the smaller the r between you and your recipients offspring, the bigger the benefit required for helping to evolve
Which of the following is NOT an example of inter-sexual selection: Select one: A. Good genes B. Pre-existing biases C. Non-genetic, direct benefits D. Sperm competition E. Fisher's runaway selection Feedback
D. Sperm competition
An adaptation is simply a trait whose fitness benefits (B) exceed its costs (C). Select one: True False
FALSE The benefits associated with an adaptation must be greater than the costs, AND in addition the difference between B and C must be greater than that associated with any other alternative trait.
If a foraging tactic is "optimal," then this behavior: Select one: A. Helps to maintain the population at a level likely to promote the long-term survival of the species. B. Supplies a fitness benefit to individuals. C. Is an efficient way to collect food. D. Confers more fitness on individuals than any other alternative trait in the population
D. Confers more fitness on individuals than any other alternative trait in the population
Which of the following statements is FALSE about Fisherian and Good Genes models of sexual selection? Select one: A. Good Genes models are more advantageous to females because they make it easier to discern good male genotypes from poorer ones. B. In the Handicap model the absolute size to which an ornament can evolve is likely set by its negative impacts on the trait bearer's survival. C. Good Genes and Handicap models can apply to both intra- and intersexual selection. D. Fisherian Runaway selection is an alternative hypothesis to the theory of Natural Selection for explaining the evolution of ornaments. E. None of the above.
D. Fisherian Runaway selection is an alternative hypothesis to the theory of Natural Selection for explaining the evolution of ornaments.
What significance can we attach to the fact that the verbal ability scores of adopted children are more similar to their biological parents' scores than to their adoptive parents' scores? Select one: A. The fact shows the importance of early experience in shaping a child's behavior. B. The fact demonstrates that environment is not that important in the development of a person's verbal abilities. C. The fact constitutes a scientific conclusion, namely that the correlation between verbal ability scores of biological parents and the children that have been reared by others is about 0.35. D. The fact is contrary to the following prediction: Persons experiencing different environments should exhibit different behaviors.
D. The fact is contrary to the following prediction: Persons experiencing different environments should exhibit different behaviors.
Starlings sometimes assemble in large flocks that, in the evening, rise up in whirling flight together for 15 or 20 minutes in what looks like some kind of display. Professor Wynne-Edwards has suggested that this behavior is indeed a display that enables individual birds to assess just how many fellow starlings are living in the area so that they can adjust their breeding effort in the upcoming breeding season. In this way, they can avoid producing too many chicks and thereby avoid overpopulating their home range. This a group selectionist hypothesis because: A. The idea is that starlings could evaluate the size of their local population or group. B. The flight behavior of the flock is something that cannot be explained in terms of any benefits to individuals and thus, must be beneficial for the group. C. Starlings do breed in such a manner as to avoid overpopulation. D. The suggestion is that the birds engage in costly behaviors in order to make decisions that are advantageous for other unrelated starlings.
D. The suggestion is that the birds engage in costly behaviors in order to make decisions that are advantageous for other unrelated starlings.
Darwin developed the theory of sexual selection to explain why: Select one: A. species with costly traits have not gone extinct. B. females prefer males with particular traits. C. males usually compete for females instead of the other way around. D. secondary sexual characters exist. E. all of the above.
D. secondary sexual characters exist.
Zahavi's handicap principle
Displaying a noticeable handicap to survival that actually indicates survival strength In a population in which males vary in their quality, some of the males possess a handicap - a costly or deleterious character which reduces survival. If only males with high quality genes can survive possessing a handicap, a female who mates preferentially with handicapped males will only mate with males with good genes.
Which of the following is true about sexual selection? Select one: A. The result of sexual selection is that males in all species have the sexual ornaments. B. Fisher showed that "Runaway" sexual selection is possible only when females favor and choose traits that give their offspring good genes for survival. C. Good genes models of sexual selection differ from Runaway models in that female mate choice occurs only with Runaway models. D. The handicap hypothesis predicts that survival for males in good condition is not affected by the cost or size of their expressed sexual ornament. E. In humans, the clothes and jewelry we choose to wear could reflect a Zahavi handicap for sexual selection.
E
genetic/indirect benefits from polyandry
FGC fertiltiy insurance hypoth, good genes hypoth, genetic compatibility hypoth,
generalist species
E = Ts (i1E1 + i2E2) (note: time x E/t to get E) Tt = Ts + Th Tt = Ts + Ts(i1Th1 + i2Th2 + itwigsThtwigs) •total time = search + handling time •handling time = (encounter rate x handling time) x time spent searching (because if youre not searching, youre not going to handle anything) •Note: itwigsThtwigs is the cost of searching for the twigs Species with a broad ecological niche. They can live in many different places, eat a variety of foods, and tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. Examples are flies, cockroaches, mice, rats, and human beings. Compare specialist species.
In a species of fish, males have bright orange spots, a long, sword-like extension on their tails, and very energetically swim and display to females. All three traits must be present for females to choose a male as a mating partner. In the context of sexual selection, explain why energetic courtship displays may result from good genes.
Energetic courtship display is the best choice for good genes because healthy males are likely the most physically robust and therefore able to do the most courtships. This indicates that they are also likely to have the best overall genotype for resisting disease and parasites or avoiding injuries.
Which of the following are TRUE about the Marginal Value Theorem (MVT)? Select one: A. MVT does not apply to situations where patches are non-depleting. B. If patches do not deplete, the forager should choose the best patch and never leave. C. In MVT an animal cannot do better by going anywhere else. D. MVT predicts when a forager should leave a patch that can deplete. E. All of the above.
E. All of the above.
Which of the following is true about testosterone? A. Testosterone compromises the immune system. B. Testosterone is found in males and females. C. Testosterone may interfere with behaviors outside of reproduction, like parental care. D. Testosterone is often associated with territorial defense. E. All of the above.
E. All of the above.
Net profitability
E/Tt E= Energy content per prey item Tt= time required to find and consume prey
Specialist on large, cryptic prey
E/Tt = i1E1/(1+ i1Th1 + itwigsThtwigs) Note: by searching for cryptic prey, they pay the cost of searching the twigs... specialize whenever a specialist on large cryptic prey does better than a generalist)
Specialist on small, conspicuous prey
E/Tt = i2E2/(1+ i2Th2) Note: by ignoring cryptic prey, they dont have the cost of searching the twigs...itwigsThtwigs Note: they also don't get benefit of eating large prey because they will never get them specialize whenever a specialist on small, conspicuous prey does better than a generalist
prey choice model
E1/Th1 > E2/Th2 - Predators should prefer prey that provide more energy per unit handling time
Differential firing rate
Ears on thorax of moth, thus will fire more intensely depending where the bat is located (left or right)
At what point, in terms of increased ornament size, does Fisherian Runaway Selection stop? (I.e., what keeps ornaments from evolving to even larger sizes.)
Eventually FRS is balanced by survival selection. Increasing ornament size increases attractiveness to females, but this is exactly offset by higher mortality rates due to having this larger ornament. Thus a male may get more matings while he is alive, but he does not live as long. When the ornament is a detriment to survival- due to predation, even when the healthy males cant survive
Adaptations work at the different levels
Examples: Leg length might help an individual escape predators and therefore acts at the level of the individual. •Tolerance of others might be a trait that is only expressed when an individual is in a group and therefore acts at the level of the group. • Groups with tolerant individuals will persist over time and selection will act to generate groups of tolerant individuals.
How do animals evaluate potential information?
Extract information from the environment • Stimulus filtering reduces the plethora of stimuli to a biologically-relevant subset - Electromagnetic: infrared-> visible->UV - Sounds: infrasound -> detectable -> ultrasound
A mutation in the single gene that determines learning ability, such as the dunce gene in Drosophila, will likely produce a learning deficit. Select one: True False
False
All hormones provide immediate but temporary regulatory effects. Select one: True False
False
Innate (unlearned) behaviors are genetic. Select one: True False
False
T/F Descent with modification applies only to large animals and plants and not to smaller organisms like bacteria and protozoans.
False
The Sensory Bias hypothesis predicts that females are not choosy about which male they may mate with. Select one: True False
False females ARE choosy and select for males with traits that exploit a pre-existing hidden preference.
Current extinction rates are approximately 10x higher than natural background rates. Select one: True False
False Current extinction rates are 1,000-10,000x higher than natural background rates.
Pathogens that require the host to be mobile are typically more virulent because mobility enhances the chances that the infected host will encounter another potential host. Select one: True False
False Pathogens that require the host to be mobile are relatively non-virulent.
Virulent diseases need not be easily transmissible. Select one: True False
False Virulent diseases will kill their hosts quickly and therefore must be easily transmissible.
The relative abundance of less profitable prey is the main factor determining whether a species foraging on two types of prey should specialize on one type or consume both types. Select one: True False
False only the abundance of the MORE profitable prey item determines whether a predator will specialize.
Parental investment includes all energy invested into current offspring. Select one: True False
False parental investment is anything a parent does for existing offspring that reduces its ability to invest in future offspring.
T/F Adaptations depend on the presence of others in a population.
Fitness benefits of adaptations are relative to the fitness of others in a population. The correct answer is 'True'.
Abiotic vectoring leads to ______ virulence.
HIGHER
what is the simplest type of learning?
Habituation
alloparental behavior
Helpers feed, warm or may protect the breeding female or her offspring
Pursuit deterrence
I see you, give up
T/F A trait can only be considered an adaptation if it improves the survival chances of an organism.
If a trait increases the life span of an individual but also decreases the reproductive success of that individual then the trait would be selected against because long-lived individuals would fail to pass on their distinctive genes as often as short-lived individuals on average. The correct answer is 'False'.
Male bison produce snort vocalizations during dominance contests. Vocalization frequency is affected by body size: the larger the individual, the lower the frequency of sounds it can produce. Form a hypothesis to predict how female mating behavior might be affected by male vocalization frequency.
If only the largest, most dominant males can produce low-frequency sounds, then females can use male vocalizations to assess male quality (i.e., body size). If females prefer to mate with dominant males, then we can predict that females will exhibit a mating preference for males that produce the lowest-frequency vocalizations.
Prey is healthy
Im too healthy for you to catch me
You are studying a newly-discovered species of fish. Only the males have orange fins. There is no evidence that males provide anything to the females except sperm (i.e., no parental care, food, nests, etc.). Propose an experiment or set of observations that would differentiate whether the ornament is due to Fisherian Runaway selection or evidence of female choice for good genes (i.e., the fins are a male handicap).
In Fisher, females just like the trait, in good genes the trait indicates in some way that the bearer is healthy and robust. Thus experiments could be done to show that diseased or parasitized males lose color. Or find that more orange males are in some other way more robust and healthy than less orange ones.
Costs of grouping
Increased competition -Reproductive suppression - Increased risk of parasite or disease transmission
mate choice copying
Individuals in a population copy mate choice of others. highly skewed reproductive success on leks
Hormones
Internal secretions which occur in small quantities in the blood and act as chemical messengers. They (typically) exert their influence at some distance from the source and, because they are blood born, can have diverse effects.
The fitness of one type increases as it becomes _______ common
LESS so if the frequency of the adaptation were to increase the fitness would decrease. At the equilibrium point, both traits have equal fitness.
we expect that parasites that must live in their hosts for a long period of time to be ____________
LESS VIRULENT
social learning
Learning through observing others. ex: • Norway rats learn what to eat by smelling each others breath • Termite fishing in chimpanzees • Information centers in birds • Potato washing in macaques • Tammar wallabies learn about predators from conspecifics (discussion section paper) • University education in humans
In a species of fish, males have bright orange spots, a long, sword-like extension on their tails, and very energetically swim and display to females. All three traits must be present for females to choose a male as a mating partner. In the context of sexual selection, explain why long tail swords as could be explained by a Zahavi Handicap mechanism.
Long tail swords are the best choice for the handicap hypothesis because long swords may make swimming more difficult and costly, and decrease ability to escape predators. Therefore, this can be an honest signal of male quality for females - only really good males could grow a large handicap and still escape predators. EXPLAIN HANDICAP AND THEN WHY IT GOOD THAT THEY SLIVE
When males ONLY provide sperm and there is no parental care, thus there is more variation in _____
MALES • Female fitness is limited by egg production, not mating success • Male fitness is limited by mating success, not sperm production • Males are expected to compete for females • Females are expected to be choosy about their mates • Male mating success should be more variable than female mating success
As the probability/ease of transmission increases, parasites become ________virulent
MORE
Overconfidence beats accuracy
Main point: as B/C increases, overconfidence becomes a better strategy. Thus, take the risk, even if its risky as long as the possible benefit is large.
Gene compatibility hypothesis
Mating with several males increase the genetic variety of the sperm available to the female, which boosts the chance that the female will recieve some sperm whose DNA is unusually compatible with ehrs.
Fertility insurance hypothesis
Mating with several males reduces the risk that some of the female's eggs will remain unfertilized because any one male may not have sufficient sperm to do the job
price elasticity of demand
Measures change in demand as a proportion of change in cost a measure of how much the quantity demanded of a good responds to a change in the price of that good, computed as the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price • High price elasticity: when price goes up, demand goes down • Low price elasticity: when price goes up, demand remains
Warning coloration and predator learning
Monarchs sequester toxic compounds (cardiac glycosides) from milkweed and other host plants.
more care hypothesis
More mates means more caregivers to help rear the female's offspring
more resources hypothesis
More mates means more resources received from the sexual partners of a female
Cross-fostering: inferring heritability when parental care matters
Move eggs between nests- still have problems with yolk Identical twins reared apart- lower correlation bc different environment, same genetics
Is red blood an adaptation?
NO, because it's inside of you and it doesn't make an individual more likely to reproduce/higher fitness... can be blue/green
What is the flaw of group selection?
Natural selection does not act for the good of the species Wynn-Edwards argued that populations that failed to limit their own reproductive output would over-use their resources and go extinct
Is evolution goal oriented? always adaption?
No. Its change over time
Explain why in the Fisherian Runaway Selection model, non-choosy females are at a fitness disadvantage relative to choosy females.
Non-choosy females will mate with any male. The sons of non-ornamented males will not have the ornament choosy females require for matings. Thus sons of non-choosy females will have fewer mating opportunities and therefore non-choosy females are "punished" by having fewer grandchildren.
Polyandry
One female, several males.
Polygyny
One male, several females.
What is the 'equilibrium' solution to frequency-dependent selection?
Only at equilibrium point is fitness of each phenotype equal, and thus the population will ultimately be stable. Frequency-dependent selection leads to a stable frequency of different types, but that stable equilibrium may vary based on situation, costs, benefits, etc.
What can be used to study discriminative abilities?
Operant conditioning
Operational Sex Ratio (OSR)
Operational sex ratio = mating males: female ratio
In a species of fish, males have bright orange spots, a long, sword-like extension on their tails, and very energetically swim and display to females. All three traits must be present for females to choose a male as a mating partner. In the context of sexual selection, explain why orange spots could be explained by Fisherian runaway selection.
Orange spots is the best choice for Fisherian runaway selection because orange may simply be a color females like (might look like fruit that they eat). Therefore, they may prefer to mate with males that have 'attractive' colors. Thus, any male that displays an orange trait may draw more female attention and have the opportunity for more matings.
In peacock spiders only the males are very brightly colored and dance and display their colors when courting females. Please explain how this preference could have arisen as a Good genes (handicap) hypothesis.
Orange spots make the males more apparent to predators or require lots of energy to produce. Only males in good condition have the energy or ability to get away from a predator's attack or make the colors. Poor males that try to do so, die.
material/direct benefits of polyandry
PRIC more resources hypoth (received from mate), more care hypoth (more caregivers), better protection hypoth, infanticide reduction hypoth (greater confusion about paternity of females offspring),
generation time effect.
Parasites tend to have much shorter generation times than their hosts
Measuring heritability with parent-offspring regressions
Parental mean (x), offspring mean (y), h2= slope
Energetic equivalence of risk
Patch choice should reflect benefits (energy) and costs (predation risk) • If the difference in extra fitness from additional energy MORE THAN OFFSETS the fitness cost of predation risk, then animals should forage in the risky patch, otherwise, they should use the safer patch.
Passive aggregation
Planktonic larvae distributed by ocean currents
Signals of unprofitability
Predator detection, Pursuit deterrence, Prey is healthy
Sentinel behavior
Prey taking turns scanning for predators
Prostaglandin effect on copulation
Prostaglandin has a rapid effect of reducing interest in copulation
proximate questions
Proximate = How questions • Genetic-developmental mechanisms - Behavioral genetics - Behavioral development/ontogeny • Sensory-motor mechanisms - How does the nervous system detect and affect behavior? - How do hormones modulate behavior? - How is behavior patterned? I.E. genetics/sensory-motor
Using artificial selection to measure heritability
R = h^2S • R = response to selection = amount of change in mean value between 1st and 2nd generation • S = selection differential = difference from mean value in the 1st generation • h^2 = R/S
Focusing on the benefits and costs an individual obtains, refute the statement- vampire bat females share blood meals with other females for the good of the group
Reciprocity- expects it in return, individuals will benefit in the future if I share blood today
Adaptive value of habituation
Saves energy, time and attention
What do prey defenses increase to reduce profitability?
Search and handling time
Bateman's Principle
Sexual selection acts more strongly on the sex with the highest reproductive variance Typically Males Males under stronger sexual selection for attractive traits
co-evolutionary arms race
Species interactions in which all members are actively changing through evolution, with each adaptation leading to a counter-adaptation Ex. Bats and Noctuid Moth (moths hide better, bats evolve to find them better)
Fishers runaway process (the sexy son hypothesis)
Starting conditions: - Genetic variation in a male trait - Genetic variation in an initial female preference for the male trait - Offspring of both sexes inherit genes for the preference and the male trait • sons get the trait, daughters get the preference Leads to - Male trait evolves because of sexual selection caused by female preference - Female preference evolves because it is genetically correlated with male trait - Male traits become elaborate until natural selection puts a check on further elaboration CREATES Positive RUNAWAY LOOP long-tailed widowbirds **choosier females, have sexier sons** no adaptive basis for female What preference!
Why should females have a sensory bias?
Swordtail preference may reflect benefits of mating with larger males (good genes) and males evolving a dishonest way to trick females into responding as though he was larger (elongating the tail)
Darwinian/Evolutionary Medicine
The application of ecological and evolutionary principles to medicine
conservation behavior
The application of behavioral principles to wildlife conservation Conservation scientists seek to check this by Applying insights from community ecology, population ecology, and population genetics as well as knowledge of human behavior and policy
What does Behavioral Ecology study?
The effects that animals have on other animals or as yet unborn animals.
Ethology
The naturalistic study of animal behavior (c.f., comparative psychology).
Optimal foraging models
predict optimal foraging behavior given a specified currency (e.g., energy) and constraints (e.g., predation risk).
The encounter rate with the less profitable prey does not affect whether the forager includes it in its diet. Select one: True False
The prey choice model assumes the forager has encountered the less profitable prey and is deciding whether to eat. Hence this prey item has no encounter rate because it has just been encountered. In other words, no future encounter with the less profitable item will ever be better than the one presently encountered. The correct answer is 'True'.
T/F Natural selection favors individuals that can survive the best.
The problem is possible that there may be a trade-off between survival and reproductive rate such that shorter-lived individuals have the same (or higher) fitness as long-lived individuals. The correct answer is 'False'.
T/F Natural selection causes individuals to change when they need to adapt to changes in the environment.
The problem with the statement is that it suggests that natural selection causes the traits of individuals to change. Natural selection cannot change existing individuals. Populations, not individuals, are what actually evolve. Individuals that happen to have traits that promote reproductive success under changed environmental conditions will leave more descendants, changing the makeup of the population in the future. The correct answer is 'False'.
Natural Selection
The process that produces evolutionary change when individuals differ in heritable traits that are correlated with differences in their individual reproductive success
In peacock spiders only the males are very brightly colored and dance and display their colors when courting females. Please explain how this preference could have arisen as a Sensory exploitation hypothesis:
The spiders normal prey items tend to be very brightly colored. Therefore, females are very sensitive to and attracted by colorful objects. More colorful males thus have more females coming to see them and this can increase the number of matings they will get.
Demonstrating hormone function
There are three steps to demonstrating hormone function. First correlate natural variation of hormone level with function. In this case, you would expect to see higher levels of circulating relaxin associated with higher levels of implantation. Second, you must remove the hormone and look for the loss of function. Because relaxin can not be chemically blocked and the gland can not be removed, you will have to develop a relaxin knock-out mouse. Fortunately, such knock-out mice have been developed (which in part is stimulating the increase in knowledge about relaxin). Knock-outs work by breeding homozygous recessive lines of animals that have a phenotypic marker correlated with the lack of the gene (or gene product). In this case, we might have black mice who don't produce relaxin. Thus, you predict that relaxin knock-outs will have lower implantation success than non-knock outs. Third, you must re-instate the behavior/trait by re-placing the hormone. Knock-outs given exogenous relaxin should have implantation rates that are not significantly different from those of normal mice.
Females gain nothing from this choice except sons that are likely to have the same character that their mothers liked This is an example of
This describes Fisherian runaway selection where females base their mate choices on some arbitrary character that they like.
Genotype
the set of genes possessed by an individual OR the alleles possessed by an individual at a given locus
T/F Exaptations are evolved traits that, as a result of a changing environment, are no longer adaptive.
This would be an evolutionary time lag. The correct answer is 'False'.
Why are some penises have brushes?
To brush out competing sperm in species that have multimates
Heritable
Traits that can be transmitted from one generation to another via a genetic pathway
Why, according to Triver's (1972) parental investment hypothesis, are the females of most species more selective about their mating partners than are the males? Under what circumstances did Trivers (1972) expect the reverse to be true?
Triver's (1972) hypothesis is based on the observation that females usually invest more in each offspring than males do. Males can usually increase their reproductive success by mating with more females, but female reproduction is limited by access to resources needed for egg production and parental care. Mating takes energy and time and may increase the risk of predation or disease transmission. Females may be choosier than males simply because they have less to gain and more to lose by mating multiply. There may also be direct or indirect benefits to choosing the right mate. Triver's (1972) predicted that the sex roles would be reversed when males invest more in the offspring than females. Females have less eggs more costly, also spend time on parental investment thus having less sex thus more competitive to get
If r = -0.1, b = -1 and c = 2, we would categorize this as a selfish relationship. Select one: True False
True
Stimulus filtering is a proximate mechanism for explaining why we see certain behaviors. Select one: True False
True
Under the assumptions of the marginal value theorem, patches have equal giving-up densities. Select one: True False
True
In nature, prey choice predicted by optimal foraging theory is rarely (if ever) observed. Select one: True False
True Mathematical models of optimal foraging theory predict animals should eat only certain prey (of a particular size for example) and that there should be an abrupt switch point between the size of prey eaten and the size of prey that should be ignored. However few, if any, animals actually show such a discrete threshold.
T/F Natural selection theory provides a means for why some changes spread through a species while others did not.
True If an adaptation contributes to higher reproductive fitness than an alternative trait, then that trait will spread through the population.
If r = 0, then a trait can increase in frequency in a population only if it increases the relative direct reproductive output of individuals having the trait. Select one: True False
True is r = 0 the indirect benefits of the trait will be 0. Therefore the trait must provide direct fitness benefit to spread through the population.
Quantitative Genetics formulas
VP(variation in phenotype) = Vg(genetic variation) + Ve(environmental variation) h^2(heritability)= Vg(genetic variation)/VP(variation in phenotype) phenotypic variation= genetics + environment variance heritability= genetic variation/(genetics + environment variation)
What is total time split by?
Tt = Ts + Th - Ts = search time (time to locate) - Th = handling time (time to subdue, ingest, digest)
ultimate questions
Ultimate = What and Why questions • Historical/Evolutionary history of a trait -What is the evolutionary history of a trait? -What relatives share a trait? • Adaptive utility (function) of a trait -What is the current utility of a trait? -Why and how does the trait affect fitness I.E. Evolution/Adaptive utility (function) of trait
As completely as you can, describe two of the models that have been proposed to explain how female mate preferences for male secondary sexual characters evolve.
Under the direct benefits version of the indicator model, female preferences evolve for male traits that are indicators of the non-genetic benefits that females could received from males by being choosy. The female preference evolves because choosier females produce more offspring or offspring that have a non-genetic survival advantage. Under the good genes version of the indicator model, female preferences evolve for male traits that are indicators of male genetic quality. The starting conditions for this process are 1) genetic variation in male quality (higher quality males have more viable offspring), 2) genetic variation in an incipient female preference for a male trait correlated with male quality. The female preference evolves because choosier females leave more surviving offspring. Under the Fisherian model, female preferences evolve as a correlated response to the sexual selection they cause on male characters. The starting conditions for this process are 1) genetic variation in a beneficial male trait, 2) genetic variation in an initial female preference for the male trait, and 3) offspring of both sexes inherit genes for the preference and the male trait. This leads to a positive feedback loop between the male trait and the female preference because choosier females have "sexier" sons and their sons pass on genes for the preference. Under the sensory bias model mate preferences evolve as a pleiotropic effect of selection on the sensory system in some other context (e.g. prey detection). The preference or sensory bias evolves before the male trait which later evolves to exploit it.
Asopomatic coloration
Warning coloration Aposematic bombardier beetles spray a noxious chemical precisely in the direction of the attacker.
Example of sensory exploitation
Water mite courtship: male leg trembling may have evolved to exploit a pre-existing female bias for prey detection (Proctor 1992)
The disease shifts from being spread by contaminated water to being spread directly by human to human contact. Select one: A. Increase the virulence B. Decrease/have no effect on the evolution of virulence
Water vector = higher virulence; person to person = lower virulence B. Decrease/have no effect on the evolution of virulence
Marginal Value Theorem
When travel times are larger, optimal load size increases A rate-maximizing forager will choose the residence time for each patch type so that the marginal rate of gain at the time of leaving equals the long term average rate of energy intake in the habitat. Benefit begins to decline as they accumulate more and more leatherjackets Slope of line= E/T rate of food delivery Optimal load is less as the location of the nest is closer
mate guarding
a behavior in which one partner prevents the other partner from participating in extra-pair copulations
What is innate?
a fascination with certain stimuli which generates a tendency to learn a particular type of information
ideal free distribution model
a model that explains how animals distribute themselves among habitats or food patches • Food intake, and presumably fitness, is equivalent for all individuals among all patches • Competition and dominance makes it less profitable to remain in a group - Dominant or despotic individuals restrict access - The presence of dominants is one reason why groups may not be IFD • Relationship matters - In more permanent groups, relatives can potentially gain indirect fitness and should remain in despotic groups while non-relatives only face costs and gain fitness only by reproducing
conspecific attraction
a phenomenon in which individuals are attracted to others of their species, particularly during habitat selection
What is learning?
a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience •a durable and usually adaptive change in an individuals behavior traceable to a specific experience... (Alcock 2001 & 2009) • adaptive modification of behavior based on experience (Alcock 2005) •a process through which experience changes an individuals behavior (Goodenough et al. 2001) • The behavioral change that learning causes cannot be understood in terms of maturational growth processes in the nervous system, fatigue or sensory adaptation (Hinde 1970)
Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)
a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events Adaptive value: Allows animals to anticipate and prepare for recurring events
Activational effects of hormones
act to stimulate or modulate behavior the effect of a hormone that occurs in the fully developed organism; may depend on the organism's prior exposure to the organizational effects of hormones ex. taking out balls of squirrels
activational or organizational: All hormones provide immediate but temporary regulatory effects.
activational
Mice without ______ are less able to learn
alpha-calcium-calmodulin kinase
inclusive fitness theory
altruism if helps viability of offspring and their genetic matieral
Patch
an area with a relatively high density of prey
Parental investment:
anything a parent does for existing offspring that reduces its ability to invest in future offspring
Instincts
are behavioral patterns that reliably develop in most individuals, promoting a functional response to a releaser stimulus the first time the behavior is performed. Instincts can be modified by experience.
When do A1 receptors first respond to bat ultrasounds?
at a distance of about 30m
filial imprinting
attachment between parents and offspring ducklings identify mom around 32 hrs after hatching
optimal foraging theory
basic assumption is that individual animals forage so as to maximize their fitness Views foraging behavior as a compromise between benefits of nutrition and costs of obtaining food.
No ________ develops in the absence of genes or in the absence of the environment
behavior
Pathogens that require the host to be mobile, are relatively __________
benign example: rhinovirus
Neurons make _______ decisions
binary decisions stimulus intensity needs only be above a firing threshold
Extreme behaviorists thoughts on learning
born as tabula rasa where anything physically possible could be learned
Anti-ambush behavior
by getting up high, ungulate can look around and search for the predator NO SIGNALING
Drosphilia Dunce mutation
cant learn to associate smells with shock but more importantly, they are un-receptive to a not interested pheromone produced by females during courtship
hot shot hypothesis
clusters form around attractive males Other males know who the attractive males are Better chance by being near the successful males
If a rare phenotype has higher fitness than a common phenotype, what will happen to the frequency of the common phenotype?
decrease as the rare one will increase
Lekking
defense of a traditional display site that females visit to select a mate from among the several to many males displaying on the small, resource-free territory The gathering of males in an area for the purpose of displaying to attract females.
Sociality ______ predation risk
dilutes
Sexual selection models
direct benefits, good fenes, fisherian model, sensory bias model
Non-virulent diseases (strains) transmission
do not kill their hosts as quickly, therefore, they need not be as easily transmissible
Tolerance is an _____ decision: the type of contrast has the ______ on tolerance
economic largest effect
Frequency dependent selection leads to an __________ frequency of hunters & thieves
equilibrium
________ are evolved traits that, as a result of a changing environment, are no longer adaptive.
evolutionary time lag
Prey defenses may evolve ______ than predator counter-defenses
faster
If OSR<1
female competing for males
Female benefit of Leks
females prefer to mate at particular sites or with males in clusters either for their personal safety or to compare males
Social cohesion
get the conspecifics to group as predator defense
Adaptations are _____ specific
habitat-specific
Confusion effect
if all stot, this will confuse the predator and make it difficult to focus on any single individual Decreases predation when predators have difficulty in picking out a prey from the crowd
intrauterine position
in mammals in which several embryos develop simultaneously in the uterus, the location of the embryo and the gender of adjacent developing embryos may affect various developmental processes ex. Female yellow-bellied marmots from male-biased litters are masculinized Masculinized females have reduced survival and are more likely to disperse
A1 firing rate ________ as the distance to the bat _______ and sound intensity ________
increases, decreases, increases
Virulent diseases (strains) transmission
kill their hosts quickly, therefore they must be easily transmissible
Startle
leads to extra time to escape
Drosphilia amnesiac mutation
learn (and forget) quickly about the not interested pheromone
What are Dunce and Amnesiac mutations known as?
learning mutations and single gene effects
prey defenses may evolve faster than predator counter-defenses due to the ________ and __________.
life-dinner principle and generation time effects.
Selection may act more strongly on defense than counter-defense. This is known as
life-dinner principle.
In general, the sex that invests more is a __________ for the sex that invests less
limiting resource That is bc females spend time taking care of children and thus are less sexually active then men, thus females are a limiting resource
If OSR>1
male competing
Intra-sexual selection
male-male competition - fighting => dominance - fighting => exclude - sneaking - sperm competition
Predator dilution
males cluster for safety
Hot Spot Lek Model
males cluster when encounter rates are high
Predator confusion
mass prey movements interfere with predators ability to catch individual prey
If females widely dispersed due to resources then males can be _____
monogomous or promiscuity
infanticide reduction hypothesis
more mates mean greater confusion about the paternity of a female's offspring and thus less likelihood of losing offspring to infanticidal males
better protection hypothesis
more mates mean more time with protectors who will keep other males from sexually harassing a female
How do moths avoid bats?
moth should move around until they hear a constant sound that gets softer
Evolution by ___________ creates adaptations
natural selection
• Primary sexual characters:
necessary differences between sexes in reproductive organs
Play behavior
no immediate function (but it probably wouldn't occur around predators)
activational or organizational: hormones can also permanently affect the nervous system during development and cause permanent changes to behavior
organizational
Traits index specific male quality example
parasite resistance
Key to understanding parasite evolution is transmission
parasites that transmit themselves more, are favored by selection
Activational effects of hormones order
physical + social environment --> hormonal changes --> behavioral changes
If females are clumped then mating system is _____
polygyny variable mating success
Do populations or individuals evolve?
populations
Optimal foraging theory does not take ________ into consideration.
predation
Bednekoffs model
predicts that sentinel behavior could evolve solely through its effects on personal fitness--its safer to be looking around when youre well fed
Mobbing
prey cooperatively attacking predators en masse
Selfish herding
prey jockeying for protected (e.g., central) positions
horminal trigger is an example of (proximate or ultimate)
proximate
• A1 receptors respond more to _______ than to steady ultrasound of the same intensity
pulses
Ethologists thoughts on learning
realized that while some behaviors are innate, others must be learned and that animals are capable of learning only some things
Fitness is measured in terms of
reproductive success
natal imprinting
seen in anadromous fish (salmon) - Allows them to find their way back to natal stream
reproductive suppression
sexually mature individuals are prevented from breeding by dominant group members - Obligate or facultative -A cost of sociality
Dilution
simple safety in numbers (reduced per capita predation risk)
Hormonal effects on mating behavior are ______ specific
species
Location (above/below) determined by
steadiness of sound
Alarm signal
stotting might warn offspring that a predator is nearby and young may stot to inform mother that they've been disturbed and are moving hiding places
Kleptoparasitism
• Crows (like gulls) are thieves! - 50% of first drops resulted in attempted theft - 12% of all dropped nuts were stolen
life-dinner principle
the concept that selection pressure is greater on the prey than on the predator - selection for defense may be stronger than selection for counter-defense
frequency-dependent selection
the fitness of a phenotype depends on how common it is in the population When the fitness of one type increases as it becomes less common, there will be selection that will increase the frequency of the rare type
sexual imprinting
the process by which a young animal learns the characteristics of a desirable mate critical period is important in the later direction of sexual behavior. - Sensitive period is usually longer than filial - Important for species identification
sensory transduction
the process by which sensory stimuli are transduced into slow, graded receptor potentials
Convergences
the same or similar forms occurring in similar environments among un-related species
Predator detection
to inform predator its been seen
Pursuit invitation
to invite predator to chase you before it can actually catch you
Traits index overall male quality
traits are handicaps
Exaptations
traits that evolved initially for one purpose that later became co-opted for another
Central place foragers
travel from a central place to gather food and then return to cache, eat, or share food with others Optimality models can help predict how much prey a CPF should gather before returning to their nest.
Mullerian mimicry
two or more unpalatable species resemble each other • Toxic species converge on similar colors - Not a parasitic relationship - All are toxic • Warning coloration = aposomatic coloration
Sit-and-wait pathogens tend to be _________
virulent ex. smallpox
Natural selection acts _____ a group and ________ groups.
within a group, and between group • Within a group, selection acts against cooperators or altruists because they would have lower fitness. Selfish individuals always do better because they dont bear the cost of not reproducing, yet they still benefit from those who do. Be • Between groups, cooperation could be favored if groups with cooperators produce more offspring than those without cooperators and thus are able to colonize more areas faster. If this is important, then we will see groups comprised of cooperators.
How a moth evades an attack?
• A2 receptors fire when attack is imminent • A2 firing is connected to wings and leads to a wing flip followed by a dive • If moth survives, it orients and uses A1 to avoid the bat
Why do animals alarm call?
• Alarm calls attract predators attention but may also warn other conspecifics
What can knowledge of behavior be applied to?
• Animal welfare: science-based needs assessment • Wildlife conservation: Conservation behavior • Human medicine: Darwinian medicine • National defense: Darwinian security
Sexual dimorphism
• Any differences in males and females of the same species - Traits that differ are called dimorphic (c.f., monomorphic)
Search images
• Assist in finding cryptic prey - Presumably works by animals learning to focus on specific salient features • Evidence is when animals increase foraging rate or efficiency with experience • Search images illustrate counteradaptations predators have against crytpic prey
Giving Up Density (aka: GUD)
• Assumed that amount eaten would reflect relative perception of predation risk -Also assumed: • Animals will eat until benefits and costs are equal • Animals were maximizing food intake while minimizing exposure to predators • Pocket mice perceived the bush as providing safety
Some lessons from antipredator behavior
• Avoiding all risk is impossible, we must learn to live with it • Over-estimating risk is a good strategy in many circumstances • It's possible to reduce risk by limiting exposure or by being vigilant when in risky areas • Exaptations are common; completely novel defenses are likely to be rare • Assess signaler reliability and behave appropriately • Acquire more information about threats to reduce costly responses • Reduce defenses when risk decreases if they are costly to maintain • Aim for generalizable and flexible defenses
How do we detect adaptation in nature?
• Compare the fitness of naturally-occurring variants • Remove the trait and see what happens • Look for convergences--the same or similar forms occurring in similar environments among unrelated species • Look for habitat-specific variants in related species
Grouping to reduce predation risk
• Dilution & selfish herd effects: alternative prey • Detection: more eyes and ears
Sexual selection
• Favors traits that give the bearer an advantage in competing for mates • A subset of natural selection • Acts on variation in mating success • Usually is costly in terms of survival - Acts by increasing the number of offspring even at the cost of longevity • When we see variation in mating success, sexual selection may explain this variation
male mating strategies
• Female defense • Resource defense • Scramble competition: males don't attempt to defend territories, rather they search for receptive females and try to mate with whomever they encounter • Lekking: defense of a traditional display site that females visit to select a mate from among the several to many males displaying on the small, resource-free territory
Farm animal welfare councils 5 freedoms
• Freedom from Hunger and Thirst - by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigor. • Freedom from Discomfort - by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area. • Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease - by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment. • Freedom to Express Normal Behavior - by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind. • Freedom from Fear and Distress - by ensuring conditions and treatment that avoids mental suffering.
Genes for behavior
• Genes for behavior (e.g., learning) is a shorthand for "a change at this genetic locus affects behavior (e.g., learning)" • Many different genes are likely to be involved in traits such as learning and a mutation in any one of them could potentially produce a learning deficit • Genes are not "bad" ("gene for cancer", "gene for aggression"), rather genes are instructions for constructing traits
pre-existing sensory bias
• Genes that affect mate preferences have pleiotropic effects on other sensory system functions - Females have evolved mechanisms to detect prey - These same movement and size detection mechanisms can function in other ways • Male traits evolve to exploit these pre-existing female preferences
Threats to biodiversity (and humanity)
• Global heating • Toxification of Earth with man-made chemicals - Including nutrient loading and pollution, endocrine disruptors, pharmaceuticals... • Over-exploitation - Hunting & fishing • Habitat change - Development of natural areas - Habitat fragmentation • Invasive alien species
Innate human fears
• Heights • Blood • Deep water • The dark • Snakes, spiders, centipedes
When do animals forage in risky patch?
• If the difference in extra fitness from additional energy MORE THAN OFFSETS the fitness cost of predation risk, then animals should forage in the risky patch, otherwise, they should use the safer patch.
Sensitization
• Individual learns to increase responsiveness to a particular stimulus or class of stimuli • A loud noise may elicit a startle response; repeated exposure to the loud noise may cause individual to leave. In this case, there is no formal association between the stimulus and the response. an increase in behavioral response after exposure to a stimulus
Imprinting
• Individuals exposed to certain key stimuli during a sensitive period form an association with these stimuli
Darwin vs. Wallace
• Interested in understanding variation • Traveled widely: Darwin 1x, Wallace for much longer periods of time • Both influenced by Malthus Essay on Population • Darwin also focused on the artificial selection conducted on domestic animals
Three reasons why we might see altruistic behavior
• Its only apparent altruism, because animals gain both indirect and direct fitness • Its a form of parental care whereby animals gain direct fitness only • The costs of discriminating between kin and non-kin are too high: animals gain the most fitness by indiscriminately allocating potentially altruistic behavior
• Large prey _____ profitable than small prey
• Large prey more profitable than small prey
Other ways to respond without T
• Male song sparrows use estrogen to prepare them for territorial defense which lasts long after the breeding season
Grouping around resources
• May be multi-species and ephemeral - They will last as long as the resources last • Group members need not be related • Group size will be limited by - The amount and defensibility of the food - The presence of other known patches • Less defensible food (widely scattered seeds) will support larger groups than the same amount of food put in one defensible patch
Group defensive behavior
• Mobbing • Alarm signaling
Selfish v. altruistic: a thought experiment
• Moreover, a population filled with altruists could easily be invaded by selfish individuals who do not restrain their reproduction. • Thus, altruism should not evolve by natural selection acting on individuals.
Group selection theory
• Natural selection does not act for the good of the species Individuals act for the good of the species, altruistic
Non-genetic, direct benefits for female choice
• Nuptial gifts (e.g., food) • High quality territories, nesting sites, etc. • Paternal care • Parasite avoidance • NOTE: male courtship behavior and the SS characters themselves could be indicators of nongenetic benefits
latent learning
• Occurs without any obvious reward or reinforcement and is not apparent until later in life learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it • Metzgar (1967) allowed test groups of mice to explore their captive environment and then released an owl. Those that had prior exposure to the environment survived longer.
sensory exploitation
• Sensory exploitation: male traits evolve to exploit pre-existing sensory biases or 'hidden preferences'
Good genes models work by
• Starting conditions - Genetic variation in male 'quality' (quality = number of offspring) - Genetic variation in some trait that is correlated with male quality • Leads to - Male trait evolves because of sexual selection caused by female preference - Female preference evolves because choosier females leave more offspring - Male traits can be elaborate and costly
Darwinian Security
• The application of evolutionary and ecological principles to defense and security
Key elements of starlings foraging on leatherjackets
• Travel time to and from the nest • Time required to search for prey • Ability to catch prey declines as the bill fills up
operant conditioning
• Trial and error learning: animal learns to associate a behavior with the consequences of that behavior a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
The optimality/adaptationist approach
• construct a mathematical model of a problem an animal faces • generate quantitative predictions • test predictions against the behavior of the animals • modify the model to take into account additional variables and constraints • modify again if required • STOP when the model predicts the behavior of the animal
Acoustic Batesian Mimicry
• take over ground squirrel burrows • produce a hiss that resembles a rattlesnake rattle
Noctuid Moth 2 types of sensory receptors
•2 types of sensory receptors -A1: moderate-intensity US -A2: high-intensity US
Bats 2 types of ultrasonic cries
•2 types of ultrasonic cries -Slow-paced: for looking for food and orienting -Fast-paced: attacking a moth
