Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is the primary focus of ethology?
What is the primary focus of ethology?
Natural selection occurs when individuals with certain traits have lower reproductive success.
Natural selection occurs when individuals with certain traits have lower reproductive success.
False (B)
What is the term for parental care provided to offspring that are not one's own?
What is the term for parental care provided to offspring that are not one's own?
alloparenting
The process that describes the competition between two interacting gene pools is called __________.
The process that describes the competition between two interacting gene pools is called __________.
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Match the following terms with their definitions:
Match the following terms with their definitions:
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What does altruism refer to in behavioral ecology?
What does altruism refer to in behavioral ecology?
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Eusociality refers to a group where only reproductive members contribute to the care of offspring.
Eusociality refers to a group where only reproductive members contribute to the care of offspring.
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What does the dominance hierarchy indicate about social status among individuals?
What does the dominance hierarchy indicate about social status among individuals?
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_____ reduces the risk of predation by being part of a larger group.
_____ reduces the risk of predation by being part of a larger group.
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What role do honest signals play in communication?
What role do honest signals play in communication?
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Sensory exploitation involves the receiver's bias impacting the signaler positively.
Sensory exploitation involves the receiver's bias impacting the signaler positively.
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Define evolutionary stable strategy.
Define evolutionary stable strategy.
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The theory which assumes that benefits must exceed costs for increased fitness is known as _____ theory.
The theory which assumes that benefits must exceed costs for increased fitness is known as _____ theory.
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What is a releaser stimulus?
What is a releaser stimulus?
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Study Notes
Key Concepts in Behavioural Ecology
- Adaptation: A phenotypic trait enhancing fitness, resulting from natural selection.
- Behaviour: An internal response to stimuli, coordinated by the organism.
- Fitness: A measure of an individual's genetic contribution to future generations.
- Alloparenting: Parental care of non-offspring young.
- Selection: Evolutionary impact of differences in gene transmission success.
- Natural Selection: Differential reproductive success due to trait variation.
- Sexual Selection: Selection pressure from the opposite sex.
- Darwinian Puzzle: A trait seeming to decrease fitness.
- Evolutionary Arms Race: Coevolution driven by competition or self-interest.
- Coevolution: Reciprocal evolutionary changes between interacting entities.
- Ethology: Study of proximate and ultimate causes of behaviour.
Proximate and Ultimate Causes
- Proximate Causes: The immediate mechanisms underlying behaviour.
- Ultimate Causes: Evolutionary explanations for behaviour, focusing on fitness.
- Sociobiology: Study of social interactions from an evolutionary perspective.
- Evolutionary Psychology: How psychological processes evolved, focused on humans.
- Altruism: Behaviour benefiting others at a cost to oneself. (Increases receiver, decreases donor fitness)
- Eusociality: Societies with specialized non-reproductive castes aiding reproductive members.
- Transactional Theory: Relationships based on negotiating reproductive opportunities.
- Dominance Hierarchy: Social structure with resource/mate priority for high-ranking individuals.
Communication and Signaling
- Communication: Information transfer from signaler to receiver.
- Honest Signals: Signaling truthfully.
- Display: A stereotyped action in communication.
- Illegitimate Receiver: Individuals using signals for personal benefit, to the signaler's detriment.
- Illegitimate Signaller: Deceptive signaling to reduce receiver fitness, benefit signaler.
- Dilution Effect: Reduced predation risk in larger groups.
- Sensory Exploitation: Signaling exploiting pre-existing sensitivities in receivers.
- Instinct: Innate behaviour patterns, reliably developing/responding to stimulus.
- Releaser Stimulus: A trigger for fixed action patterns.
- Fixed Action Pattern: Stereotyped behaviour sequence to a fixed stimulus.
- Imprinting: Specific stimuli associations during a critical period (often early life).
Learning and Behavioural Flexibility
- Learning: Adaptive behavioural changes due to experience.
- Operant Conditioning: Learning through trial-and-error, reinforced behaviours.
- Conditional Strategy: Different behavioural responses depending on context.
- Evolutionarily Stable Strategy (ESS): A strategy that cannot be replaced if adopted by a population proportion.
- Game Theory: Study of individual payoff dependent on strategy & encounters.
- Optimality Theory: Traits maximising benefits over costs to increase fitness.
- Economic Defendability: Optimality in resource/mate/food defence costs/benefits.
Evolutionary History and Comparisons
- Phylogeny: Evolutionary history of a lineage
- Phylogenetic Constraint: Limiting effects of evolutionary history on current traits.
- Comparative Method: Testing evolutionary hypotheses using evolutionary relationships.
- Phenotypic Plasticity: Ability to change phenotype based on environment.
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Description
Test your understanding of essential concepts in behavioural ecology, including adaptation, fitness, and natural selection. This quiz covers both proximate and ultimate causes of behaviour, offering insights into evolutionary mechanisms. Dive into the complexities of animal behaviour and evolutionary strategies.
