Chapter 7 Flashcards
primate behavior...
Behavior is defined as
anything organisms do that involves action in response to internal or eternal stimuli, these may or may not be deliberate.
Primate Field Studies main goal:
to collect information on wild primates whose behavior is unaffected by human activities.
who was the first primate studies pioneer?
Began with Robert Yerkes in the 1920’s, who studied gorillas, chimps, and howler monkeys.
what did japanese scientists study in the 1940’s
macaques
what characterized early primate field studies?
Most early studies were descriptive in nature.
what characterized later primate studies?
Later studies looked at social structure- the composition, size, and sex ratio of a group of animals, the result of their natural habitat.
Behavioral ecology
the study of the evolution of behavior, emphasizing the role of ecological factors as agents of natural selection. Behaviors are favored when they increase reproductive fitness of individuals.
what is important concerning behavioral ecology and differentiations in the animal kingdom?
Certain behaviors are influenced by genes
Behavior constitutes its own phenotype
Insects and invertebrates-behavior is NOT learned
Mammals-much behavior is learned
A main goal of primatology
to determine how behaviors influence reproductive fitness and how ecological factors have shaped the development of these behaviors.
Factors that Influence Social Structure: (name them)
body size (larger animals require fewer calories per unit), BMR (small animals have higher BMR), Diet (influences behavior)
what is a relationship between diet and behavior?
Small bodied animals focus on high energy foods.
Two examples of how diet influences behavior?
Example- large gorillas eat leaves, and other vegetation, lowland gorillas also consume water plants, these have less caloric value than fruits nuts and seeds.
Colobines (monkey)- have evolved elongated intestines and pouched stomachs that enable them to digest touch cellulose foods.
Matriline
groups of females who are all descendants of one female, a female, her daughters, granddaughters, and their offspring. May include dependent male offspring (macaques group in this way, and dominant matrilines have more access to resources)
What is true concerning the ecology of a species and its behavior in terms of food clumps?
Species that depend on food in small clumps tend to be protective of their resources
Water is also an important resource
primates may be vulnerable to predators based on their what?
body size!
what is important to remember about primates and predation?
Where predation is high and body size small, these animals rely on large communities
