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Behaviour and ecology > Communication > Flashcards

Communication Flashcards

1
Q

Spotted hyena

- greeting

A

females have strange display

- smell between legs

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2
Q

spotted hyena

  • reproduction system
  • impacts on young mothers
A

birth offspring through bent birth canal and elongated pseudopenis

birth complications are common in 1st babies
-> young mother often die

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3
Q

spotted hyena

  • social rank
  • effects on high ranking mothers
A

live in social clans led by females
- females dominant over all males

have cubs with higher survival rates
+ have high-ranking daughters

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4
Q

spotted hyena

- pseudopenis explanations

A
  1. by-products of high ranking mothers
  2. females may mimic males
  3. gives females control over mates
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5
Q

pseudopenis explanations

  • by product of high ranking mothers
  • is this adaptive or not?
A

high ranking mothers have elevated androgen production
-> form pseudopenis

not adaptive

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6
Q

why is the non-adaptive explanation of a pseudpenis unlikely?

A

testosterone concs in female spotted hyenas:

> similar to those in other female mammals

> an order of magnitude lower than conc in reproductively active males

pseudopenis formation appears androgen independent

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7
Q

pseudopenis explanations

  • females mimic males
  • is this adaptive or not?
A

can drive higher social status
- useful trait in hyena society

adaptive

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8
Q

pseudopenis explanations

  • female mating control
  • how does this affect reproduction rate?
  • is this adaptive or not?
A

females have control over who to mate with

indirectly increases rte by choosing the best mates for the best offspring

adaptive

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9
Q

communication

- define

A

process in which actors use specifically designed signals to modify the behaviour of reactors

not random

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10
Q

signal

- define

A

any trait/behaviour designed to alter the behaviour of 1 or more receivers

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11
Q

aggression vs threat displays

- define

A

behaviour between members of same species intended to cause pain/harm

ritualised showing of of weaponry

could escalate into fight

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12
Q

aggression

- example

A

throat patches in side-blotched lizards

3 different coloured throat patches
- orange, blue and yellow

all have distinct behavioural strategies
- none of which is an overall winner

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13
Q

aggression

- orange-throated lizard

A

largest
weak pair bonds

fights blue males for females

cannot defend against yellow males (too fast)

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14
Q

aggression

- blue-throated lizard

A

medium-sized
defend strong pair bonds

outcompeted by orange males

can defend against yellow males

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15
Q

aggression

- yellow-throated lizard

A

smallest
no pair bonds

mate with females behind orange male’s backs

cannot approach blue guarding males

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16
Q

lizards

- patch colour signalling

A

signals to each other

e.g. blue throats recognise each other + work together

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17
Q

foraging

- bee example

A

honey bee dance

  • round dance = close food resource
  • waggle dance = distant

can tell direction and distance to food source

18
Q

foraging

- bee communication training

A

learn the behaviour - not born with it
experimental training
-> then test no. of bees that find the source

can identify bad communicators

19
Q

foraging

- leaf cutter ants chemical communication example

A

travel up to 300m to get leaves

-> lay trail pheromones to find way back to colony

20
Q

predation

- interspecies communication

A

aposematic signals
= bright + conspicuous
signals dangerous/ unpleasant traits

warning signals
= unusual behaviour that targets predator
e.g. stotting in Thompson’s gazelle

21
Q

stotting in Thompson’s gazelles

A

could be amplified by body stripe

signals they’re agile and hard to catch

BUT more attention seeking

22
Q

predation

- alarm calls

A

high pitched short call

targets same species or different species

may be specific to predator

hard for predator to detect emitting individual (frequency outside predator’s hearing range)

23
Q

mating

- examples

A

frog calls
whale song

emitted by males

may derive from non-mating signals

24
Q

bird song

  • what is it?
  • used in 2 contexts
A

v variable behaviour between different songbird species
e.g. simple song in great tit + complex in blackbirds

mate choice
territorial defence

25
Q

bird song

- song learning

A

learnt in all songbird species
- from adult males singing around nest

learning + production coordinated by group of brain nuclei

26
Q

spiders

  • sexual imprinting
  • importance of recognising mate
A

young learn the features of a desirable mate from parent

sex or death issue
all or nothing

27
Q

spiders

- reproductive system

A

males have specialised secondary sexual organ that transfer sperm

females have specialised openings that receive sperm

28
Q

spiders

- experiment

A

subadult females allowed to interact with adult males with black or brown forelegs

-> as female adults they copulated more often with familiar coloured males

29
Q

spiders

- bad quality males preyed upon

A

preyed upon less
-> signal less
-> cannot attract females effectively
(courting)

= reduced latency to death

30
Q

begging

- why do baby birds beg so loudly?

A

H1: begging is honest signal

H2: competition among siblings

31
Q

begging in birds

- H1 (honest signal)

A

hungry chick

  • > begs lots
  • > revives a lot of food

BUT cost to being hungry
-> being loud gets you killed

32
Q

begging in birds

- H2 (sibiling competition)

A

more food goes to one that begs more
-> steals more food from sibling

relatedness between siblings influences begging
- more distantly related, bigger difference in volume

33
Q

threats

  • fighting vs threats
  • what are threat postures?
A

fighting = costly + injures contestants

selection favours conflict resolution as less expensive
- i.e. threats + assessing strength using threat postures

displaying weaponry and making an animal look bigger

34
Q

threats

- examples

A

croaking in European toads
= honest signal of body size

claw waiving in crayfish
= NOT honest signal
- no relationship between claw size + winning contest (quality of male)

35
Q

deception

- example

A

bright spots + stripes on N. pilipes spider attracts prey to predator at night

  • NOT honest
    (elicits behaviour responder doesn’t expect)
36
Q

how can sensory exploration + deception evolve?

A
  1. signaller exploits sensory system of receiver

2. eavesdropping

37
Q

signaller exploits sensory system of receiver

  • cuckoo example
  • illegitimate…?
A

cuckoos lay eggs in songbird nests

cuckoo eggs hatch
-> kick host species eggs out nest

cuckoo chick imitates begging calls of whole brood of reed warbler chicks

illegitimate signaller

38
Q

signaller exploits sensory system of receiver

  • plant examples
  • illegitimate…?
A

elbow orchid

  • imitates female wasps to attract male wasps
  • > males can carry pollen

sundew
- has sticky dew resembling sugary fluid
to attract insects
-> insects trapped + digested

illegitimate signaller

39
Q

signaller exploits sensory system of receiver

  • firefly example
  • illegitimate…?
A

firefly males attract females by pulsing light signals

predatory firefly females approach signalling males + pretend to be normal firefly females

predatory female fireflies eat normal male fireflies

illegitimate signalling and receiving

40
Q

eavesdropping

  • bats and frogs example
  • illegitimate
A

Tungara frogs attract females by calling
- louder attracts more

bats prey on frogs

honest signalling but illegitimate receiver

Behaviour and ecology (11 decks)

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