Chapter 6: Primate Behavioural Ecology

Question 1

behavioural ecology

Answer 1

the study of the ways in which primates adapt behaviourally to their environment

Question 2

captive

Answer 2

housed in environments such as zoos and colonies where movement is restricted

Question 3

provisioned

Answer 3

supplied with food

Question 4

free-ranging

Answer 4

animals whose movements are not hindered by humans

Question 5

habituated

Answer 5

accustomed to the presence of humans

Question 6

social brain hypothesis

Answer 6

the hypothesis that the cognitive demands of living in complex social groups explains why primates have unusually large brains for their body size

Question 7

monogamous

Answer 7

characterized by one adult male, one adult female, and their offspring

Question 8

single-male/multi-female

Answer 8

consisting of a single adult male and several adult females and their offspring

Question 9

polygynous

Answer 9

a type of mating pattern in which one male mates with more than one female

Question 10

polyandry

Answer 10

a type of mating pattern in which one female mates with more than one male

Question 11

multi-male/multi-female

Answer 11

consisting of a number of adult males and females and their offspring

Question 12

fission-fusion

Answer 12

a type of multi-male/multi-female social group whose membership changes frequently as sub-units split apart (fission) and later rejoin (fusion)

Question 13

philopatric

Answer 13

remaining in one’s birth group

Question 14

matrilineal

Answer 14

groups in which descent is traced through the female line

Question 15

dominance hierarchies

Answer 15

social structures in which males or females hold positions of rank determined either through competition or inheritance

Question 16

rank

Answer 16

the social position or status of an individual within a group

Question 17

sexual selection

Answer 17

a theory proposed by Charles Darwin to explain why males of some species adopt behaviours or morphologies that may not appear adaptive in terms of natural selection, but that in fact enhance reproductive opportunities as a result of successful competition with other males and their subsequent selection by females as potential mates

Question 18

subordinate

Answer 18

a lower ranking individual

Question 19

alpha

Answer 19

the highest ranking individual in a group

Question 20

interbirth interval

Answer 20

the length of time between successive births

Question 21

zoopharmacognosy

Answer 21

the self-medication by animals with plants, soils, and other natural substances

Question 22

geophagy

Answer 22

the intentional consumption of soil

Question 23

agonistic behaviours

Answer 23

threatening behaviours that are directed toward an opponent or adversary

Question 24

affiliative

Answer 24

amicable behaviours that promote social cohesion

Question 25

altruistic

Answer 25

behaviour that benefits other members of a group but is either of no benefit to the individual engaged in it or is harmful to that individual

Question 26

ectoparasites

Answer 26

parasites on the outside of the body (e.g. in the fur)

Question 27

kin selection

Answer 27

the tendency of individuals to direct beneficial behaviour toward relatives living with the same social group

Question 28

consortships

Answer 28

among primates, temporary affiliations of males and females for the purposes of mating and reproduction; in some species (e.g., chimpanzees), males may forcibly coerce females into a consortship

Question 29

reconciliation

Answer 29

the process of making peace after an altercation

Question 30

proceptive behaviours

Answer 30

actions, typically on the part of females, to initiate a sexual interaction; may include facial gestures, limb and body postures, or movements, and sounds

Question 31

aliphatic acids

Answer 31

a group of fatty acids that, secreted by a sexually receptive female, act as chemical messengers (pheromones) to alert males to her reproductive status

Question 32

mate guarding

Answer 32

actions by dominant male primates aimed at restricting sexual access to receptive females

Question 33

parental investment

Answer 33

a model describing the apportionment of resources (time, food, protection, caregiving, etc.) by males and females into the successful rearing of offspring

Question 34

sperm competition

Answer 34

when a female mates with multiple partners over a short period of time, males who are able to deposit a larger volume of higher quality sperm farther into the female reproductive tract should succeed in impregnating more females; sperm competition is facilitated in multi-male social systems by large testes, large penises, longer tailed sperm, and the formation of copulatory plugs

Question 35

infanticide

Answer 35

the killing of infants, in this context as a strategy to solicit reproductive opportunity by the adult male

Question 36

pantomime

Answer 36

gesture that expresses meaning