Key Area 6: Social behaviour Flashcards

1
Q

What Behaviours are included in social groups?

A
  • Behaviours that reflect the animals rank in a social hierarchy
  • Cooperative hunting
  • Social defence
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2
Q

What is a Social Hierarchy?

A

A rank order within a group of animals consisting of dominant (high ranking) and subordinate (low ranking) members

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3
Q

Examples of Social Hierarchies

A

E.g. Pecking Order in chickens, Hierarchies in wolf packs

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4
Q

What do Dominant Individuals carry out?

A

Ritualistic displays

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5
Q

What do Subordinate animals carry out and why?

A

Appeasement behaviours to reduce conflict and injury within the group

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6
Q

What do Lower rank animals sometimes do?

A

They form alliances to increase their position within the social hierarchy

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7
Q

What do dominant individuals have greater access of?

A

Food and Mates

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8
Q

What do Social Hierarchies increase the chances of?

A

Increases chances of dominant animals surviving to reproduce, passing on their favourable genes to the next generation

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9
Q

What is Cooperative Hunting?

A

Hunting Behaviour in which individuals work together to catch prey and obtain food

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10
Q

What are advantages of Cooperative Hunting?

A
  • Enables larger prey to be caught
  • Less energy used per individual in Cooperative Hunting compared to hunting alone
  • Increase chances og hunting success
  • Subordinate animals get more food than if they hunted alone
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11
Q

What is Social Defence?

A

‘Safety in numbers’

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12
Q

Why do animals employ social defence strategies?

A

To increase their chances of survival

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13
Q

Why in large groups do some individuals watch for predators whilst others can forage for food?

A

This makes it more likely that approaching predators will be spotted

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14
Q

Examples of a group strengthening their defence by adopting specialised formaations when under attack to protect their young

A

Musk Ox form a defensive ring with young at the centre so they are protected

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15
Q

What is Altruism?

A

Behaviours which may be harmful too the individual carrying out the behaviour (the donor) but are beneficial to another individual (the recipient)

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16
Q

What are the two possible explanations for altruistic behaviour?

A
  1. Reciprocal Altruism
  2. Kin Selection
17
Q

What is Reciprocal Altruism?

A

Altruistic Behaviour that is formed with the knowledge that the roles of the recipients and the donor will later reverse

18
Q

Example of Reciprocal Altruism

A

Blood sharing in vampire bats

19
Q

What is Kin Selection?

A

Altruistic Behaviour where the donor and the recipient are related (Kin)

20
Q

What does Kin Selection ensure?

A

The shared genes of the donor and recipient are passed on to the next generation as the recipient will survive to reproduce

21
Q

What is the structure in society with Social Insects?

A
  • Only some individuals (queens and drones) can reproduce. This means all members of the colony are closely related
  • Most members of the colony are sterile workers
22
Q

What are the roles of sterile workers?

A
  • Collecting food
  • Defending the nest/hive
  • Raising young relatives
  • Carrying out waggle dances to show the direction of food (Bees only)
23
Q

Since the workers are donors what does this help do?

A

They help the queen and drones survive to reproduce, and then raise their young at great personal cost.
This increases the chances of survival of shared genes

24
Q

Why do Primates have a long period of parental care?

A

To allow time for learning of complex social behaviours essential for survival

25
Q

What are the examples of learned complex social behaviours?

A
  1. Grooming
  2. Facial Expressions
  3. Body Posture
  4. Sexual Presentation
26
Q

What is Grooming in subordinate primates?

A

An Effective way of forming alliances with other subordinate members of the group to increase rank in Social Hierarchy

27
Q

What is Facial Expressions in subordinate primates?

A

A grinning mouth exposing teeth is used to appease a more dominant individual. Opening and closing lips rapidly is recongnised as a friendly, submissive gesture

28
Q

What is Body Posture in subordinate primates?

A

Subordinate males greet dominant males by bowing and bending low enough to be able to look up respectfully

29
Q

What is Sexual Presentation in subordinate primates?

A