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Ecology & Evolution of Societies > Societies and shelter - part 2 > Flashcards

Societies and shelter - part 2 Flashcards

1
Q

Why do societies use a shelter?

A

A shelter establishes a “factory within a fortress”

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2
Q

explain a “factory within a fortress”

A

a protected, defensible location where offspring production can be maximized.

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3
Q

when is shelter usage in all organisms selected for?

A

when enhanced protection from biotic and abiotic interactions boosts reproduction to a level that outweighs the costs of finding/constructing a shelter and maintaining it.

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4
Q

Key ecological interactions altered by shelter usage

A
  1. Environmental buffering and tolerance.
  2. More invincible “invincible center” for increasing or stabilizing space use.
  3. Augmented food acquisition and processing
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5
Q

environmental buffering and tolerance - what can a shelter buffer against

A

Desiccation, drowning, temperature extremes and variation

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6
Q

environmental buffering and tolerance - what do buffering benefits of nests allow

A

tolerance of ecological space that would otherwise not be be tolerable.

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7
Q

Examples of temperature buffering and tolerance

A
  • Optimal daily maximums in temperature.
  • Daily fluctuations in temperature.
  • Seasonal fluctuations in temperature.
  • Latitudinal gradient in temperature.
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8
Q

temperature buffering and tolerance - optimal daily maximums in temperature examples

A
  • rock ants
  • turtle ants
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9
Q

optimal daily maximums in temperature - rock ants

A
  • Shelter under a rock to increase temperature for offspring rearing
  • brings maximum up
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10
Q

optimal daily maximums in temperature - turtle ants

A
  • shelter inside dense wood to be insulated against high and low desert temperature
  • brings maximum down
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11
Q

temperature buffering and tolerance - daily fluctuations in temperature example

A

ant nest structure

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12
Q

daily fluctuations in temperature - ant nest structure

A

Allows adjustment to optimal temperature for offspring rearing by moving offspring up (warmer temp) and down (cooler temp) in the nest structure throughout the day

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13
Q

temperature buffering and tolerance - seasonal fluctuations in temperature example

A
  • deep nest architecture
  • The “winter ant”
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14
Q

seasonal fluctuations in temperature - deep nest architecture

A

deep nest architecture allows tolerance of winter cold in warmer, deeper soil and allows cold-weather activity.

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15
Q

seasonal fluctuations in temperature - the “winter ant”

A
  • because of winter cold tolerance in their deep nest, they are active when other ants are sealed in their nests
  • avoid competition with other ants and
    thermal pressures in the summer
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16
Q

temperature buffering and tolerance - latitudinal gradient in temperature example

A

“frost line” impact on ants

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17
Q

latitudinal gradient in temperature - “frost line” impact on ants

A

Only ants that are ground nesting or nest deep in tree trunks have nests that allow them to tolerate colder temperatures.

18
Q

More invincible “invincible center” - all shelter-dwelling societies do what?

A
  • defend against intruders in the shelter
  • a shelter therefore buffers against full displacement from occupied ecological space
19
Q

more invincible “invincible center” - what can a shelter increase?

A
  • space use and territorial dominance
  • especially if a species uses multiple nests
20
Q

more invincible “invincible center” - Multiple nests and space usage example

A

weaver ants

21
Q

multiple nests and space usage - weaver ants

A

Weaver ants build smaller nests at territory boundaries, filled with bigger ants

22
Q

Augmented food acquisition and processing - without a shelter

A

food processing and acquisition is exposed to a range of biotic and abiotic pressures and fluctuations.

23
Q

augmented food acquisition and processing - with a shelter

A

acquired food items can be better harvested, stored and processed.

24
Q

augmented food acquisition and processing - benefits to a shelter

A
  • provide access to new types of food
  • new feeding niche
25
Q

augmented food acquisition and processing - examples of new feeding niche

A
  • Larger prey items.
  • Stored plant materials (e.g. seeds)
  • Farming.
26
Q

augmented food acquisition and processing - example of farming

A

ants “livestock” farming

27
Q

augmented food acquisition and processing - ant’s “livestock” farming

A
  • some ants farm root-sucking, sugar-producing insects in underground nests (form of mutualism)
  • ants (new world) and termites (old world) conduct fungus gardening
28
Q

what is an “extended phenotype”

A

The idea that the phenotypic expression of an organisms genotype is not limited to its body and internal processes alone.

29
Q

example of an “extended phenotype”

A
  • constructed shelters: beaver lodge, ant nests
30
Q

how may a phenotype be “extended”

A
  • it can be “extended” to include external products of the genotype
  • mostly via genome encoded behaviors, that impact the organism’s fitness.
31
Q

How do we know if a shelter is an extended phenotype?

A

If a built shelter is an extended phenotype, variation in shelter structure should impact fitness.

32
Q

within a lineage of social species, what should evolve and what should it attain?

A
  • differences in shelter structure should evolve
  • and it should attain complex functional architecture that benefits each species in the specific ecological contexts they inhabit
33
Q

define niche construction

A

the process in which an organism alters its own environment to change its occupied niche space in a way that increases its fitness

34
Q

how can niche construction be seen

A
  • it can be seen as individual space use that cascades up to larger scales of space use
  • the organism is creating and defining its own fundamental niche.
35
Q

what can make nice construction more extensive?

A

if the society alters the surrounding environmental conditions they face by building a shelter

36
Q

niche construction example

A

leaf-cutting ants

37
Q

nice construction: leaf-cutting ants - environmental conditions they modify

A
  • Temperature
  • Airflow
  • Moisture
  • Hygiene
38
Q

define ecosystem engineer

A

An organism that causes state changes in the environment that subsequently serve as vital resources for other organisms

39
Q

what can ecosystem engineers be responsible for?

A

dictating the realized and fundamental niches of other organisms

40
Q

What category of biotic interaction is most ecosystem engineering?

A
  • commensalism (most common)
  • mutualism (rare)
41
Q

ecosystem engineer - extreme case

A

the biogeographical distribution of other species is also dictated by the ecosystem engineer’s own biogeographical distribution.

Ecology & Evolution of Societies (24 decks)

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