Understanding Animal Behav

Question 1

how does survival value relate to animal behaviour?

Answer 1

it examines how useful a behaviour is in terms of fitness or adaptive significance

Question 2

explain genetic drift

Answer 2

random change in allele frequencies in a population
- can lead to a loss or gain of alleles impacting diversity

Question 3

4 questions in the study of animal behaviour (tinbergen) and briefly describe each

Answer 3

1. what is the mechanism that produces a behaviour?
   = internal mechanism that results in a specific behaviour (causation)
2. how does a behaviour develop?
   = where does a behaviour come from, involved both genetic and environmental component (ontogeny)
3. what is the survival value (utility) of a behaviour?
   = usefulness of a behaviour in terms of fitness or adaptive significance
4. how did the behaviour evolve from an ancestral state?
   = origin of a behaviour (phylogeny)

Question 4

3 main methods of testing hypotheses

Answer 4

1. observational approach (comparisons between individuals within a species)
   - need large sample size
   -simplest
2. experiments
   -easy to manipulate
   -needs prep ahead of time
3. comparisons among species
   -long term
   -evolutionary relationships

Question 5

evolutionary change is inevitable if 3 conditions are met

Answer 5

1. variation
2. differential reproductive success
3. heredity (pass on characteristics)

Question 6

traits associated with survival and reproduction are called _____ and they contribute to what

Answer 6

adaptations
contribute to individuals fitness

Question 7

evolution acts on _____

Answer 7

populations

Question 8

how can genetic variation occur (4)

Answer 8

• mutation, migration, genetic drift, natural selection

Question 9

genetic variation can be unpredictable and random
the products of natural selection _____ random

Answer 9

are NOT random

Question 10

does evolution generate random results ?

Answer 10

NO

Question 11

natural selection increases the _______

it ___ a random mix of traits

Answer 11

the frequency of adaptation in populations from generation to generation

it is NOT a random mix of traits

Question 12

describe fitness

Answer 12

~natural selection
ability of an organism to contribute genes to the next generation/ survival & reproduction

Question 13

what is the problem with thinking the lemmings were sacrificing themselves to keep pop numbers down

Answer 13

not realistic
- only act for themselves not greater good

Question 14

describe the boobies example

Answer 14

colouration plays a role in social signalling, between young and old, and males and females

plumage color may indicate different behaviour strategies (shy vs bold)

Question 15

explain infanticide in langur monkeys

Answer 15

• reproductive advantage for males
• more time for maternal investment for the males future offspring

-females may mate with many males to confuse

Question 16

compare proximate vs ultimate causation

Answer 16

proximate = relatively immediate causes responsible for a trait (how)
ex. neurological, hormonal

ultimate = investigations into the evolution of a trait (why?)
ex. fitness, natural selection

Question 17

what is another way to say survival value

Answer 17

utility

Question 18

convergent vs divergent evolution

Answer 18

convergent - different ancestry / shared behav
divergent - shared ancestry / different behav

Question 19

how do molecular clocks help construct phylogeny’s

Answer 19

they use constant rates of evolution to estimate timing