Ecology Ch. 8

Ornamentation in male guppies may indicate that ornamented males have good genes that are inherited by the female’s offspring

Some individuals reproduce at higher rates because they are better at securing mates. This is known as sexual selection

The primary focus of behavioral ecologist include: determining the mechanisms driving the evolution of a particular social system; understanding how a particular social system works

Kin selection and environmental constraints probably led to the evolution of eusociality

Nonrandom mating in plants could result from female control over fertilization; competition among pollen

A social system where helpers provide care for offspring but do not reproduce is known as cooperative breeders

When selection favors diverting resources to kin when it helps the helpers but not when it exceeds its cost to the helper can best be described as Hamilton’s rule

The reproduction of the individual plus the survival and reproduction of individuals it shares genes with is known as inclusive fitness

What factors may limit ornamentation in males under sexual selection? The risk of predation with larger, showier feathers; a reduced ability to hunt or forage

Kin selection operates by individuals helping to raise relatives that are not offspring

Identify examples of behavior in different organisms. Male prairie chickens conducting elaborate mating rituals; damselfish protecting its territory on a reed; male bluehead wrasses defending their mating territories

The evolution of sociality for some groups may have begun with a group of related individuals defending a single food resource

Very complex social behavior found in ants and termites is called eusociality

What benefits does a male gain by offering larger nuptial gifts to females? A larger nuptial gift may improve his fitness because the female is likely to lay more eggs; the female is more likely to mate with him

Endler’s experiments in natural and controlled conditions both indicated that natural selection limited the evolution of sexually selected traits

What are the similarities in social organization between naked mole rats and ant colonies? Reproduction is limited to a single queen; division of labor based on size; larger workers are used for defense

The comparative method compares multiple characteristics of different species in an attempt to isolate a particular characteristic

An individual that remains on the territory where it was raised is in its natal territory

Individuals in a social group that engage in different activities are said to be in different castes

In addition to presenting dead arthropods to females, what are the other methods a male scorpionfly can use to attract a mate? They can force a copulation; they can secrete a mass of saliva

Based on the findings of Thornhill’s experiments, which of the following scorpionflies would most likely have the highest fitness? Large males that were able to successfully find and defend a large, dead arthropod

The study of social relations is known as sociobiology

Which of the following is a major difference in the social organization of ant colonies and naked mole rats? Both male and females are workers in naked mole rats

What is the benefit to females by choosing males that provide larger arthropods? Her fitness is improved due to increased egg laying

According to Tinbergen, a behavioral ecologist attempting to understand a particular behavior would need to ask which fundamental question? How does this behavior improve reproductive success?

Behavioral ecology is best described as the study of social relations which is focused on how behavior influences the relationship between an organism and its environment

Cooperation generally involves which of the following? Individuals exchanging resources; individuals assisting others for defense

Which of the following factors lead to the evolution of sociality? The need of group defense for mates; the need for group defense of good territories; the need for group defense of young

The total number of offspring produced over a lifetime is known as lifetime reproductive success

Haplodiploidy has a few peculiarities. Which of the following would be true of a haplodiploid mating system? Males have no fathers or sons, but they can have grandfathers and grandsons

Captive-bred individuals may improve their chances of successful reintroduction by increasing the complexity of their captive environment. This process is called environmental enrichment

Groups of related female lions are known as pride

Endler used guppies from multiple populations to ensure that color variation was present in the experimental units so that he could test for natural selection

 An animal that is considered philopatric would have a tendency to stay in the same area throughout its life

Male scorpionflies with no nuptial offerings achieved the lowest percent of mating success

When populations of endangered animals become critically low, they are often removed from the wild and bred in captivity to increase their numbers. What is a factor leading to the failure of reintroduction of captive-bred animals? The captive-bred individuals have different behaviors than individuals in the wild

Which of the following are forms of cooperation in lion societies? Female lions in a pride nurse each other’s cubs; females in a pride will defend their territory against encroaching females; females in a pride hunt together to obtain larger prey

Which of the following types of animals are known cooperative breeders? African lions; wolves; woodhoopoes

Organisms that have both male and female function in the same individual are known as hermaphrodites

The best studied group of eusocial insects are in the order hymenoptera

Asexual reproduction is least common in which group of organisms? Vertebrates

Common: plants, bacteria, protozoans

A captive-bred fish raised in a complex environment may do well in an introduction to the wild because it is able to switch from pellet food to live prey more quickly

The activities of leaf cutter ants are highly varied and include which of the following? Ants guarding the trail of ants; ants guarding the ones carrying leaves from parasitoid flies; ants carrying leaves

In a field experiment, Marshall and Fuller found that one donor sired a higher proportion of seeds than other donors, supporting non-random mating

Which of the following animals is not considered a cooperative breeder? Guppies

Considered: woodhoopoes, ants, wolves

 Kin selection operates by increasing inclusive fitness

Which of the following are secondary sexual characteristics? Brightly colored male birds where the females are typically drab; brightly colored tails in male guppies

Large naked mole rats may defend a colony by doing what? They will throw soil at a snake in attempt to turn it back; they will try to kill snakes entering the colony; blocking the entrance with soil to wall off the entrance

What did Endler’s field experiment reveal about predation and male colorfulness in guppies? Male colorfulness is a heritable, sexually selected trait that is limited by predation

Haplodiploidy is a sex-determination system where males are haploid and females are diploid

Leaf-cutter ants colonies are quite large and are known to store almost 6,000 kg of leaves; mover over 40,000 kg of soil; contain over 2,000 occupied chambers

Identify the characteristics of Green Woodhoopoes that make them great organisms to study sociality. They roost in cavities and are easily captured so individuals can be tagged and identified; they are widespread and easily observed

In biology, fitness is best defined as the number of offspring an individual contributes to future generations

What is the most important trait in determining the caste of an individual in a leaf-cutter ant colony? Size of the individual

What do larger caste members in leaf-cutter ants and naked mole rats have in common? They are used for defense of the colony

Which one of the following would lead to higher female evolutionary fitness? A larger male offering a large, dead arthropod that would increase the number of eggs laid

How did environmental complexity improve the success of reintroduction of cod? They recovered more quickly from predator attacks; they were quicker to join other wild cod; they responded more quickly to live prey

Which of the following are characteristics of a high quality nesting cavity? The depth of the cavity; the soundness of the wood; the size of the opening

Sociality, like many behaviors, has a wide range of complexity. Which of the following would not be considered a social behavior within a species? A group of vultures eating a carrion.

Self-incompatibility may occur when a plant has pistils and stamens, but cannot pollinate itself

A scientist wishing to understand the evolutionary origins of cooperative breeding may have a difficult time because the origin of the trait may lay in the past; the origin of the trait cannot be directly observed

Marshall and Fuller (1994) point out that the harsh conditions in nature may have more importance on the number and size of seeds produced than non-random mating

What are the evolutionary benefits of related males forming coalitions? Cooperative behavior among related males would increase their inclusive fitness

The fitness of an individual has traditionally been defined as the number of offspring it produces. How does eusociality challenges this definition? Individuals help others or even sacrifice themselves without the opportunity to reproduce; not every individual in a eusocial society has the opportunity to reproduce

Helpers in cooperative breeding often remain on their natal territories because helpers may: eventually inherit the high quality, natal territory; improve their inclusive fitness by helping to raise young that are closely related

Why does kin selection work in lion prides? Lion prides are always close relatives; by working together they improve their inclusive fitness

What are the two major sources of reproductive success in Green Woodhoopoes? Spatial variation in the quality of roosting cavities; temporal variation in seasonal rainfall

Variability in natural conditions may have more importance on pollination than non-random mating

The Ligon’s were able to follow individual Green Woodhoopoes allowing them to study their social behavior because they roost in cavities and are easily captured and banded when exiting the cavity

How do helpers in cooperative breeding increase their inclusive fitness? The young tended by helpers are closely related

Some of the most complex sociality in a social species would occur in ant colonies

In cavity-nesting birds like the woodhoopoe, what is one of the biggest factors that determines the quality of the territory? The quality of the cavities

What are the similarities between naked mole rats and leaf-cutter ant colonies? They both have a single reproductive queen; most of the colony is non-reproductive

What are the benefits to helpers in cooperative breeding systems even though they may not be reproducing? Helpers may improve their own reproductive success by gaining experience; helpers may gain or retain access to high quality territory; helpers may improve their own genetic fitness by improving the survival rates of relatives

Which of the following social interactions are important for sexual reproduction? Birds migrate northward to warmer climates when food sources are more abundant; a male praying mantis that sacrifices himself to the female while he is mating; male spiders conducting the proper mating dance of their species to avoid being eaten by females

Which of the following is a benefit of philopatry to cavity-nesting birds like the woodhoopoe? They would have a lower rate of predation; they are familiar with the territory and have safe places to roost; they may eventually inherit the territory and its cavities

The strongest case for kin selection would occur in a haplodiploidy system where the females mate with only one male

Select the two individuals that could be correctly identified as male and female. One individual produces a few, very large gametes; the second individual produces many small gametes

In terms of evolutionary fitness, social interactions may be most directly important for sexual reproduction

What are considered the most important factors to understanding the evolution of sociality? The costs and benefits of sociality

Naked mole rat colonies differ from leaf-cutter ant colonies in that both male and females are workers

When would male lion coalitions become larger than 3 individuals? When the coalition is comprised of related individual

An example of a trade-off between ornamentation and survivorship might result in population with varying degrees of coloration in males based on predation

An example of a benefit to helpers may include experience raising young

An example of intrasexual selection would be two large males that fight each other for dominance over a mating territory

The main goal of sociobiology has been to develop a theory that explains the evolution of different types of sociality including eusociality

How would a queen mating with multiple males weaken the support for kin selection as an explanation for the evolution of eusociality in species? It would reduce the relatedness among the workers

Males and females are best identified by which characteristics? Females produce much larger gametes, males produce smaller gametes

What is the potential evolutionary cost to ornamentation? Brightly colored males are more likely to be attacked by visual predators

Nonrandom mating in plants could be determined by the performance of pollen donors

When would male lion coalitions remain smaller than 3 individuals? When the individuals are not related to each other

In woodhoopoes, males are often larger because of competition over territories and females

An example of intersexual selection would be females choosing brightly colored males that perform elaborate mating rituals