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40 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Biological Communication is
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An action on the part of one organism
(sender) that alters the probability of occurrence of behavior patterns in another (receiver) • Typically adaptive in nature – Signal or response enhances survival and reproduction |
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Communication
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Displays: behavior patterns that convey
messages among individuals – Carry encoded message that describe sender’s state – Recipient makes meaning of message |
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Signal: physical form in which message is
coded for transmission |
Typically the sender of active signals must
benefit – Sender manipulates behavior of othersReceiver may benefit or be harmed • Signals often become exaggerated (ritualized) so that sender wastes little effort |
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Properties of signals
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Mammals typically have 20-40 different
signals • Discrete: simple either/or – Ex. Zebras show hostility by flattening ears, friendliness by raising ears • Graded: more variable and communicate intensity – Ex. Zebras indicate intensity by degree of mouth openness (more open = more intense) |
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Modes of Communication
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Distance and duration vary based on
mode of signal • Many sensory systems used (i.e., visual, auditory, olfactory) • Choice of sensory channel used to send messages varies based on environment and type of signal sent |
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Functions of Communication
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Coyotes howling, contact calls in Cebus
monkeys |
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Species Recognition
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Avoid infertile
matings among members of closely related species |
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Kin Recognition
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enables social species to
behave nepotistically (increase own inclusive fitness) – May also result in avoidance of inbreeding |
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Recognition cont.
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How do kin recognize each other?
• Phenotype matching: individual forms template of “kin” against which all are compared • Major histocompatability complex (MHC): cell recognition system used by immune system to distinguish self from nonself – Genetic differences produce urinary odor cues that can be used to recognize genetic similarities in others |
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Aggression and Competition
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Aggression: behavior that appears to inflict
harm on another • Form of competition: where rivals are actively excluded from some limited resource • Agonistic Behavior: all aspects of conflict (attack and escape) – basically “aggression” without negative conotations |
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Forms of agonistic behavior-Territorial
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Territorial: exclusion of others from some
physical space |
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Dominance
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control, as a result of a
previous encounter, of the behavior of a conspecific |
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Sexual
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use of threats and physiacl punishment to retain and obtain mates
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PArental
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attacks intruders when offspring present
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parents-offspring
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disciplinary action against offsrping from parents, like hippo
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Competition (cont’d)
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Most agonistic
behaviors involve competition for some limited resource (food, water, mates, space, etc.) |
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Exploitation
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individuals use resource and
deprive others without directly interacting (bats eating fruit) |
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Interference
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direct interaction that
reduces one another’s access to resource – Passive or direct (territories, dominance, etc) |
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Home RAnge
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area used by the animal during the day
-not defended |
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home range cont.
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Size of HR depends on size of animal and quality of
habitat • A = 6.76W0.63 where A = expected area of home range and W=mass American Bison weighs 700-2000 lb …. So, 6.78 (1000) .63= 260 square miles Where a 10 lb canid has a hr of 28.9 miles |
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home range core area
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Most heavily used portion of HR
– Nests, sleeping areas, water sources, feeding sites, etc |
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Territory
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Area occupied exclusively by an individual
or group and actively defended |
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Territories cost ya’
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Require regular patrolling, vocalizations,
scent marking, etc. • Displays highly ritualized so they require little energy • Once established, neighbors conditioned and need only occasional reminders • Benefits of territory must outweigh costs of establishing and maintaining it |
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Economic Defendability
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Determines when and if territories will be
established • Costs (energy expenditure, risk of injury, etc) outweighed by benefits (exclusive access to resource) |
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Considerations of ED (economic defendabliltiy)
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Distribution of resource in space
• Distribution of resource through time • Uniformly distributed resource most efficiently used if individuals spread out (possibly defend if P is high) • Spatially clumped, ephemeral resources may require overlapping home ranges, colonial living, or nomadism |
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Other considerations of ED
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Quality of food: High-energy food more
likely to be defended • Habitat alteration/investment: burrow systems, lodges, etc. typically defended |
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Factors other than food
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Mating territories: first to mate with estrous
female typically sires offspring • Leks: only defended resource is the space where mating takes place – Feeding and nesting away from site – Males often have elaborate ornaments (horns, antlers, etc) – Males arrive early, exhibit highly ritualized agonistic behavior and stake out plots (territories) |
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Leks cont.
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Certain plots more attractive to females
• Males with these plots do most of mating • Better plots more aggressively defended |
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Dominance
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In social groups, access to resources
determined through dominance interactions instead of territoriality • Individual is dominant if it controls the behavior of the second individual |
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Types of Dominance
Despot system |
single dominant
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Linear Hierarchy
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pecking order, A over B,
B over C, etc |
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Triangular
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A dominates B who dominates
C who dominates A |
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Coalitions
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A dominates B or C alone, but
C and B together dominate A |
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Costs and Benefits
of Dominance |
Dominant animals
well fed and healthy • Subordinates often malnourished, diseased, and suffer higher mortality rates |
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LOSER!
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Frequent losers of fights
have higher levels of adrenal glucocortical hormones than dominants – Elevate blood sugar (prepare animal for fight or flight) • Reduce antigen-antibody and inflammatory responses (bodies defense mechanisms) • Also reduces levels of reproductive hormones |
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Baboons
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Dominant males = lower levels of cortical
hormones than subordinates • Basal testosterone similar, however under stress, test. levels in subordinates plummet, while high ranking males show increases in test. levels |
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Dominance and Sex
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Dominance often directly correlated with
reproductive success • May be exclusive with dominance and, or proportional • Dominance hierarchies often age-graded with younger animals working way up through hierarchy |
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Optimal levels of aggression
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Aggressiveness
benefits individuals by promoting them in hierarchy • If too aggressive may miss mating opportunities to “sneakers” • Stress hormones are sometimes higher in dominant individuals |
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Extreme forms of
aggression |
Infanticide
– When harems are taken over by new males they often kill all or some of the infants – Removes offspring of past (unrelated) male, brings females back into estrus • In lions, infanticide accounts for ¼ of cub mortality |
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Infanticide (cont’d
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Common in rodents where males will often
eat the wee ones • Females often defend territories • Under crowded conditions young often consumed by parent • Embryos reabsorbed • Kangaroos throw young out of pouch |
