Evolution Of Behaviour And Cognition

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4 Core Principles of Natural Selection

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- Variability
- Heritability
- Surplus offspring
- Non-random survival and reproduction

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Ultimate Causation

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- Evolutionary level of explanation

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Proximate Causation

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- Explained by immediate circumstances

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Phylogeny

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- History of the evolution of a species or group

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Ontogeny

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- Development of an individual organism from embryo to adult

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Key Principles of Mendelian Inheritance

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- Unit characters
- Dominance
- Law of segregation
- Law of independent assortment

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Red Queen Hypothesis

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- Explains extinction and advantage of sexual reproduction
- Organisms must constantly adapt/evolve to survive against ever-evolving opposing organisms in an ever-changing environment
- Arms race

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Pleiotropic

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- One gene has many effects

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Polygenic

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- Many genes have one effect

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Exons

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- Part of DNA codes for amino acids

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Introns

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- Non-coding (junk) part of DNA

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Diploid

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- Sexually reproducing organism

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Intragenomic Conflict

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- Genes compete to be passed on
- Selfish/parasitic DNA

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Genomic Imprinting

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- When genes from different parents are not equally likely to be expressed (epigenetics)

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The Modern Synthesis

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- Neo-Darwinism
- The fusion of Darwinian evolution by natural selection and Mendelian inheritance

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Convergent Evolution

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- Independent evolution produces analogous traits
- e.g. Bird wings + Bat wings

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Adaptive Radiation

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- Similarity by descent produces homologous traits
- e.g. Human arm + Bat wing (descended from same ancestor)

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Vestigial Traits

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- Left over from evolutionary past
- Have no function now
- e.g. Tailbone

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Spandrel

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- Phenotypic characteristic that is a byproduct of the evolution of some other characteristic

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Exaptations

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- Traits that serve a different purpose from what they were adapted for
- Pre-adaptions or co-opted traits

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Maladaptions

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- Traits can be adaptive in the environment in which they evolved BUT not now
- e.g. Human love of fatty food

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Paedomorphosis

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- Retention of juvenile characteristics into adulthood
- e.g. Salamanders retaining gills

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Neotony

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- Delayed development

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Progenesis

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- Early sexual development

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Precocial

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- Relatively mature and mobile at birth
- e.g. Horse can run from birth

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Altricial

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- Relatively undeveloped and helpless at birth
- e.g. Humans and kittens

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Obstetrical Dilemma

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- Byproduct of evolution of bipedalism on female pelvis limits infants head size
- Explains why human babies are immature

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Hume's Law

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- Just because something 'is' doesn't necessarily mean it 'ought' to be
- e.g. Just because a trait (behavioral) evolves, doesn't mean we have to act that way

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Social Spencerism

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-Herbert Spencer termed phrase "survival of the fittest"
- Thought that natural selection should apply to economies

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Naturalistic Fallacy

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- Morality (what is good) isn't necessarily based on what's natural

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Paleocene

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- 65-54 mya
- Ancestors of primates appear

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Eocene

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- 54-34 mya
- Modern looking primates appear

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Oligocene

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- 34-23 mya
- Anthropoids: primates that look like modern monkeys now abundant

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Miocene

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- 23-5 mya
- Hominoids: apes flourished

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Pliocene

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- 5-2 mya
- Monkeys replaced apes during this period
- Australopithecines appear

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Primate Features

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- Opposable thumb/big toe
- Flat nails, not claws
- Locomotion from hind legs
- Dry nose
- Forward facing eyes
- Binocular vision

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Strepsirrhini/Prosimian

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- "Wet nosed"
- Sub-order of primates
- e.g. Aye Aye, Lemur

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Haplorrhini

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- "Dry nosed" primates
- e.g. Humans, chimps, marmoset

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Catarrhini

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- Old world monkeys (Cercopithecoidea)
- Apes (Hominoidea)

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Hylobatidae

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- Lesser apes
- e.g. gibbons

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Hominidae

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- Greater apes
- e.g. Humans, chimps, gorillas, orangutans

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Reasons to Live in Groups

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- Predators
- Sex
- Grooming
- Shared parenting
- Territory defense

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Reasons Not to Live in Groups

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- Resource/mating competition
- Infanticide
- Social stress
- Parasites/disease

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Polyandry

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- Female has more than one mating partner
- Very rare in mammals, >0.5% of birds, 0.5% of societies

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Polygyny

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- Where a male has more than one mating partner
- Results in greater sexual dimorphism (larger males have more mates)
- Most mammals, 2% of birds, permitted in 83% of societies

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Chimpanzee Socioecology

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- Males stay in home
- Females leave
- Strong dominance hierarchy for males
- Fission-fusion society

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Why did Bipediality Evolve?

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- Efficient way to travel on ground
- Keeps cool (less surface area hit by sunlight when stood)
- Leaves hands free to carry
- Efficient for harvesting fruit

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Australopithecines

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- Early human ancestors
- Fully bipedal
- Sexually dimorphic
- Small ape sized brains
- Human/chimp teeth

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Lower Paleolithic

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- 2.5-1.7 mya
- Homo appears
- Oldowan technology (stone tools)

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Homo ergaster

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- 1.8 mya
- Large robust bodies, long legs short arms
- Slower growth rate (but faster than humans)
- Bigger brains
- Tools used (possibly fire too)

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Homo heidelbergensis

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- 1.3 mya - 600 kya
- Much larger brains
- Complex (mode 3) tools

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Homo neanderthalensis

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- 600-33 kya
- European, suited to colder climate
- Bigger brains than humans
- Shorter and stockier
- Tool use, maybe language, buried dead

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Homo sapiens

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- 190-90 kya
- Africa
- Complex tools, rituals, dogs, culture
- Only hominin left by 30 kya

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"Sociobiology: The New Synthesis"

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- Written 1975 by E. O. Wilson
- Evolutionary approach of ethologists
but focused on function (ultimate explanation)
rather than stimuli (proximate)
- Criticised (by sociology) for biological determinism

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Trivers–Willard Hypothesis

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- Greater parental investment in males in "good conditions"
- Greater investment in females by parents in "poor conditions"

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Hamilton's Rule

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- Spread of a gene for altruism occurs when:

- Cost < r b
• b = benefit to recipient
• r = coefficient of relatedness

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Game Theory: Chicken

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- Also called hawk-dove game
- Anti-coordination game: best strategy to do opposite

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Generalised Reciprocity

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- Altruism without expectation of return

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Negative Reciprocity

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- Punishment, inflicting harm for harm done
- Deters free riders
- Third party punishment (unique to humans)

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Strong Reciprocity

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- Cooperate with others
- Punish non-cooperaters

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Universal Human Characteristics

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- Experience and expression of emotions
- Language
- Division of labour
- Incest avoidance
- Developmental trajectories

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Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness

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- Term from John Bowlby's attachment theory
- African Savanna during pleistocene (1.7 mya - 10 kya)
- 99% of evolutionary history of homo

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Sexual Asymmetry

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- Differences in male and females, due to eggs more expensive than sperm:
- Females more 'precious' sought after
-Males compete with males
- Females have fewer chances to mate so must be picky

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Polygynandry

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- Males and females mate with more than one
partner

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Monogamy

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- One male mates with one female
- Some mammals, 92% of birds, 16% of societies permit only monogamy
- Females benefit most

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Short Term Mating: Male

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- Costs: STD's, reputation, lower offspring survival, aggression
- Benefits: More offspring

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Coolidge Effect

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- Males look for any chance to mate
- Therefore attracted to novel females
- Lower standards for short-term mates
- Short time lags between meeting and seeking sex

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Closing Time Effect

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- Standards for choosing a mate become lower as likelihood of success diminishes

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Short Term Mating: Female

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- Costs: unwanted pregnancy, reputation, loss of resources from mate, abuse
- Benefits: give sex for resources, genes, mate inspection (potential for long term)

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Short Term Mating: Conditional Strategies

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- When younger or after divorce
- When males rarer
- High sexual esteem males
- Low sexual esteem females

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Male Reasons for Monogamy

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- More likely to mate
- Wider choice of females
- Paternity certainty
- Improved offspring survival

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Polygyny Threshold Model

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- Point at which being with a mated male with
more resources is better than being with a single
male with few

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"Lack" Clutch Size

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- Maximum number of offspring is not always optimal (wasted resources on those that will not survive)

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Vertical Cultural Transmission

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- Culture received from parents/relatives
- Favoured in stable environments when natural selection strong

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Oblique Cultural Transmission

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- Culture received from unrelated elders
- Favoured in rapidly changing environments when natural selection weak

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Horizontal Cultural Transmission

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- Culture received from unrelated peers