Term
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Definition
Interactions between organisms and their environment. Includes both physical environment and their biological environment (with other organisms).
Competition BETWEEN and WITHIN groups. |
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Term
| Two main concerns as a primate |
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Definition
How/what to to eat.
and
How to avoid being eaten. |
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Term
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Definition
| -Food provides energy essential for growth, survival and reproduction. |
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Term
| Energy Requirements Depend on FOUR things (BAGR) |
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Definition
-Basal metabolic rate
-Active metabolic rate
-Growth and growth rate
-Reproductive effort. |
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Term
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Definition
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) = rate at which an animal spends energy while at rest; basic body functions.
-Larger animals have absolutely higher, but relatively lower BMR than smaller animals. |
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Term
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Definition
| Active Metabolic Rate = energy required above and beyond baseline daily activity (locomotion, digestion, etc.). Depends on size of animal, and how far/fast they travel. |
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Term
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Definition
| Building new tissue requires energy beyond BMR and AMR, so infants require higher energy than they should (for their size). |
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Term
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Definition
For females, additional cost of reproduction.
-Late pregnancy = +25% calories
-Lactation = +50% calories |
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Term
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Definition
Diet must satisfy energy requirements & specific nutrients they cannot synthesize themselves such as:
-Proteins/amino acids
-Fats, oils and carbs for energy
-Trace vitamins & minerals also important for specific functions. |
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Term
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Definition
-Diet must also minimize dangerous toxins, such as:
-secondary compounds are plant defenses: include Alkaloids and Tannins.
-Secondary compounds concentration is highest in mature leaves, seeds; lower in fruits, flowers, new leaves. |
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Term
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Definition
-Fruits (frugivore)
-Leaves (folivore)
-Insects (insectivore)
-grasses, tubers, corms, gum, small vertebrates, bark, fungus, soil (minerals).
-water |
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Term
| Primate diets - generalization |
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Definition
-Diverse diets, however:
1)Most primates rely on ONE food type high in protein and ONE high in carbohydrates.
2)Primates rely more heavily on some types of food than on others.
3)In general, insectivores < frugivores < folivores (in terms of size). Smaller animals require small but high-quality foods that can be processed quickly. Larger animals not constrained by quality of food, but by quantity. |
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Term
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Definition
| -What we eat can be directly reflected in tooth and gut morphology, useful for inferences in the fossil record. |
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Term
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Definition
| -Large body,relatively less energy needs (absolutely more, however). |
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Term
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Definition
-Around 500g
-small than this can ingest insects.
-larger than this cannot, digest leaves. |
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Term
| No supermarkets in the rainforests |
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Definition
| Food availability is scarce and varies in space and time; can be patchy and unpredictable. |
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Term
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Definition
-Seasonality
-during scarcity, may switch toe lower quality diets and/or reduce energy expenditures (torpor?).
-Keystone (fallback) resources. |
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Term
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Definition
-Most abundant food are leaves/foliage
-then fruits and flowers
-then, lowest density, small animals (insects, vertebrates, etc.)
-Therefore, primates need to travel to find their food. |
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Term
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Definition
-Distance traveled will depend on the density of food.
-Range: geographical are in which a GROUP can be found.
HOME RANGE: total area used by GROUP.
DAY RANGE: are used by an INDIVIDUAL on a daily basis. |
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Term
| Food distribution influences range size |
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Definition
| Insectivore > Frugivore > Folivore (in terms of range size) |
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Term
| Food distribution influences territoriality |
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Definition
-even distribution = not defensible
-clumped or patchy = defensible |
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Term
| Territoriality (benefits and costs) + 2 functions |
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Definition
-Costs: constant vigilance, advertising presence, engage in defense.
-Benefits: prevent outsiders from exploiting limited resources.
Serves 2 functions: Resource defense and mate defense. |
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Term
| Territoriality, when do benefits outweigh costs? |
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Definition
-Depends on kinds of resources and their impact on fitness:
-For males = access to females
=For females = access to food for them and their children. |
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Term
2. How to avoid being eaten
How to avoid predators? |
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Definition
-Alarm calls
-swarm
-associate with other primate species
-otherwise, live/forage in groups. |
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Term
| Sociality and predation + 3 D's |
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Definition
-Group = safety
-Detection, deterrence, dilution |
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Term
| Benefits and costs of sociality |
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Definition
Benefits:
-Resource control
-predator avoidance
-access to mates
Costs:
-feeding/mate competition
-disease risk
-cuckoldry, incest, infanticide, etc.
Balance of solitary and group sociability may produce OPTIMAL GROUP SIZE. |
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Term
| What determines optimal group size? |
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Definition
-defensibility of resources
-if patchy/scarce, worth fighting over.
-if evenly distributed, not worth fighting over.
Opportunity cost. |
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Term
| Polyspecific associations |
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Definition
-different species may stick together.
-permits greater predator protection without competition.
-mutual defense, finding food resources, scrounging. |
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