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MT 2 Flash Cards
For Human Evo MT 2
87
Anthropology
Undergraduate 3
02/17/2015

Additional Anthropology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Which branch of primates are more likely to be solitary? Is this like most mammals?
Definition
Most mammals live alone. Strepsirrhines (prosimians which include nocturnal lemurs and lorises) are often solitary.
Term
Which primates are most likely to be social?
Definition
Haplorrhines, which are anthropoids and include prosimian tarsiers as well as new world monkeys and old world monkeys (lesser apes, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans)
Term
What are the potential costs that are risks of sociality?
Definition
Competition
Contagion - transmission of disease
Cuckoldry - a male raising young that are not actually his own
Inbreeding
Cannibalism
Infanticide
Term
What are benefits of sociality?
Definition
Protection versus predators
Better access to resources
Access to potential mates/cooperative partners
Term
What are the strategies of nocturnal primates?
Definition
Hide during the day
Park infants while feeding
Solitary
Quiet
Cryptic
Term
What defines a primate?
Definition
FEATURES OF HANDS & FEET
Opposable big toe
grasping hands
sensitive finger tips
flat nails
FEATURES OF SENSORY ORGANS
highly developed sense of vision
eyes moved forward in head
stereoscopic vision
unspecialized olfactory senses
FEATURES OF LIFE HISTORY
small litters
long pregnancy
long juvenile period
long mother infant bond
long life span
LARGE BRAIN
LIVE IN GROUPS
Term
Why is sociality and effective an3-preDator strategy?
Definition
Detection - more eyes to detect predator
Dilution - more individuals makes it less likely for anyone individual to be caught
Deterrence - Defensive weaponry and mobbing in groups
Term
What are the strategies of diurnal primates?
Definition
Defensive weaponry, mobbing, sleep in trees/cliffs, large body size, vigilant, alarm calls, interspecific associations ( for example, two species may associate to reduce predator risk: diana monkeys watch for ground predators while the red colobuses watch for eagles)
Term
What are interspecific associations?
Definition
Associations between species which are mutually beneficial, as with the diana monkey and red colobus.
Term
What is in a primate diet?
Definition
Carbs from fruit and gums. Protein from insects, leaves and other animals, eggs. Fats and oils from seeds, nuts, and other animals. Vitamins and minerals from plant foods.
Term
What factors are most important for reproductive success in females versus males?
Definition
Females rely on access to nutrition, as pregnancy, lactation, and conception are all very energy consuming. Males rely more on access to females than nutrition.
Term
What is a dominance relationship?
Definition
When one individual consistently defeats another in contest competition, it produces dominance relationship.
Term
Pair-wise dominance relationships produce what? and why?
Definition
They produce dominance heirarchies because each individual knows who it can and cannot defeat.
Term
What will females do if dominance rank affects access to resources?
Definition
They will strive for a higher rank, and thus females may benefit from help in competitive encounters. Help is useful because of power in numbers. Thus an alliance of two low-rank individuals may outrank another individual above them.
Term
What happens if females rely on alliances?
Definition
If this happens, they will develop relationships with allies and only groom/associate with certain females. Often they may prefer kin as allies, as they share genes. Females will thus become philopatic (stay with the group they were born into) while males disperse to prevent inbreeding.
Term
What it is philopatic?
Definition
it is when individuals reside in the group they were born in for their entire lifespan.
Term
Why would a primate be territorial?
Definition
To defend its mates and resources.
Term
When will home ranges overlap? When will they not?
Definition
They do not overlap in primates that are more aggressively territorial, and may overlap in less aggressive territorial species.
Term
Scramble competition
Definition
Food is distributed fairly evenly and is not worth fighting for. Scramble to get enough food, no direct competition.
Term
Contest competition
Definition
Resources are scarce and valuable, worth fighting over. Contest access to particular resources
Term
Possible relationship between food, competition, and social behavior.
Definition
Concentrated collections of food result in alliances and hierarchies. Spread out resources result in no bonds/alliances, unstable hierarchy and male female dispersal.
Term
Optimal foraging theory
Definition
assumes that animals will adopt foraging strategies that maximize caloric intake per unit time (but does not imply conscious reasoning, deliberate planning, or intent)
Term
Costs of female reproduction
Definition
There is a high investment for female mammals. They carry offspring, nourish after birth, and paternal care is often quite low. It is very expensive in terms of energy.

It is also very expensive in terms of time, many produce one infant every two years or so, and a substantial fraction die before reaching reproductive age.
Term
Components of female fitness
Definition
Length of reproductive career
Infant survivorship
interbirth interval = time between births
Rank
Term
Maternal strategies for reproductive success
Definition
Care - nourishment, transportation, warmth, protection from predators. Mothers have limited amount of care to give because of limited reproductive career. This means they must balance quantity and quality of offspring.
competition - compete directly for food, compete via dominance rank, rank sometimes correlated with reproductive success.
cooperation - in territorial species, females jointly confront members of other groups. often group size correlated with success in intergroup encounters. Alliances may also be formed within groups. Cooperation also reduces the costs of rearing offspring, as other group members can help care for infants.
Term
Allomaternal care
Definition
when other group members care for an infant as well
Term
Male reproductive strategies
Definition
Degree of male investment varies among primate species. This is a trade-off between mating effort and parenting effort. Obviously will invest more when benefits derived from extra matings are less than benefits derived from providing care.
Term
When will males invest in offspring?
Definition
Difficult to find additional males - females widely spaced in time, females mate synchronously
Fitness of kids raised alone are low - infants are very big, litter size >1, high risk of predation
Term
Sexual selection
Definition
Special form of natural selection in which traits are favored that increase success in competition for mates
sexually selected traits are most pronounced in sex with most limited access to mates. Sexual selection can generate intersexual selection and intrasexual selection
Term
Intersexual selection
Definition
selection favors traits that make individuals more attractive (ornamentation, coloration, behaviors)
Term
Intrasexual selection
Definition
selection favors traits that make individuals more successful in same-sex competitions for access to reproductive opportunities (tusks, horns, size, antlers)
Term
Sexual dimorphism
Definition
When males look one way and females look another way. Is the result of male-male competition.
Term
Rank and RS in multi-male groups
Definition
Reproductive success in multi-male groups usually has to do with dominance rank, which is a function of size and strength. High rank males monopolize reproducing females.
Term
competition in one-male groups
Definition
males compete for access to groups of females, outsiders exert constant pressure on resident males.
tenure of resident males is often short
Term
Lactational amenorrhea
Definition
temporary stopping of menstrual cycles during post-natal period
Term
Strategy of infanticide
Definition
if infant dies, female resumes reproductive cycle immediately. It is a sexually selected strategy, which means that it will be linked to changes in male residence or status. Males will kill unweaned, but won't kill their own. Infanticidal males will gain reproductive benefits.
Term
Counterstrategies to infanticide
Definition
fathers and adults present at conception defend infants.
Female promiscuity used to confuse males about paternity.
Term
Controversy over infanticide
Definition
People often confuse "is" and "ought"
just because it is adaptive doesn't mean its morally right. This leads to concerns over whether species should be conserved if they are acting in such an aggressive way
Term
Problem of altruism
Definition
According to Darwin's postualtes, such a behavior cannot be selected for, as it reduces fitness to self and increases fitness of others.
Term
Inclusive fitness
Definition
Helping related others who share the same genes
Term
Reciprocal altruism
Definition
altruism reciprocated by recipient of benefit
Term
requirements of cooperation
Definition
requires non-random interaction, selection at the level of the individual
Term
Kin selection and Hamilton's Rule
Definition
If altruists aid kin, they help those who may carry the same gene for altruism.
Kin selection occurs when benefits to recipient x relatedness > cost to actor
this is Hamilton's Rule: br < c where r is coefficient of relatedness
Term
Nepotism
Definition
primates show favorable behavior priamrily to those it is related to. This is seen in grooming patterns, alliances/coalitions,
Term
Kin recogntion
Definition
uses contextual clues - infants in contact with mother, siblings connected through mother

phenotypic matching - recognize kin through smell or likeness to themselves
Term
Familiarity and kin recognition
Definition
mothers don't seem to recognize their own infants at birth
Within a few weeks, mothers discriminate between own infant and strange infant.
Term
Cross-fostering
Definition
experiment on kin recognition wherre mother will accept strange infants of different sex, age, and species
Term
maternal associations
Definition
mother-infant associations may also be used to recognize other maternal relatives, as they're closeness with mother allows them familiarity with relatives.
Term
Rule of thumb for paternity
Definition
if male monopolizes matings, all infants born during his tenure = his offspring. Same rule allows those infants to recognize paternal siblings.
Term
Reciprocal altruism
Definition
altruism can be exchanged through nonkin when
1. proximity, frequent opportunities to interact
2. keep track of help given and received (memory)
3. Must only help if received help (contingent, discriminating behavior)
Noentheless, there is strong evidence for kin selection and mixed evidence for reciprocal altruism.
Term
Life history theory of primate intelligence
Definition
possession of large and expensive brain has effects on primate life histories. Brains are expensive to build and maintain.
As brain size increases, so does life expectancy
Brain size and longevity is associated with delayed maturation and lower fertility. Life history patterns are the product of tradeoffs between current and future reproduction, fast/short to long/slow
Term
Selection delays maturity until when?
Definition
It delays maturity until the payoffs of reproduction are greater than the payoffs of continued growth. Delayed reproduction only pays off if mortality is low
Term
Benefits of neocortex, brain
Definition
Learning, problem-solving. Flexibility when environment changes rapidly. Flexibility and problem-solving favored by complex ecological niche.
Flexibility and problem-solving in social interactions: Social intelligence hypothesis.
Term
Ecological theory of intelligence
Definition
Finding food is complicated, where is it, is it safe, when is it available, how to process food (soem find food in places that most animals wouldn't think to search), cognitive maps give mental representation of location availability, and quality of things in the environment. This isn't an entirely capable explanation however, as many small-brained animals also do these things
Term
Social theory of intelligence
Definition
social challenges favor larger brains. Primates know about their own relationships as well as the relationships of others. They keep track of group membership and recognize others as individuals. They know which individuals will be most helpful them in a fight. Can recognize the voices of others, mother recognizes child's scream, others look at mother when they hear the scream.
Term
Third-party knowledge and Theory of Mind
Definition
Monkeys can predict what others will do. They often grunt when they approach others and are a reliable predictor of peaceful behavior. The ability for one to understand others' thoughts is called "theory of mind". But they actually show little understanding of what others know: don't practice deception, and thir understanding of relationships seems to come primarily from associative learning. Apes are a little different in this respect in that they can discern others' intent, recognize self, can deceive and do political maneuvering, and alert others to things they have not seen.
Term
Brief history of hominid fossils
Definition
Paleocene: primate like mammals
Eocene: 1st true primates like strepsirrhines
oligocene: primates like OWMs
Miocene: apes
Term
Fossil record
Definition
We only have 3% of theprimate record, material on Earth is not only likely to be destroyed, but few environments are actually conducive to preservation
Term
First appearance of primates
Definition
65 million years ago during the Paleocene epoch of the tertiary period of the cenozoic era
Term
Plesiadapiforms
Definition
rodent sized, primate-like mammals from Paleocene
Term
First true primates like strepsirrhines
Definition
appeared in eocene, with larger brains than plesiadapiforms, opposable toes, forward facing eyes
Term
Prosimians appear`
Definition
34 million years ago, during the oligocene epoch, when many parts of the world became colder and drier
Term
Apes appear
Definition
apes flourish during the warm, wet Miocene. During this epoch, apes filled most of the ecological niches of extant monkeys and diversified.
Term
Theraspids
Definition
early mammals believed to be ancestral to earliest primates (megazostrodon, thrinaxodon)
Term
angiosperms during paleocene
Definition
angiosperms become more abundant during the paleocene, corresponding to earliest primates opened an ecological niche.
Term
PEMOAM
Definition
prosimians - eocene
monkeys - oligocene
apes - miocene
Term
Earth's climate cooled and dried drastically over the last 5 million years
Definition
This climate change opened up the savanna as an ecological niche.
Term
Evidence of bipedality
Definition
features of pelvis, femur, and feet, as well as placement of the foramen magnum in bipedal species, the base of the neck
Term
Ilium
Definition
The bowl shaped flaring at the top of the pelvis, in bipeds, it is broader
Term
Femur
Definition
has longer neck for muscle attachment. Lower end of femur angled to meet lower leg bone
Term
Knees
Definition
to walk efficiently, knees must be close to the center line of the body.
Term
Foot
Definition
has arches designed for shock absorption
Term
S. tchadensis
Definition
bipedal, no gap between canine and PM, dentition not like apes, 7-6 mya in Africa
Term
Orrorin tugensis
Definition
dated to 6mya in Kenya bipedal, thick enamel on molars, thigh bones are more like humans' than chimps. teeth are like chimp teeth
Term
Ardipithecus ramidus
Definition
4-5 mya in africa woodland habitat, distinguished canines, relatively small molars, thinner enamel, but still thicker than modern apes. Bipedal, canines smaller and not sharpened by lower canine. Sexual dimorphism, modern toe bone, generalized diet, larger cranial capacity, limb proportions more like monkey than ape, wide ilium suggests bipedal. Mostly palm walked, not knuckle walked
Term
Shared traits of australopiths
Definition
Bipedal, still adept in trees, small bones (much shorter than modern human), head bones intermediate between apes and later hominids. Had ape like faces and ape sized brains. Sexual dimorphism, ape-sized brains, woodland/scrub/grassland habitat. Grew up faster than modern humans do.Had jaws that stick out (subnasal prognathism) Larger canines which became increasingly smaller. Small molars
Term
Behavioral evidence of bipedality
Definition
3.5 mya, 2 creatures walked through a bed of wet volcanic ash. Their footprints are still left behind.
Term
Paranthropus
Definition
bipedal apes with very big molars. Paranthropines had very big teeth, particularly MOLARS. this morphology is related to diet. Larger temporalis muscles to chew, and larger zygomatic bone arch to accomodate the muscle. Sagittarial crest at the top of the skull allowed for greater attachment of these much larger muscles. The wear patterns on their teeth suggest that they ate hard things, like seeds, nuts, and tough plant material. they may have eatern meat too.
Term
kenyanthropus
Definition
small brain like chimps, small molars like australopithecines, face broad and flat like P. boisei of paranthropuses.
Term
Pliocene hominids
Definition
We don't know that S. Tchadnesis, orrorin, or ardipithecus are related to later fossil species, or if any of these are ancestral to homo
Term
sahelanthropus tchadensis
Definition
Earliest known hominid, from 7-6 mya. No prognathism, flat face, foramen magnum indicative of bipedalism. No gap between canine and premolars, massive brow, like many later hominids and gorillas
Term
orrorin tugenensis
Definition
6 mya
ancestral: chimp teeth, brain, arms and fingers suited for climbing
derived: thick enamel on molars, long femoral neck like in bipedal hominids
Term
Ardipithecus ramidus and A. kadabba
Definition
4-5mya,
Ancestral: relatively small molars, larger canines, enamel is thinner, but thicker than most modern apes.
Derived: bipedalism based on foramen magnum, pelvis and toes bones
Term
australopithecus
Definition
4-2 mya , prognathic face, generalized diet, fast development. Bipedal, still adept in trees, small bodies, head bones intermediate between apes and later hominids. Ape sized brains, pronounced sexual dimorphism
Term
paranthropus
Definition
prognathis face, diet of hard items. Huge molars, sagittarial crest for larger temporalis (temple) muscles, zygomatic arch to accomodate larger muscles. P.boisei had flat face
Term
kenyanthropus
Definition
3.5 mya. flat face like P. boisei. small teeth. small brain like chimps, small molars like australopithecines
Term
Hunting is closely related to what other trait?
Definition
Food sharing
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