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Summary behavioural ecology
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Summary Behavioural Ecology
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Summary Behavioural Ecology BHE30306
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Project: 40%Presentation: pass/fail
Exam: 60%
L1: hypotheses testing & economic decisions
p1-60
Behavioural ecology => study of evolutionary basis for animal behaviour due to
ecological pressures
Natural selection adaptation & fitness
Nat selection favours individuals who adopt life-history strategies that
maximise their gene contribution to future generations
- Behaviour of advantage to individuals may be disadvantageous to
group
Behaviour fit in environment resources, survival & reproduction
- Competitive advantage over others gene transfer
- Behaviour can be heritable or plastic
- Behaviour depends on ecological conditions
Natural selection theory Darwin
Individuals within species differ in morphology, physiology & behaviour
(variation)
Some variation heritable
Competition between individuals for scarce resources
Competition some variants more offspring
- Offspring inherits characteristics: natural selection adaptation
Environment changes evolutionary change
Natural selection: modern genetic terms
Selection changes in gene freq
When variants do better when they are rare maintain behavioural
polymorphism
Most common clutch size often a bit lower than optimum
, Increase lifetime breeding success
Costs of egg production & incubation
Trade offs
Behavioural trade offs: hypothesis testing
Behaviour involves decision making: costs & benefits
- Trade off between c & b variation
Choice of how many eggs to lay highly variable
- Current vs future reproduction
- Reproduction vs survival
- Costs: adult mortality
- Benefits: #surviving young
Trade offs can be based on many traits & effects
Marginal value theorem => balancing costs vs benefits
- Optimal decisions depend on c & b
Phenotypic plasticity => 1 genotype can alter its phenotype in response to
environmental conditions
Continuous P variation relationship between P & E for each G = reaction
norm
Genetic change OR P plasticity
Economic decision making
Economic analysis of costs & benefits understand behaviour
Diminishing returns => investment in patch increases profit from patch
cannot continue to increase
- Resource depression
Optimality theory
- Trade off between cost & benefit will give max net benefit
- Optimality model: assumptions about currencies & constraints
- Appropriate currencies can differ per case (e.g. efficiency or rate)
- E.g. optimal load size, optimal prey choice
Ultimate vs proximate
Stages of scientific approach to understand function of behaviour:
1. Observations
2. Hypotheses (questions)
3. Predictions
4. Tests
Niko Tinbergen: 4 questions (exam)
- Proximate: mechanism
, 1. Causation/mechanism: what is the trigger?
2. Development/ontogeny: what is the genetic & developmental
mechanism?
- Ultimate: adaptation
3. Function: what is adaptive advantage?
4. Evolutionary history: how did the trait evolve?
Theoretical models useful to make hypotheses & predictions
Tests
- Correlation ≠ causation need experiments
- Systematically vary variable of interest
- Variable must be manipulated by experimenter (do not let animal
choose)
- Test against control group
- Random assignment of individuals to conditions
- Avoid confounding vars
- Suitable sample size
Hypothesis testing
- Natural exp: compare individuals within species
- Manipulation experiment (costs & benefits)
- Comparative: compare between species
Comparative studies: limitations & solutions
Data non independent: use phylogeny
Cause-effect difficult (it is still a correlation): infer transitions
Allows making broad inferences & predictions about adaptation &
evolutionary change
L2: mating systems
p254-281
Optimal mating system: varies between & within species
Mating systems
Huge variation
Understanding systems
- Individual aims to maximise reproductive success
Types of systems
- Monogamy: 1 male + 1 female often bi-parental care, animals can
cheat
- Polygyny: 1 male + multiple f often only maternal care
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