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76 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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
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