Chapter 6-7 Anthro – Flashcards

Actions that benefits another individual but at some potential risk or cost to oneself.

the study of the evolution of behavior, emphasizing the role of ecological factors as agents of natural selection. Behaviors and behavioral patterns have been favored because they increase the reproductive fitness of individuals in specific environmental contexts.

a field in which variation among individuals is separated into genetic versus environmental components. The most common research methodologies are family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies

any act that conveys information, in the form of a message, to another individual. Frequently, the result of communication is a change in the behavior of the recipient. Communication may not be deliberate but may instead be the result of involuntary processes or a secondary consequence of an intentional action.

sequences of repetitious behaviors that serve to communicate emotional states. Nonhuman primate displays are more frequently associated with reproductive or agnostic behavior and examples include chest slapping in gorillas or, in male chimpanzees, dragging and waving branches while charging and threatening other animals.

systems of social organizations wherein individuals within a group are ranked relative to one another. Higher-ranking animals have greater access to preferred food items and mating partners than lower-ranking individuals.

Picking through fur to remove dirt, parasites, and other materials that may be present. Social grooming is common among primates and reinforces social relationships.

An adaptive strategy whereby individuals produce relatively few offspring, in whom they invest increased parental care. Although only a few infants are born, chances of survival are increased for each one because of parental investments in time and energy.

A reproductive strategy that emphasizes relatively large numbers of offspring and reduced parental care compared to K-selected species.

within the group as opposed to intergroup

Groups that consist of a female, her daughters, and their offspring. Matrilineal groups are common in macaques.

pertaining to polygyny. A mating system in which males, and in some cases females, have several mating partners.

A mating system wherein a female continuously associates with more than one male (usually two or three) with whom she mates. Among nonhuman primates, only in marmosets and tamarins. It also occurs in a few human societies

Behaviors or behavioral complexes that have been favored by natural selection to increase individual reproductive success. The behaviors need not be deliberate, and they often vary considerably between males and females.

A type of natural selection that operates on only one sex within a species. It's the result of competition for mates, and it can lead to sexual dimorphism with regard to one or more traits.

The composition, size, and sex ratio of a group of animals. The result of natural selection in a specific habitat, and it guides individual interactions and social relationships.

portions of an individual's or group's home range that are actively defended against intrusion, especially by members of the same species.

An organisms entire way of life: where it lives, what it eats, how it gets food, how it avoids predators, and so on.

Members of the primate infraorder Anthropoidea, which includes monkeys, apes, and humans.

Tree-living; adapted to life in the trees

Arm swinging, a form of locomotion used by some primates. Involves hanging from a branch and moving by alternately swinging from one arm to the other.

the subfamily of Old World monkeys that includes baboons, macaques, and guenons.

Common name for members of the subfamily of Old World monkeys that includes the African colobus monkeys and Asian langurs

The bumps on the chewing surface of premolars and molars.

Active during the day

Active during the night

Period of sexual receptivity in nonhuman female mammals correlated with ovulation.

having a diet composed of primarily fruit

The primate suborder that includes tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans

The primate suborder that includes lemurs and lorises.

Members of the primate superfamily that includes apes and humans.

Patches of tough, hard skin on the buttocks of Old World monkeys and chimpanzees.

The group in which an animal is born and raised

The more recently evolved portion of the brain that is involved in higher mental functions and composed of areas that integrate incoming sensory information.

the sense of smell

having a diet consisting of many kinds of food including plants, meat, and insects.

Members of the mammalian order Primates, which includes lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans.

Using all four limbs to support the body during locomotion; the basic mammalian form of locomotion

the most, hairless pad at the end of the nose seen in most mammalian species. Enhances an animal's ability to smell.

The condition whereby visual images are, to varying degrees, superimposed. This provides for depth perception, or viewing the external environment in three dimensions.

Differences in physical characteristics between males and females of the same species. For examples, humans are slightly sexually dimorphic for body size, with males being taller, on average, than females of the same population. Sexual dimorphism is very pronounced in many species, such as gorillas.

enlarged areas of the perineal skin occurring in some female primates that vary in size over the course of the menstrual cycle.