Comparing The Four Mechanisms Of Kin Recognition

The group discovered is more closely related to anteaters than to the other sloths (Document B). Though all of the groups (populations A-D and the anteaters), trace back to one common point, the newly discovered population of sloths is closer to anteaters than it is to the other three populations of sloths. This difference even is evident on the genetic level. The team geologist recorded that the new population shares “little to no common genes with other populations” of sloths in the region (Document E). Therefore, the new group is not closely related to the preexisting

Chimpanzees (Figure 1) are the closest living relatives to us, and they share 99 percent of our DNA (1). Chimpanzees have distinct group territoriality. Male chimpanzees “patrol” near the boundary between the two ranges, at that time they move very carefully and quietly, and they can cease to listen and observe the range of their neighbors. Patrolling individuals are likely to face cruel and violent

The purpose of the research was to formulate a question and develop a hypothesis based on the variations observed between two populations of threespine stickleback, in order to gain a better understanding of natural selection

The evolution of egg laying mammals such as the platypus and the echidna has only occurred in Australia and thus can only be studied firsthand in Australia. I am hoping that this Study Abroad program in Perth, Australia will broaden my horizons of evolutionary study through a research opportunity as well as unique ecological experiences that would allow me to discover an enticing and new application for my interest. The networking opportunities will be extremely beneficial, both as possible connections and as a learning opportunity. The University of Western Australia has a Centre for Evolutionary Biology with several researchers whose research projects I would love to be a part of. For example, Associate Professor Cyril Grueter is pursuing the evolutionary basis of how different primate social groups interact with each other, and Dr. Stephania King behavioral biologist who is investigating the evolution of communication in bottlenose dolphins. It would be a life-changing opportunity to work with and learn from either of these researchers, as I plan on pursuing a research opportunity while I am abroad in Australia. The diversity of animals and habitats Australia offers provide a unique opportunity that I am excited to interact with in any capacity, including exploring its natural wonders in all of the national parks near

The results show that under selection factors and environmental differences natural selection determines which allele should become more common. In the control simulation the frequency of white alleles to brown alleles, once this mutation was added, was about the same amount. It was almost half white and half brown. In simulation two the environment was an equatorial climate such as a forest and wolves were used as the predatory influence. Once the predatory factor was introduced it can be seen that the alleles of white fur decreased and at the end of the simulation the allele was almost lost. Thus, brown fur alleles were naturally selected in the equatorial environment. The fur color blends in with the environment helping them become harder to find by predators. Whereas, for the white bunnies their phenotype stood out in an equatorial environment causing them to be caught easily. Hence, it can be said that the brown fur alleles had a higher fitness which is why their occurrence was greater and that the white allele was less fit leading to less offspring being produced. Consequently, this supports my hypothesis that the brown fur allele would have a higher frequency in the equatorial environment.

There are many differences present between species in the animal kingdom. There are also many variations of breeds, mutations within the same species, behavior, etc. Neil Shubin’s “Your Inner Fish” focuses on the similarities rather than differences of behaviors, variation in animal psychology, and morphology because of habitat. This book emphasizes three types of evidence. The first are the similarities between body parts of living creatures to compare common ancestry. The second are the indications from microbiology to also compare common ancestry. Finally, the details provided of the “missing link” between amphibians and fish.

A species’ long-term reproductive success is the most important factor when determining whether that species cooperatively breeds. Cooperative breeding is when an individual forgoes reproducing to assist offspring that are not their own (Hoogland 1983). Although there is an absence of direct fitness, individuals still gain genetics benefits through kin selection (Queller & Strassmann 1998). Kin selection allows some of the individual’s genes to pass on to the next generation by helping his or her relatives, who carry similar genes, to raise their young (Queller & Strassmann 1998). Individuals that help their kin raise their young, also known as helpers, perform tasks, like feed, groom, and watch the young. They also protect the territorial boundaries and alert other individuals of incoming threats (Jennions and MacDonald 1994). The best way to analyze the effectiveness of cooperative breeding is through a species’

Researchers found that both sea otters and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins use tools in the wild. For the dolphins, they decided that tool use is in their mitochondrial DNA, and it is inherited. Because of this, researchers wanted to find if it is inherited in sea otters too. Scientists studied the diet, tool use, and DNA of 197 wild sea otters off of the California coast. They discovered that the tool using sea otters do not share a similar mitochondrial DNA, and they are not closely related. This lead them to believe that sea otters use tools because their ancestors had to use them, and sea otters now only use tools when it is necessary for food. This new discovery impacts animals and the scientific world because the behavior of tool

1. Identify and define the mental processes that account for mistakes in identifying strangers. Also identify the circumstances that affect the accuracy of perceptions in identifying strangers.

The Australian Sea Lion (N. cinerea) is the only pinniped endemic to Australia (Ling 1992). Pinnipeds are highly social mammals and use vocalisations for mate selection, territory defence and mother-offspring communication (Charrier & Harcourt 2006). N. cinerea are colonial breeders, with mothers regularly leaving their pups to forage during lactation and exclusively feed their own offspring, showing high aggression to non-kin (Charrier & Harcourt 2006; Pitcher et al. 2009). A study conducted by McIntosh & Kennedy (2013), showed that 10% of pup mortality was caused by separation of mother and pup. Therefore mothers and pups must be able to recognise one another after separation intervals for success of the species.

A group of scientists decided to look into the conundrum to gain a better understanding of how the shift in environment of Aratus altered behaviors. As the distributions of species shift, the vegetative structures found in the environment alter special behaviors. Behavioral plasticity and adaptation of a species when introduced to a new environment are pertinent to the survival of newly

Turtles and Tortoises have existed millions of years since prehistoric days yet research conducted on their socialization and behavior appears scarce, despite their longevity. As research by Davis has summarized, “Turtles are little studied with respect to learning, cognition and social behavior in spite of being phylogenetically a central group” (Davis, Karen Pg. 12). Those owning these intriguing reptiles are interested in the culture known as Hobbyists of Chelonian or Terrapins. The discourse community culture relies upon accessible research information, and tends to gather a majority of their knowledge via online blogs or forums. We know so little about these fascinating creatures; possibly due to the fact they are perceived as slow and

The ability to recognize particular individuals becomes highly important when living in a social setting, for many Pinnipeds living in a collective group atmosphere this capability proves highly beneficial, especially for mothers. By merging numerous studies centered on vocal and kin recognition, as well as the evolutionary forces driving such a unique skill set and their impact on the fitness of the species in general, under a more critical lens, a better understanding of these social animals can be established. The following collection of research is divided into multiple subsets focusing on both the proximate and ultimate causes associated with individual recognition within the various families of Pinnipeds.

Fictive kin are people that have no blood or marriage relationship. Fictive kin purpose is to provide a kin responsibility and relationship to individuals. These new members are important because they help out to make the group stronger. This can be what the person stated on top by their skills and technique. It also can help to fill gap in kinship if there is a position that is empty the fictive kin can come in and play that role. One of the skill that they do have is that they are able to go around and talk to other people, making them kind of a middle ground for other group to interact. Also it is stated that Fictive kin since they have gone around and been more places can help to teach kinship groups social norms that will help them create

It can be pointed out as a social factor the complexity of the social group where a given species lives. Recently, it has been found evidence that supports the link between social complexity and transitive inference, which indicates that animals that show superior transitive reasoning are those who are highly social (Brannon et al., 2008). Transitive inference could be defined as “a form of deductive reasoning that allows one to derive a relation between items that have not been explicitly compared before” (Lazareva, 2012). To analyse the relation between transitive inference and social complexity, Brannon et al. (2008) use two laboratory experiments, which include two species of lemurs: ringtailed and mongoose lemurs. Ringtailed lemurs are highly social while mongoose lemurs are less social. Within the two experiments, Brannon et al. (2008) found that both species were capable of transitive inference, but ringtailed lemurs were more capable to detect the underlying linear order of an ordinal series. It means that the both species do not differ directly in their ability to make transitive inferences, but in their ability to detect the underlying linear order. So, according to Brannon et al. (2008), it suggests that the social complexity is important in order to detect and reason about the rank order of conspecifics, which are important to survive when animal lives in a complex social group with linear dominance