All flashcards
Flashcard 1: Which option satisfies Hamilton’s rule: r=0.5, B=6, C=2?
Answer: Yes; rB=3 and 3>2. Hamilton's rule is satisfied: 0.5×6=3>2.
Flashcard 2: What is Hamilton’s rule for when altruism can evolve?
Answer: rB>C. Altruism evolves when relatedness times benefit exceeds cost.
Flashcard 3: What is grooming as cooperative behavior in many mammals?
Answer: Mutual cleaning that reduces parasites and strengthens social bonds. Partners remove parasites and maintain social relationships.
Flashcard 4: What is cooperative defense?
Answer: Group members coordinate to deter predators or rivals. Collective defense is more effective than individual protection.
Flashcard 5: What is a classic mutualism involving reef-building corals?
Answer: Corals and zooxanthellae algae exchange shelter for sugars. Algae photosynthesize inside coral tissue, providing mutual benefits.
Flashcard 6: What is a common example of eusocial cooperative behavior?
Answer: Worker bees helping the queen raise larvae. Workers sacrifice reproduction to enhance colony productivity.
Flashcard 7: What is policing in social insects?
Answer: Workers suppress or remove eggs laid by other workers. Workers prevent cheating by enforcing reproductive division of labor.
Flashcard 8: What is cooperative behavior in biology?
Answer: Behavior in which individuals work together to increase fitness. This defines cooperation as coordinated actions that enhance reproductive success.
Flashcard 9: What is group selection in the context of cooperation?
Answer: Selection favoring traits that benefit group success over individuals. Groups with more cooperators outcompete less cooperative groups.
Flashcard 10: What is sentinel behavior?
Answer: One individual watches for danger while others forage. Guards sacrifice feeding time to protect group from threats.
Flashcard 11: What is the cooperative benefit of schooling in fish?
Answer: Reduced individual predation risk and improved predator detection. Group living provides safety in numbers against predators.
Flashcard 12: What is the cooperative benefit of flocking in birds?
Answer: Improved vigilance and reduced per-capita predation risk. Flocking increases predator detection and confuses attackers.
Flashcard 13: What is the cooperative benefit of pack living in wolves?
Answer: More effective hunting and defense of territory. Group coordination enables successful hunting of large prey.
Flashcard 14: What is a classic mutualism involving reef-building corals?
Answer: Corals and zooxanthellae algae exchange shelter for sugars. Algae photosynthesize inside coral tissue, providing mutual benefits.
Flashcard 15: What is a classic mutualism involving legumes and bacteria?
Answer: Rhizobia fix nitrogen; legumes provide carbohydrates and habitat. Bacteria provide essential nutrients in exchange for housing.
Flashcard 16: What is a classic mutualism involving flowering plants and insects?
Answer: Pollination: insects get nectar; plants get pollen transfer. Both partners trade food resources for reproductive services.
Flashcard 17: What is a classic mutualism involving plants and fungi?
Answer: Mycorrhizae: fungi aid mineral uptake; plants provide sugars. Both partners exchange resources essential for growth.
Flashcard 18: What is symbiosis as a broad term related to cooperation?
Answer: A close, long-term interaction between different species. Long-term relationships between species can involve cooperation.
Flashcard 19: What is grooming as cooperative behavior in many mammals?
Answer: Mutual cleaning that reduces parasites and strengthens social bonds. Partners remove parasites and maintain social relationships.
Flashcard 20: What is food sharing as cooperative behavior?
Answer: An individual provides food to another, increasing recipient survival. Donor sacrifices resources to improve another's nutritional status.
Flashcard 21: What is an alarm call as cooperative behavior?
Answer: A warning signal that reduces predation risk for others. Caller risks exposure but protects group members from predators.
Flashcard 22: What is a cheater in a cooperative system?
Answer: An individual that gains benefits without paying cooperation costs. Free-riders exploit cooperation without contributing to the system.
Flashcard 23: What is tit-for-tat as a cooperation strategy?
Answer: Start cooperative, then copy the partner’s previous action. Reciprocal strategy that rewards cooperation and punishes defection.
Flashcard 24: What is the prisoner’s dilemma used to model in biology?
Answer: The tension between cooperation benefits and incentives to defect. Models conflict between mutual benefit and individual advantage.
Flashcard 25: What is the key feature that distinguishes cooperation from coincidence?
Answer: A partner’s action increases another individual’s fitness. The action must actively improve another's survival or reproduction.
Flashcard 26: What is mutualism as a type of cooperative interaction?
Answer: Both species benefit from the interaction. Both partners gain reproductive advantages from the interaction.
Flashcard 27: What is indirect reciprocity?
Answer: Help given based on reputation; helper gains future help from others. Helpers gain reputation and receive future help from third parties.
Flashcard 28: What is direct reciprocity?
Answer: Help given to an individual who later helps the same helper. The same individual who was helped later returns the favor.
Flashcard 29: What is reciprocal altruism?
Answer: Helping that is favored when help is later returned. Cooperation persists because helpers eventually receive help back.
Flashcard 30: In Hamilton’s rule, what does C represent?
Answer: Fitness cost to the actor. The reproductive sacrifice made by the helping individual.