摘要:

The study of behavioral evolution is often traced back to two of the original ethologists, Charles Otis Whitman and Oskar Heinroth. In this review I argue that Whitman and Heinroth, in their most commonly cited works, emphasized very different aspects of the problem of behavioral evolution. In particular Whitman discussed the phylogenetic origins of behavior, and addressed such issues as common ancestry, character transformation, and character polarity. This work anticipated the current study of what could be called ”historical ethology”. By contrast, Heinroth studied behavioral function; he asked how environmental or social factors might influence the evolution of behavior, and he asked how variation in such factors might explain behavioral differences among different taxa. I argue that Heinroth anticipated, to a certain extent, the field of behavioral ecology, and in particular the discussion of adaptive costs and benefits in behavioral biology. The distinction between the work of Whitman and Heinroth, and indeed between the fields of historical ethology and behavioral ecology, corresponds to a general distinction between “historical” and “equilibrium” factors in explaining the process of behavioral evolution.

ISSN:0394-9370    

DOI:10.1080/08927014.1994.9522972

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1994

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Adolescent animals are expected to take advantage of mating opportunities, but should expend less reproductive effort than older individuals. We observed aggressive behaviour of free-ranging male wood bison and compared it to behaviour observed in two captive populations, in one of which mature bulls were removed. During the peak of the rut, old free-ranging bulls initiated a higher proportion of their aggressive interactions and engaged in fights more often than younger bulls. During the late-rut, older bulls decreased their involvement in fighting and they interacted relatively more often with younger bulls than during the peak of the rut. However, younger bulls did not fight more than during the peak rut. In captivity, subadults were involved more often in aggressive interactions when mature bulls were removed, but they decreased their rate of aggression earlier than subadults in the presence of mature bulls. However, the involvement in fighting among subadults was not affected by the presence of mature bulls: subadults in both populations fought less than mature bulls. We conclude that the willingness of bulls to risk injury in fights increases with age and is unaffected by the social environment. This finding suggests an increase in reproductive effort with age. However, younger bulls take advantage of mating opportunities by adapting those behaviours to the social environment, which do not compromise future reproduction. Adolescent bulls may therefore adopt alternative mating strategies which reflect the age structure of the population.

ISSN:0394-9370    

DOI:10.1080/08927014.1994.9522973

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1994

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

This paper provides the first description of the courtship behaviour of the plethodontid salamanderDesmognathus apalachicolae. After a brief phase of orientation of the male to the female, most courtship interactions consist of the male stimulating his partner (in effect, “persuading” her to mate). Tactile stimuli are produced by the behaviour patterns “head-rubbing” and “stroking”. Chemical stimuli are provided by secretions from the male's mental (= chin) gland, which are transferred to the female by the behaviour patterns “snapping” and “pulling”. Courtship ends with indirect sperm transfer by means of a spermatophore deposited on the substrate. This phase is marked by a behaviour pattern known as “tail-straddle walk”, exhibited only by plethodontid salamanders. A complete understanding of the evolution of courtship behaviour in desmognathine salamanders awaits availability of detailed ethograms for all taxa currently recognized. However, it appears that patterns of sexual incompatibility observed among populations ofD. apalachicolaeandD. ochrophaeusmay be explained, at least in part, on the basis of similarities and differences in certain courtship behaviour patterns.

ISSN:0394-9370    

DOI:10.1080/08927014.1994.9522974

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1994

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The combination of polygyny and natural queenlessness is uncommon in ants. The ponerine antLeptogenys schwabiForel 1913 has no morphologically or anatomically distinct reproductive castes and several mated workers in each colony, providing a model for the study of the effect(s) of polygyny on the social organization of a naturally queenless species of ponerine ant.L. schwabialso presents a case of queenlessness that is useful in comparative evolutionary studies of natural queenlessness because it is phylogenetically independent of previously- studied examples.

ISSN:0394-9370    

DOI:10.1080/08927014.1994.9522975

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1994

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The direction recorder — a recently developed device — can be strapped to the back of a homing pigeon in order to sample and record the direction toward which it is heading, thus allowing the reconstruction of the whole flight path between the release and recovery site.

ISSN:0394-9370    

DOI:10.1080/08927014.1994.9522976

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1994

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Two strains ofDictyostelium discoideum(NC-4H and HPS104), grown in mixed culture, on a low dextrose medium, exhibited evidence of behavior that was sensitive to patterns of relatedness. Differences in fruiting body architecture and spore capsule composition revealed that the strain NC-4H acted more selfishly than when grown in pure culture. This was indicated by the larger spore capsule diameter and a shorter stalk in the mixed culture. Counts of the morphologically distinguishable spores in the spore capsules showed that NC-4H predominated, leaving HPS104 to act altruistically and sacrifice itself to form the stalk.

ISSN:0394-9370    

DOI:10.1080/08927014.1994.9522977

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1994

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Burying beetles,Nicrophorusspp., bury small carcasses as food for their young. Both males and females provide extensive parental care and the major advantage of paternal assistance is to reduce the probability that the carcass will be usurped by a conspecific competitor and the brood killed. Whereas male assistance inN. defodienssignificantly reduces the probability of usurpation by a conspecific, it is ineffective against larger congeneric intruders. Male N. defodiens provide shorter parental care than do males of the larger,N. orbicollis, whose assistance is effective against all burying beetles in preventing usurpation.

ISSN:0394-9370    

DOI:10.1080/08927014.1994.9522978

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1994

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

In the toadBufo buforeproductive activity took place within a few weeks in early spring: males were sexually active when entering and staying in the breeding pond and did not exibit any sexual behaviour when leaving.

ISSN:0394-9370    

DOI:10.1080/08927014.1994.9522979

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1994

数据来源: Taylor