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Behavioral Ecology
Behavioral ecology, also spelled behavioural ecology, is the study of the evolutionary basis for animal behavior due to ecological pressures. Behavioral ecology emerged from ethology after Niko Tinbergen outlined four questions to address when studying animal behaviors: What are the proximate causes, ontogeny, survival value, and phylogeny of a behavior? If an organism has a trait that provides a selective advantage (i.e., has adaptive significance) in its environment, then natural selection favors it. Adaptive significance refers to the expression of a trait that affects fitness, measured by an individual's reproductive success. Adaptive traits are those that produce more copies of the individual's genes in future generations. Maladaptive traits are those that leave fewer. For example, if a bird that can call more loudly attracts more mates, then a loud call is an adaptive trait for that species because a louder bird mates more frequently than less loud birds—thus sending mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kleptothermy
In biology, kleptothermy is any form of thermoregulation by which an animal shares in the metabolic thermogenesis of another animal. It may or may not be reciprocal, and occurs in both endotherms and ectotherms. One of its forms is huddling. However, kleptothermy can happen between different species that share the same habitat, and can also happen in pre-hatching life where embryos are able to detect thermal changes in the environment. This process requires two major conditions: the thermal heterogeneity created by the presence of a warm organism in a cool environment in addition to the use of that heterogeneity by another animal to maintain body temperatures at higher (and more stable) levels than would be possible elsewhere in the local area. The purpose of this behaviour is to enable these groups to increase its Volumetric heat capacity, thermal inertia, retard heat loss and/or reduce the per capita metabolic expenditure needed to maintain stable body temperatures. Kleptotherm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Competition
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individuals, economic and social groups, etc. The rivalry can be over attainment of any exclusive goal, including Recognition (sociology), recognition: Competition occurs in nature, between living organisms which co-exist in the same natural environment, environment. Animals compete over water supplies, food, mates, and other resource (biology), biological resources. Humans usually Survival of the fittest, compete for food and mates, though when these needs are met deep rivalries often arise over the pursuit of wealth, power, prestige, and celebrity, fame when in a static, repetitive, or unchanging environment. Competition is a major tenet of market economy, market economies and business, often associated with business competition as companies a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three-spined Stickleback
The three-spined stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') is a fish native to most inland and coastal waters north of 30°N. It has long been a subject of scientific study for many reasons. It shows great morphological variation throughout its range, ideal for questions about evolution and population genetics. Many populations are anadromous (they live in seawater but breed in fresh or brackish water) and very tolerant of changes in salinity, a subject of interest to physiologists. It displays elaborate breeding behavior (defending a territory, building a nest, taking care of the eggs and fry) and it can be social (living in shoals outside the breeding season) making it a popular subject of inquiry in fish ethology and behavioral ecology. Its antipredator adaptations, host-parasite interactions, sensory physiology, reproductive physiology, and endocrinology have also been much studied. Facilitating these studies is the fact that the three-spined stickleback is easy to find in natur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Wagtail
The white wagtail (''Motacilla alba'') is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws. The species breeds in much of Europe and the Asian Palearctic and parts of North Africa. It has a toehold in Alaska as a scarce breeder. It is resident in the mildest parts of its range, but otherwise migrates to Africa. In Ireland and Great Britain, the darker subspecies, the pied wagtail or water wagtail (''M. a. yarrellii'') predominates; this is also called in Ireland willie wagtail, not to be confused with the Australian species ''Rhipidura leucophrys'' which bears the same common name. In total, there are between 9 and 11 subspecies of ''M. alba''. The white wagtail is an insectivorous bird of open country, often near habitation and water. It prefers bare areas for feeding, where it can see and pursue its prey. In urban areas it has adapted to foraging on paved areas such as car parks. It nests in crevices in stone walls and similar natura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden-winged Sunbird
The golden-winged sunbird (''Drepanorhynchus reichenowi'') is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. Three subspecies are recognised. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Description The male golden-winged sunbird is about 9 in (23 cm) long and the female is about 6 in (15 cm) long, the male having long central tail feathers. Yellow-edged feathers in the wings and tail are key identification pointers in all plumages of both the male and female. Body feathers of the male in breeding condition are a conspicuous metallic reddish-copper colour, which are mostly replaced by dull-black feathers in the non-breeding condition. The underparts of the male are brownish-black. The female is olive above and yellowish below. Immature are similar to females, except their underparts are darker. Taxonomy German naturalist Gustav Fischer described the golden-winged sunbird in 1884, its species name honouring Anton Reichenow. It is classi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wilson Bulletin
''The Wilson Journal of Ornithology'' (until 2006 ''The Wilson Bulletin'') is a quarterly scientific journal published by the Wilson Ornithological Society. Both the society and its journal were named after American ornithologist Alexander Wilson. See also *List of ornithology journals The following is a list of journals and magazines relating to birding and ornithology. The continent and country columns give the location where the journal or magazine is published and may not correspond with its scope or content. See also * ... External links * BioOne''The Wilson Bulletin'' Vol. 112-117 (2000–2005); free HTML abstracts, subscription required for PDF fulltexts. * BioOne''The Wilson Journal of Ornithology'' Vol. 118 (2006) onwards; free HTML abstracts, subscription required for PDF fulltexts. * SORA''The Wilson Bulletin'' Vol. 1-111 (1889–1999) free PDF/DejaVu fulltexts. Journals and magazines relating to birding and ornithology {{zoo-journal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Territorial Behavior
In ethology, territory is the sociographical area that an animal consistently defends against conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against animals of other species) using agonistic behaviors or (less commonly) real physical aggression. Animals that actively defend territories in this way are referred to as being territorial or displaying territorialism. Territoriality is only shown by a minority of species. More commonly, an individual or a group of animals occupies an area that it habitually uses but does not necessarily defend; this is called its home range. The home ranges of different groups of animals often overlap, and in these overlap areas the groups tend to avoid each other rather than seeking to confront and expel each other. Within the home range there may be a ''core area'' that no other individual group uses, but, again, this is as a result of avoidance. Function The ultimate function of animals inhabiting and defending a territory is to increase the indiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Bee
The East African lowland honey bee (''Apis mellifera scutellata'') is a subspecies of the western honey bee. It is native to central, southern and eastern Africa, though at the southern extreme it is replaced by the Cape honey bee (''Apis mellifera capensis''). This subspecies has been determined to constitute one part of the ancestry of the Africanized bees (also known as "killer bees") spreading through North and South America. The introduction of the Cape honey bee into northern South Africa poses a threat to East African lowland honey bees. If a female worker from a Cape honey bee colony enters an East African lowland honey bee nest, she is not attacked, partly due to her resemblance to the East African lowland honey bee queen. As she is capable of parthenogenetic reproduction, she may begin laying eggs which hatch as "clones" of herself, which will also lay eggs, causing the parasitic ''A. m. capensis'' workers to increase in number. The death of the host colony results fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frequency Dependent Selection
Frequency-dependent selection is an evolutionary process by which the fitness of a phenotype or genotype depends on the phenotype or genotype composition of a given population. * In positive frequency-dependent selection, the fitness of a phenotype or genotype increases as it becomes more common. * In negative frequency-dependent selection, the fitness of a phenotype or genotype decreases as it becomes more common. This is an example of balancing selection. * More generally, frequency-dependent selection includes when biological interactions make an individual's fitness depend on the frequencies of other phenotypes or genotypes in the population. Frequency-dependent selection is usually the result of interactions between species (predation, parasitism, or competition), or between genotypes within species (usually competitive or symbiotic), and has been especially frequently discussed with relation to anti-predator adaptations. Frequency-dependent selection can lead to polymorphic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strategy (game Theory)
In game theory, a player's strategy is any of the options which they choose in a setting where the outcome depends ''not only'' on their own actions ''but'' on the actions of others. The discipline mainly concerns the action of a player in a game affecting the behavior or actions of other players. Some examples of "games" include chess, bridge, poker, monopoly, diplomacy or battleship. A player's strategy will determine the action which the player will take at any stage of the game. In studying game theory, economists enlist a more rational lens in analyzing decisions rather than the psychological or sociological perspectives taken when analyzing relationships between decisions of two or more parties in different disciplines. The strategy concept is sometimes (wrongly) confused with that of a move. A move is an action taken by a player at some point during the play of a game (e.g., in chess, moving white's Bishop a2 to b3). A strategy on the other hand is a complete algorithm for p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolutionary Game Theory
Evolutionary game theory (EGT) is the application of game theory to evolving populations in biology. It defines a framework of contests, strategies, and analytics into which Darwinian competition can be modelled. It originated in 1973 with John Maynard Smith and George R. Price's formalisation of contests, analysed as strategies, and the mathematical criteria that can be used to predict the results of competing strategies. Evolutionary game theory differs from classical game theory in focusing more on the dynamics of strategy change. This is influenced by the frequency of the competing strategies in the population. Evolutionary game theory has helped to explain the basis of altruistic behaviours in Darwinian evolution. It has in turn become of interest to economists, sociologists, anthropologists, and philosophers. History Classical game theory Classical non-cooperative game theory was conceived by John von Neumann to determine optimal strategies in competitions between adversa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nash Equilibrium
In game theory, the Nash equilibrium, named after the mathematician John Nash, is the most common way to define the solution of a non-cooperative game involving two or more players. In a Nash equilibrium, each player is assumed to know the equilibrium strategies of the other players, and no one has anything to gain by changing only one's own strategy. The principle of Nash equilibrium dates back to the time of Cournot, who in 1838 applied it to competing firms choosing outputs. If each player has chosen a strategy an action plan based on what has happened so far in the game and no one can increase one's own expected payoff by changing one's strategy while the other players keep their's unchanged, then the current set of strategy choices constitutes a Nash equilibrium. If two players Alice and Bob choose strategies A and B, (A, B) is a Nash equilibrium if Alice has no other strategy available that does better than A at maximizing her payoff in response to Bob choosing B, and Bob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
