BI308 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Railways Act 1921, Coevolution, Ground Squirrel
Document Summary
Avoiding predators and finding food: all animals are under risk of predation, therefore, predation risk = major selective force, all animals = potentially prey. Anti-predator adaptations: camouflage, grouping (herds, flocks, alarm calling, mobbing (attacking, refuging (hiding, decreased activity, becoming nocturnal. Dealing with predators: diversity of anti-predator strategies, strategy depends on lifestyle, ecology, habitat, behaviour interacts with morphology, colour, physiology. Alarm calling: unique sound made when predator is around, where would you expect alarm calling? ie. ground squirrel = ultrasonic call, not in solitary animals, group living animals, open habitats, not in complex habitats. Mobbing: attack animals/predator to get it to go away (protect eggs/food, seen often in birds that nest in colonies. Is mobbing an anti-predator adaptation: evolved to decrease predation on test, mobbing increased when predator closer, eggs close to colony = predators shooed away, benefits = egg survival, costs = energy, time, injury.
