Deck 9: Kinship

Question 1

The coefficient of relatedness (r) calculates:

A) the absolute number of genes shared by any two individuals.
B) differences in the proportion of genes shared by siblings versus cousins.
C) the likelihood that certain offspring were sired by a particular male.
D) the probability that any two individuals share genes that are identical by descent.
E) the overall contribution of kinship to the emergence of certain behavioral patterns.

Answer 1

the probability that any two individuals share genes that are identical by descent.

Question 2

Rule-of-thumb models of kin recognition rely on which of the following?

A) utilizing major histocompatibility complex (MHC) similarity
B) matching against a template that would indicate kin vs. nonkin
C) evaluating genetic similarity through visual cues
D) treating individuals like kin as long as they live in your nest or territory
E) determining kin based on an acceptance/rejection threshold

Answer 2

treating individuals like kin as long as they live in your nest or territory

Question 3

Haplodiploid genetic systems have which of the following characteristics?

A) Females are diploid; males are haploid.
B) Sisters and brothers are related to one another by an average coefficient of relatedness of r = 0.375.
C) Only the queen is diploid; worker females and males are haploid.
D) Sisters are related to one another by an average coefficient of relatedness of r = 0.75.
E) a and d

Answer 3

a and d

Question 4

Hamilton's rule states that a gene that codes for assisting others will increase in frequency when:

A) $\left(\sum^A_1 rb\right)+c>0$
B) $\left(\sum^A_1 rb\right)- c>0$
C) $\left(\sum^A_1 rc\right)+b>0$
D) $\left(\sum^A_1 rb\right)- c<0$
E) $\left(\sum^A_1 r\right)- bc<0$

Question 5

The building blocks for Emlen's predictions of family dynamics are:

A) ecological constraints theory, Mendelian genetics, and kin recognition theory.
B) sexual selection theory, natural selection theory, and kin selection theory.
C) reproductive skew theory, kin recognition theory, and runaway selection theory.
D) natural selection theory, individual learning, and cultural transmission.
E) kin selection theory, ecological constraints theory, and reproductive skew theory.

Question 6

Eusociality in bees should be associated with:

A) limited polyandry.
B) extensive polyandry.
C) monandry.
D) promiscuity.
E) monogamy.

Question 7

Which of the following statements regarding Haig's theory of in-utero parentoffspring conflict is true?

A) Maternal genes should be selected to transfer as many nutrients to the fetus as it requires.
B) Hormones produced by the placenta manipulate the in-utero environment in ways that benefit the fetus at a cost to the mother.
C) Fetal-derived cells cannot invade the maternal endometrium during implantation.
D) Selection will not favor maternal genes that code for resisting invasion of the endometrium by fetal-derived tissues.
E) Fetal genes should be selected to respect the maternal optimum for nutrient transfer to preserve the mother's future reproductive success.

Question 8

The coefficient of relatedness between first cousins is

A) 0.500.
B) 0.100.
C) 0.250.
D) 0.125.
E) 0.333.

Question 9

Which of the following statements does NOT relate to sibling rivalry in egret chicks?

A) Eggs hatch asynchronously.
B) Successful acquisition of a regurgitated food bolus depends on a chick's vertical positioning in the nest.
C) First-hatched chicks are competitively inferior to second-hatched chicks.
D) Age-related dominance hierarchies exist among chicks.
E) Larger chicks obtain significantly more food than smaller chicks.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a prediction of Emlen's evolutionary theory of the family model?

A) Help with rearing offspring should not be the norm.
B) Help will be expressed to the greatest extent between closest genetic relatives.
C) Family members will reduce their investment in future offspring after a parent finds a new mate.
D) Increasing symmetry of kinship will lead to increased sharing of reproduction.
E) Stepparents will invest less in existing offspring than will biological parents.

Question 11

As you become more familiar with the literature in behavioral ecology, you will encounter the terms "individual fitness" and "inclusive fitness" with increasing frequency. What is the primary difference between individual and inclusive fitness?

Question 12

Describe the parameters "r," "b," and "c" that comprise Hamilton's rule. With respect to each of these parameters, devise a scenario where increased helping behavior might be favored. For instance, think about situations where "b" and "c" are held constant but "r" fluctuates-what types of changes in "r" might promote helping (conduct the same mental exercise for "b" and "c")?

Question 13

What is the difference between haploid, diploid, and haplodiploid genetic systems? With this difference in mind, describe why females are related to sisters by a coefficient of r = 0.75 and to brothers by a coefficient of r = 0.25 in haplodiploid systems. Based on what you learned in this chapter, what kinds of consequences could differences in relatedness have for colony dynamics in haplodiploid systems? For example, how might relatedness influence the distribution of reproductive opportunity, aggression, and cooperation?

Question 14

In this chapter, you were introduced to optimal skew models as they apply to the partitioning of reproduction amongst members of a group. Obtain a copy of Clutton-Brock's (1998) review of reproductive skew entitled "Reproductive Skew, Concessions, and Limited Control" (Trends in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 13, pp. 288-292); and Clutton-Brock and colleagues' (2001) paper, "Cooperation, Concession, and Control in Meerkat Groups" (Science, vol. 291, pp. 478-481). What is the distinction between limited control and optimal models of reproductive skew? Develop an experimental strategy complete with controls that you think will discriminate between these two models in cooperatively breeding animals.

Question 15

Develop a scenario for how internal matching templates for kin recognition could be generated by genetic mechanisms, learning, and social learning. Also, based on your readings for Discussion Question 2 in Chapter 5, how might Darwinian algorithms relate to the development of kin recognition templates?

Question 16

Read the paper by Patterson and colleagues (2008) titled "Embryo Retrieval and Kin Recognition in an Amphipod (Crustacea)" (Animal Behaviour, vol. 76, pp. 717-722). What are your initial thoughts on whether tiny crustaceans have the capacity to recognize kin or engage in maternal care behavior? Given the results of this study, do you suspect that the kin recognition mechanisms in amphipods are highly stringent or relaxed? Develop some hypotheses regarding selection pressures that might underlie the rigidity of kin recognition mechanisms in these small crustaceans.