Species
Individuals that are capable of interbreeding and producing viable, fertile offspring
Comparative genomics
Studies that compare the genome sequence of different species to better understand the structural and functional similarities and differences in their genes and the evolutionary relationships among species
Hierarchy
A pecking order, usually established through direct contests
Agonist
Aggressive or submissive interactions between females and males
Egalitarian
The absence of hierarchy, or pecking order; access to resources is more likely to be determined by who gets to them first than by any other attributes of individuals
Natal group
The group into which an individual is born
Affiliative bonds
Strong associations among individuals, usually manifested by higher rates of proximity and nonaggressive social interactions
Patrilines
Related to one another through paternal descent
Phylogeny
Evolutionary relationships of species go one another
Ultimate
The adaptive significance of a trait
Function
The purpose a trait serves in increasing an individual’s fitness
Proximate
The neural and physiological mechanisms that regulate behaviour (what)
Ontogenetic
The processes and mechanisms involved in development (when)
Ethnographic
An approach that involves the description of cultures, human, or otherwise
Habituated
The point at which animals cease to alter their behaviour in the presence of human observers
Ethograms
The repertory of behaviours exhibited by a species
Grooming
The removal of dirt or other objects from the skin or fur, which may be performed by another individual (allogrooming) or by one’s self; allogrooming is considered to be a social activity
Social system
- the set of conspecific animals that interact regularly and more so with each other than with members of other social units
(Solitary, pair bonded, UM- MF etc)
Mating unit or mating system
The individuals that mate within a social unit
- monogamous, polygamous, polyandrous, polygynous
Social structure
- the pattern of social interactions and resulting relationships within the social unit
- sociogram
- matrilineal patrilineal
Social organization
The size, sexual composition, and spatiotemporal cohesion of a social unit
- group size, operational sex ratio, cohesive fusion fusion, or neighbourhoods
- multi- level societies
Why operational sex ratios varies in a group:
1) age at which males reach sexual maturity
2) time individuals spend outside a reproductive unit: male transfer sometimes involved time being solitary or in all- male groups
3) male- male competition leads to higher male mortality
Extra group compilations
- females in pair bonded, uni and multi male groups mate with extra group males leading to extra group paternities if some offspring
Cohesive groups
Stay together all the time
- animals feed: forage together
- no change in group membership to sleep or throughout the day
- do not form larger mega- groups or communities
