My reading continues and is going fairly well. I only wish that the authors had chosen a more concise way of saying that sympatric speciation does not seem to be common in nature. 50 pages was a little tedious. I understand the need for specific examples, but the chapter gave far too [...]
Archive for October, 2007
Speciation Continued
Posted in Uncategorized on October 30, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Speciation
Posted in Uncategorized on October 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
This book is a lot more interesting than the brief intro I got to the concept in ZOO 1114. It’s fairly straightforward so far, talking about concepts and examples.
My best friend wrote a computer program that gives randomized tables on command. This was *very* useful for making my cave mollies table. [...]
Ch. 7 Animal Signals – Final
Posted in Uncategorized on October 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Signals in primates and other social animals
*Vervet Monkeys: a case studyd
-predator-specific alarm calls (cat, eagle, dangerous snake)
-different “adaptively appropriate responses” for each call: attack snake, run…
-also “minor predator” and “unfamiliar human” calls
-rules of human language stay the same, but words andd meanings change across populations and dialects — same [...]
Ch. 6 Animal Signals
Posted in Uncategorized on October 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Signals during contests:
Why are signals reliable when the contestants prefer different outcomes?
1.) signal is index either of fighting ability or need for contested resource – lying is impossible
2.) signal is handicap: risky to make and too costly for low-quality individual or one not in serious need of resource
3.) contestants have common [...]
