ZOO4513/Topic 16: The Evolution of Communication (Exam 3)

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Amotz Zahahvi

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Terms in this set (8)

a scientist who hypothesized that reliable signals will be favored in a population when the signal is costly to the sender e.g. the Handicap Principle of mate selection

ritualization (Ethologist Approach)

a phenomenon where incipient signals become more stereotyped and unambiguous in a population over evolutionary time

receiver-bias mechanisms (Comparative Psychologist Approach)

a behaviorist approach that focuses on the characteristics of receiver of the message (over the characteristics of the sender of the message)

intention movements

a behavior derived from locomotory movements

displacement activities

an activity that occurs when...
• occurs when an animal experiences high motivation for 2 or more conflicting behaviors: the resulting activity is usually unrelated to the competing motivations
• can also occur when the animals are prevented from performing a single behavior for which they are highly motivated
• involves actions that bring comfort to an animal such as scratching, drinking or feeding

emancipation

the process by which a ritualized signal has become freed from the external or internal factors that originally led to it

sensory exploitation

an hypothesis when a receiver has a preexisting bias for a particular stimulus and the sender's signal will evolve to exploit this bias e.g. sexual displays in swordtails

sensory drive

an hypothesis that suggests that the receiver's characteristics are shaped by the environment and that will affect signal evolution