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Alloparenting
Alloparenting (or alloparental care) is a term for any form of parental care provided by an individual towards young that are not its own direct offspring. These are often called "non-descendant" young, even though grandchildren can be among them. Among humans, alloparenting is often performed by a child's grandparents and older siblings. Individuals providing this care are called by the neutral term "alloparent" (or "helper"). Alloparental care encapsulates a diverse range of parenting systems across a range of animal groups and social structures. The alloparent–young relationship can be mutualistic or parasitic, and between or within species. Cooperative breeding, joint brood care, reciprocal allonursing, brood parasitism and cuckoldry represent situations in which alloparenting plays a role. This form of parenting is often seen among humans. However, it is not as popular among other species. Alloparenting is rare among classes of animals such as birds and mammals, with only ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parental Care
Parental care is a behavioural and evolutionary strategy adopted by some animals, involving a parental investment being made to the evolutionary fitness of offspring. Patterns of parental care are widespread and highly diverse across the animal kingdom.Kokko, H. & Jennions, M.D. (2008) Parental investment, sexual selection and sex ratios. ''Journal of Evolutionary Biology,'' 21, pp.919–948. There is great variation in different animal groups in terms of how parents care for offspring, and the amount of resources invested by parents. For example, there may be considerable variation in the amount of care invested by each sex, where females may invest more in some species, males invest more in others, or investment may be shared equally. Numerous hypotheses have been proposed to describe this variation and patterns in parental care that exist between the sexes, as well as among species.Gonzalez-Voyer, A. and Kolm, N. (2010). Parental Care and Investment. ''Encyclopedia of Life Scie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cooperative Breeding
Cooperative breeding is a social system characterized by alloparental care: offspring receive care not only from their parents, but also from additional group members, often called helpers. Cooperative breeding encompasses a wide variety of group structures, from a breeding pair with helpers that are offspring from a previous season, to groups with multiple breeding males and females ( polygynandry) and helpers that are the adult offspring of some but not all of the breeders in the group, to groups in which helpers sometimes achieve co-breeding status by producing their own offspring as part of the group's brood. Cooperative breeding occurs across taxonomic groups including birds, mammals, fish, and insects. Costs for helpers include a fitness reduction, increased territory defense, offspring guarding and an increased cost of growth. Benefits for helpers include a reduced chance of predation, increased foraging time, territory inheritance, increased environmental conditions and an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vervet Monkey With Young
The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus ''Chlorocebus''. The five distinct subspecies can be found mostly throughout Southern Africa, as well as some of the eastern countries. These mostly herbivorous monkeys have black faces and grey body hair color, ranging in body length from about for females, to about for males. In addition to behavioral research on natural populations, vervet monkeys serve as a nonhuman primate model for understanding genetic and social behaviors of humans. They have been noted for having human-like characteristics, such as hypertension, anxiety, and social and dependent alcohol use. Vervets live in social groups ranging from 10 to 70 individuals, with males moving to other groups at the time of sexual maturity. Studies done on vervet monkeys involve their communication and alarm calls, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reed Warbler Cuckoo
Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (other) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Reed reaction, in chemistry * Reed receiver, an outdated form of multi-channel signal decoding * Reed relay, one or more reed switches controlled by an electromagnet * Reed switch, an electrical switch operated by an applied magnetic field * Reed valve, restricts the flow of fluids to a single direction * Reed (weaving), a comb like tool for beating the weft when weaving * Reed's law, describes the utility of large networks, particularly social networks * Reed–Solomon error correction, a systematic way of building codes that can be used to detect and correct multiple random symbol errors * Reed–Sternberg cell, related to Hodgkin's disease Organizations * Reed (company), offering employment-related services (UK) * Reed and Stem, fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sperm Whales
The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus '' Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale superfamily Physeteroidea, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus '' Kogia''. The sperm whale is a pelagic mammal with a worldwide range, and will migrate seasonally for feeding and breeding. Females and young males live together in groups, while mature males (bulls) live solitary lives outside of the mating season. The females cooperate to protect and nurse their young. Females give birth every four to twenty years, and care for the calves for more than a decade. A mature, healthy sperm whale has no natural predators, although calves and weakened adults are sometimes killed by pods of killer whales (orcas). Mature males average in length, with the head representing up to one-third of the animal's length. Plungin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Langurs
The Colobinae or leaf-eating monkeys are a family (biology), subfamily of the Old World monkey family that includes 61 species in 11 genus, genera, including the black-and-white colobus, the large-nosed proboscis monkey, and the gray langurs. Some classifications split the colobine monkeys into two tribes, while others split them into three groups. Both classifications put the three African genera ''Black-and-white colobus, Colobus'', ''Red colobus, Piliocolobus'', and ''Olive colobus, Procolobus'' in one group; these genera are distinct in that they have stub thumbs (Greek κολοβός ''kolobós'' = "docked"). The various Asian genera are placed into another one or two groups. Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA confirms the Asian species form two distinct groups, one of langurs and the other of the "odd-nosed" species, but are inconsistent as to the relationships of the gray langurs; some studies suggest that the gray langurs are not closely related to either of these groups ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhesus Macaques
The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally brown or grey in colour, it is in length with a tail and weighs . It is native to South, Central, and Southeast Asia and has the widest geographic range of all non-human primates, occupying a great diversity of altitudes and habitats. The rhesus macaque is diurnal, arboreal, and terrestrial. It is mostly herbivorous, feeding mainly on fruit, but also eating seeds, roots, buds, bark, and cereals. Rhesus macaques living in cities also eat human food and trash. They are gregarious, with troops comprising 20–200 individuals. The social groups are matrilineal. Individuals communicate with a variety of facial expressions, vocalisations, body postures, and gestures. As a result of the rhesus macaque's relatively easy upkeep, wide availability, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vervet
The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus ''Chlorocebus''. The five distinct subspecies can be found mostly throughout Southern Africa, as well as some of the eastern countries. These mostly herbivorous monkeys have black faces and grey body hair color, ranging in body length from about for females, to about for males. In addition to behavioral research on natural populations, vervet monkeys serve as a nonhuman primate model for understanding genetic and social behaviors of humans. They have been noted for having human-like characteristics, such as hypertension, anxiety, and social and dependent alcohol use. Vervets live in social groups ranging from 10 to 70 individuals, with males moving to other groups at the time of sexual maturity. Studies done on vervet monkeys involve their communication and alarm calls, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ring-tailed Lemur
The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a medium- to larger-sized strepsirrhine (wet-nosed) primate and the most internationally recognized lemur species, owing to its long, black-and-white, ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' genus. Like all lemurs, it is endemic to the island of Madagascar, where it is endangered. Known locally in Malagasy as ' (, spelled ' in French) or ', it ranges from gallery forests to spiny scrub in the southern regions of the island. It is omnivorous, as well as the most adapted to living terrestrially of the extant lemurs. The ring-tailed lemur is highly social, living in groups—known as "troops"—of up to 30 individuals. It is also a female-dominant species, a commonality among lemurs. To keep warm and reaffirm social bonds, groups will huddle together. Mutual grooming is another vital aspect of lemur socialization (as with all primates), reaffirming social and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vampire Bats
Vampire bats, members of the subfamily Desmodontinae, are leaf-nosed bats currently found in Central and South America. Their food source is the blood of other animals, a dietary trait called hematophagy. Three extant bat species feed solely on blood: the common vampire bat (''Desmodus rotundus''), the hairy-legged vampire bat (''Diphylla ecaudata''), and the white-winged vampire bat (''Diaemus youngi''). Two extinct species of the genus ''Desmodus'' have been found in North America. Taxonomy Due to differences among the three species, each has been placed within a different genus, each consisting of one extant species. In the older literature, these three genera were placed within a family of their own, Desmodontidae, but taxonomists have now grouped them as a subfamily, Desmodontinae, in the New World leaf-nosed bat family, Phyllostomidae. The three known species of vampire bats all seem more similar to one another than to any other species. This suggests that hematophagy ev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reciprocal Altruism
In evolutionary biology, reciprocal altruism is a behaviour whereby an organism acts in a manner that temporarily reduces its fitness while increasing another organism's fitness, with the expectation that the other organism will act in a similar manner at a later time. The concept was initially developed by Robert Trivers to explain the evolution of cooperation as instances of mutually altruistic acts. The concept is close to the strategy of " tit for tat" used in game theory. In 1987, Trivers presented at a symposium on reciprocity, noting that he initially titled his article "The Evolution of Delayed Return Altruism," but reviewer W. D. Hamilton suggested renaming it "The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism." While Trivers adopted the new title, he retained the original examples, causing confusion about reciprocal altruism for decades. Rothstein and Pierotti (1988) addressed this issue at the symposium, proposing new definitions that clarified the concepts. They argued that Delayed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Wild Dogs
The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called painted dog and Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lycaon'', which is distinguished from ''Canis'' by dentition highly specialised for a hypercarnivorous diet and by a lack of dewclaws. It is estimated that there are around 6,600 adults (including 1,400 mature individuals) living in 39 subpopulations, all threatened by habitat fragmentation, human persecution and outbreaks of disease. As the largest subpopulation probably consists of fewer than 250 individuals, the African wild dog has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1990. The African wild dog is a specialized hunter of terrestrial ungulates, mostly hunting at dawn and dusk, but also displays diurnal activity. It captures its prey by using stamina and cooperative hunting to exhaust them. Its natural competitors are lions and spotted hyenas: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
