Ethology, foraging theory, ESS, mating systems, kin selection, biogeography.
Behavior And Behavioral Ecology
Optimal foraging theory
Behaviour maximising energy intake per unit time. MacArthur-Pianka 1966: choose prey by profitability ranking; marginal-value theorem…
Evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS)
Maynard Smith 1973: strategy that, once adopted by population, cannot be invaded by any rare alternative. Hawk-dove model, iterated…
Reciprocal altruism
Trivers 1971: altruistic behaviour evolves when recipients reciprocate, provided benefit > cost × discount factor. Tit-for-tat in iterated…
Mating system
Distribution of matings in a population: monogamy (social vs genetic), polygyny, polyandry, promiscuity. Shaped by operational sex ratio,…
Biogeography
Distribution of species in space + time. Wallace's line, island biogeography theory (MacArthur-Wilson 1967: equilibrium between immigration…
Inclusive fitness
Total reproductive success = direct (own offspring) + indirect (offspring of relatives, weighted by r). Unifies individual and kin…
Parent-offspring conflict
Trivers 1974: asymmetric relatedness (parent r=0.5 to each offspring; offspring r=1 to self) creates evolutionary tension over investment.…
Handicap principle
Zahavi 1975: costly signals are honest because only high-quality individuals can afford them. Explains peacock tail, stotting gazelles.…
Animal conflict game theory
Hawk-Dove game, payoff matrices, ESS proofs. Maynard Smith & Price 1973 brought economic game theory into ethology. Explains ritualised…
Tinbergen's four questions
Mechanism, ontogeny, function, phylogeny — the four complementary levels of behavioural explanation. Tinbergen 1963 organising framework…
Hamilton's rule kin selection
Hamilton 1964: altruistic act evolves iff rb > c where r = coefficient of relatedness, b = recipient benefit, c = actor cost…
Marginal value theorem (Charnov foraging)
Charnov 1976: optimal residence time in patch satisfies dG/dt|patch = G_avg/(τ + t). Predicts predator/forager leaves a depleting patch…
Hamilton rule (inclusive fitness)
Hamilton 1964: rb > c (relatedness * benefit > cost) condition for altruism evolution; foundation of kin-selection theory + sociobiology;…
Price equation (Price 1970)
Price 1970: w bar Delta z = Cov(w_i, z_i) + E(w_i Delta z_i); decomposes evolution into selection + transmission components; very general…
ESS stability (Maynard Smith extended)
Maynard Smith-Price 1973 extension: payoff-matrix-based evolutionary stability analysis; hawk-dove + chicken games; predicts polymorphic +…
Trivers reciprocal altruism
Trivers 1971: cooperation evolves between unrelated individuals via repeated-encounters + memory + retaliation; basis of…
Optimal foraging theory (Charnov MVT)
Charnov 1976 marginal-value-theorem: optimal patch-leaving when marginal-gain equals environmental average gain; predicts…
Animal cognition (Shettleworth)
Shettleworth 1998 / 2010: comparative-cognition framework; spatial-memory + numerical-cognition + tool-use + social-learning across taxa;…
Tinbergen four questions (1963)
N Tinbergen 1963 four-questions causation/development/function/evolution; modern modern foundational text + 2024 behavioral-ecology…
Hamilton rule (1964)
W D Hamilton 1964 inclusive-fitness rB > C; modern modern foundational + 2024 social-insect kin-selection 100k+ studies multi-level.
Reciprocal altruism (Trivers 1971)
R Trivers 1971 reciprocal-altruism + parent-offspring 1974; modern modern foundational text + 2024 game-theory iterated cooperation…
Marginal value (Charnov 1976)
E Charnov 1976 marginal-value-theorem; modern modern foundational text + 2024 tracker-foraging GPS-collar + ML-pattern-recognition.
Sexual selection (Darwin 1871)
C Darwin 1871 + Andersson 1994 sexual-selection; modern modern foundational text + 2024 Bateman + female-choice + sperm-competition genomic.
ESS (Maynard Smith 1973)
J Maynard Smith-G Price 1973 evolutionarily-stable-strategy; modern modern foundational text + 2024 game-theory bird-mating +…