NCSU Course ZO410 Lecture:
Social Systems

Society - Group of individuals of same species that are organized in cooperative manner extending beyond sexual and parental behavior.
  • Benefits of Sociality
    • Costs of Sociality

    "4 C's" of Social Systems

    1) cooperation
    2) competition
    3) coordination
    4) communication

    Classification of Social Systems:

    *1) Social organization
        solitary, pairs (colonies), families, dominance hierarchies, harems, aggregations
     2) Mating system
        monogamy, polygamy (polygyny, polyandry), promiscuity, polygynandry
    *3) Social spacing
        territory (classical, mating-only, nesting-only), home range
     

    Social Interactions of Groups:
    Altruism
        Reciprocal Altruism
    Cooperation
    Selfish
    Spite

    Benefits of living in social group= cooperation and altruism

    Definitions
    Altruism-- raises fitness of another at expense of altruist's personal fitness
    Reciprocal Altruism-- expect future benefit from initial sacrifice
    Cooperation-- both helper and recipient increase fitness
     

                - acorn woodpecker, scrub jay
                    - when does it occur? why?
                    - inclusive fitness, selfish rewards, reciprocal alt.

                - mammals
                - primates
                    - alloparenting,
                    - not inclusive fitness

                    - cooperation or selfish
                    -birds and mammals                 - cooperate to gain access to female(s)

    Altruism

     Wilson:
        Hard-core Altruism- inclusive fitness
        Soft-core Altruism- reciprocal

    Humans??
        -small kin groups promoted, now culture promotes

    End of Lecture-Social Systems subsite. Move directly to: ZO 410's Course Homesite.
    Original author this subsite (lsoc.html)= calswww@ncsu.edu, originally posted 7-95 under direction of Dr. John G. Vandenbergh. Updated 11-6-01 by M. Dean.