AP BIO QUESTION on ECOLOGY?

Question

1. How does the nature-versus-nurture controversy apply to behavior ecology
2. How does teh concept of fitness in an evolutionary sense apply to all aspects of behavior

thanks in advance!! =]

Answer 1

1. If it's innate behavior, it's not learned and therefore cannot be a product of "nurture." Nature would win in this case; the behavior would be acquired through natural selection, and this speaks to your second question. If the behavior is learned, it could be a product of nature or nurture. And that, in a nutshell, is what the controversy is all about.
2. If the behavior is not beneficial to the organism, it will disappear over time (generations), thereby increasing fitness.

Nobody asks a question like this unless they're cramming for an exam. Why don't you read your textbook? It's especially dangerous in Ecology to go looking for answers outside of the course material. Take it from someone who's TA'd Ecology for 2 different professors.

Answer 2

Fitness means the 'most apt'.
Selection favors the trait most apt to promote perpetuation of an organism in a specific environment. The mechanism of selection is through variation in the heritable traits in a given species. Example is the larger thrush with a slightly heavier beak will do better in drought years when xeric plants are producing the majority of the available seeds. However in wetter years the birds with slighter builds and beaks find it easier to forage in the now predominant water loving vegetation. All the thrushes are one species but there is always some variation within a population that can combine in ways to give that individual an advantage in acquiring resources.
However the fitness of a behavior can also be subject to selection. Altruism is selected when it benefits related individuals. Vampire bats share blood with young of other females because every female in the group is related. Only the males disperse to find mates the females remain in matrilineal associations. Bats that do not receive blood die in a very short time but young bats are not able to acquire adequate blood to support themselves without assistance. Feeding a juvenile in the colony even if not the parent still means the food is going to a relative.
http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/~strone01/altruism.html