Answer the Questions
Social behaviour in animals is the relationship or interaction that happens between two or more individuals. This usually happens between animals of similar species. They form familiarities and cooperate in matters such as mating, parenting, communication and territorial authority. Group behaviour or collective behaviour on the other hand is the coordinated behaviour of large groups of animals usually of a similar species. This is characterised by the benefits of these groups. Animal group behaviour is different from social behaviour because of the fact that even animals from different species can form a group based on their similar interest while in social behaviour, there is only involvement of animals from same species. Examples of group behaviours are, pods of dolphins, flocking birds, marching locusts and many more. Examples of social behaviour in animals include a troop of baboons, a flock of crows, a herd of antelopes and many more species fall under this behavioural group.
Difference between facultative eusocial behaviour and obligate eusocial behaviour.
In facultative eusocial behaviour the species involved exhibits both single and corporative nesting characteristics. These characteristics are mostly inherited. In some cases the species have turned from corporative behaviour to that of solitary where they tend to their needs single handily rather than as a group. Examples of facultative eusocial species include some different families of bees but not exactly all bees. These bees include bumble bees and stingless bees; obligate eusocial behaviour on the other hand is where a species is forced into adaptations due to matters geographic or the difference in the population and several other reasons. Examples of the obligatory eusocial species are within the family of ants.
African naked mole rat behaviour.
The African naked mole rat, also known as heterocephalus glaber, lives in tunnels and they rarely leave their homes. They live in colonies consisting of a queen, favourite male mates, workers to scout for food and soldiers that defend their home. Despite the fact that they live like ants, they are mammals. They have the features of rats. They have an extraordinarily long life that scientists say could be of great help in the increase of the life span of humans if well understood. Mole rats live a very secretive life and their queens never come out of the tunnel. Due to this fact, the threats to the life of a mole rat are limited and they have also adapted a special way of feeding. They mostly live in deserts and thus there is a problem with locating tubers for food but a single tuber is said to be able to feed a whole colony of the moles. Their body structure has showed that it is does not get cancer at all whereas other rats are prone to tumours that kill a majority of them. This is said to be possible good news to humans whose defence against cancer is not as good as that of the mole rat. They have facultative eusocial characteristics. This shows in the fact that the queen is not in a monogamous hierarchy.
Spotted hyenas
Hyenas have a tendency to stay in a very large group of up to 80 animals. This is done to protect their territory and to help in hunting. At the top of the hierarchy is the alpha female who is in control of the pack. Such a large group is not a normal site among carnivores. It is assumed that the reason for such large pacts is the fact that the hyena intelligence is higher than that of other carnivores. The hyenas are mostly related to meerkats who also keep large packs of up to over 50 animals. Their similarities to wolves are very limited. Though they have closely similar characteristics wolves are more close to domestic dogs.
Meerkats
Meerkats are also known as suricates and they are carnivorous. They have the characteristics of being very small in size, meerkats have the tendency f living in very large pacts for the purpose of protection and also hunting purposes. They have a lifespan that is about 12-14 years, that is in captivity. But they can only live up to half of this in the wild. The remarkable thing about the meerkat family is the way they are arranged in the clan. Though they are many, they can only keep watch one at a time and not as a group like other animals that have the same social characteristics.
Genetic relationship between bee queen and workers
The bee queen is usually larger than the workers with the bee queen also having a longer lifespan compared to that of the workers. It is evident according to research that the selection of the roles between a queen bee and a worker starts at the larvae. This gives the whole group an idea of the roles each will play in their futures. Workers bees have the responsibility of making honey, cleaning the nest and also guarding it from predators.
Bee colony collapse disorder
This is where the worker bees in a honey bee colony disappear. The causes for the disappearance of European honey bees has closely been associated with the use of pesticides, malnutrition among the bees, the change in the trends of bee keeping and or a combination of different reasons. Bees are more vulnerable to this because of the fact that they are more exposed to the above mentioned causes.
