Movie info: “One Life” (2011, directed by Michael Gunton & Martha Holmes).
After watching the movie, you are expected to write an essay about it by taking into account the following:
1) The documentary shows excerpts from the lives of many different species. Please choose three species where you describe for each species a feature that fulfills the conditions for a structural adaptation. Choose another three species where you describe for each species a behavioral adaptation displayed in the film. Moreover, for each of these behavioral adaptations, comment on whether you think this behavior is transmitted genetically or via social learning. Please note that depending on your explanation, it may be an innate or learned behavior.
2) For one species that you choose. speculate about how the behavior that is displayed could be explained as an interaction between learning and genetic evolution.
3) Some scenes in the movie depicts interactions among different species. Choose one scene where there is an inter-species interaction that reveals an obvious example of co-evolution for these two species. Comment on how the evolution of one of these species would be related to the evolution of the other species.
4) Describe a behavioral adaptation depicted in the movie that seems to be the product of sexual selection. Please provide a precise explanation for why you think so.
Side note: The documentary features a voice-over (Daniel Craig) that provides descriptions of what is depicted on screen. You will notice that the voice-over ascribes different mental states to the animals (they know / she thinks / he believes etc.). Please note that in our lecture we have refrained from such terminology. This type of mental state attribution is commonly accepted as inappropriate and is a violation of the famous Morgan’s Cannon: “In no case may we interpret an action as the outcome of a higher psychical faculty, if it can be interpreted as the outcome of the exercise of one that stands lower in the psychological scale. (Morgan, 1894, p.53)”. Please refrain from describing the behaviors of the animals with such mental states while writing your essay.
Morgan, C. L. (1894). An introduction to comparative psychology. London: W. Scott.
