Group Behavior and Survival
Aligned to HS-LS2-8 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Living in a group can raise an individual's odds of surviving and reproducing. Cooperation in defense, hunting, and raising young often outweighs the cost of sharing limited resources.
Worked example
A herd of musk oxen forms an outward-facing ring around its calves; wolves cannot break through the wall of horns, so grouped animals survive attacks that would kill a lone ox.
Practice questions
- List two ways a group behavior helps individuals in a species you know.
- Diagram how cooperative defense increases the survival of the young.
- Evaluate evidence for whether group living helps or harms individual reproduction.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Comportamiento grupal y supervivencia
Vivir en grupo puede aumentar las probabilidades de un individuo de sobrevivir y reproducirse. La cooperación en la defensa, la caza y la crianza suele superar el costo de compartir recursos limitados.
Ejemplo: Una manada de bueyes almizcleros forma un círculo mirando hacia afuera alrededor de sus crías; los lobos no pueden atravesar la muralla de cuernos, así que los animales agrupados sobreviven a ataques que matarían a un buey solitario.
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