Behavioral Biology

Question 1

the way an animal responds to stimulus in its environment is known as what?

Answer 1

behavior

Question 2

what are the two components of behavior?

Answer 2

immediate cause and evolutionary origin

Question 3

What are the two behavior approaches?

describe them

Answer 3

Proximate Causation:

• “how” of behavior
• measure (hormone level, impulse of nerve signal)

Ultimate causation:

• “Why” of behavior
• how behavior influences reproductive success

Question 4

Innate behavior is instinctive. Give examples of instinctive behaviors

Answer 4

• does not require learning
• preset path in nervous system
• genetic
  ie: goose replacing an egg from her nest
• male stickleback fish will attack anything with a red underside because it things it’s a competitor

Question 5

egg retrieval behavior is triggered by a_________stimulus

Answer 5

sign

-not very specific; anything around will trigger the goose’s reaction

Question 6

behavioral differences among individuals often result from ________

Answer 6

genetic differences

Question 7

True or False:

behaviors can be bred into/out of animals

Answer 7

true

Question 8

True or False:

identical twins raised separately exhibit different behaviors

Answer 8

false
genetics play a role in determining behavior in humans. the twins were found to have similar personalities, temperament, and leisure time activities

Question 9

What does the following definition describe?:

• Association between two stimuli or between a stimulus and a response
• Conditioned behavior though association

Answer 9

associative learning

Question 10

What are the two types of associative learning?

Answer 10

Classical condition

Operant conditioning

Question 11

Describe Classical Conditioning

Answer 11

the paired presentation of two different kinds of stimuli with an association formed between them
ie: Pavlonian conditioning

Question 12

Describe Operant Conditioning

Answer 12

Animal associates behavior with a reward or punishment

-trial and error learning

Question 13

_____ guides learning

Answer 13

instinct

• learning is only possible when boundaries are set by genetics
• adaption by learning is important to survival

Question 14

Clark’s nutcracker can remember the location of up to 2000 seed caches months after hiding them. What does it use to remember this?

Answer 14

spatial memory

Question 15

What is imprinting?

Answer 15

social attachment to other individuals; develop preferences that will influence behavior later in life

Question 16

What is filial imprinting?

Answer 16

attachment between parents and offspring

Question 17

True or false:

Instinct and Learning interact as behavior develops

Answer 17

true

white-crowned sparrow
slide 18

Question 18

Give 2 examples of how animals show cognitive behavior

Answer 18

• chimps pull the leaves of off a tree branch to use it as a tool for picking termites
• some birds learn to take off milk caps from bottles

Question 19

What is migration?

Answer 19

populations moving large distances

Question 20

the ability to set or adjust bearing is known as what?

Answer 20

navigation

Question 21

what two things to animals use to navigate for migration?

Answer 21

sun and stars; Earth’s magnetic fields

Question 22

What does this definition describe:

Behavior of one individual releases a behavior by another individual

Answer 22

Stimulus-response chain

Question 23

What are three examples of long distance communication?

Answer 23

Pheromones (sex attraction; chemical messages)
Acoustic signals (vocal calls, wing clicking)
Light Signals (firefly)

Question 24

Give two examples of how communication can facilitate group living

Answer 24

• guard sets off an alarm call so group can seek shelter

- social insects produce pheromones that trigger attack or foraging behaviors

Question 25

______ communicate identity of specific predators; _________ and ________ are able to recognize symbols and use them to communicate abstract concepts

Answer 25

primates;chimpanzees;gorillas | monkeys pretty much

Question 26

Throughout all the human languages, about how many consonant sounds are there?

Answer 26

40

Question 27

What is behavioral ecology?

Answer 27

the study of how natural selection shapes behavior | the evolution of behavior

Question 28

Adaptive Significance: How is behavior adaptive?

Answer 28

enhance energy intake, increase mating success, decrease predation

Question 29

What is the Optimal foraging theory?

Answer 29

natural selection favors individuals whose foraging behavior is energetically efficient

Question 30

What are pros and cons of animal territorial behavior?

Answer 30

pros: secures resources, increased food intake, increased mates, exclusive access to females cons: must defend against intrusion by other individuals which can be energetically costly (ie: birds sing to signal it's their territory)

Question 31

How many mates to have, How much time devoted to rearing offspring, and how much energy to devote to rearing offspring are all _________ strategies

Answer 31

reproductive

Question 32

What is parental investment?

Answer 32

contributions each sex makes in producing and rearing offspring

Question 33

Do females or males have a higher investment in their offspring?

Answer 33

Females | -eggs are larger than sperm and more expensive to make, females are responsible for gestation, lactation, and/or yolk

Question 34

Are males or females more selective when it comes to mating? | What is this known as?

Answer 34

Females usually are more selective | Sexual selection

Question 35

What does sexual dimorphism mean?

Answer 35

males look different from the females

Question 36

Do females typically mate with the first male they encounter?

Answer 36

no

Question 37

What is a species where the males are more selective of their females?

Answer 37

Mormon crickets

Question 38

What are two things that a male partner might do?

Answer 38

- help raise offspring | - provide resources (territories, nesting sites, food, predator refuges)

Question 39

Mating outside monogamous pair is known as what?

Answer 39

social monogamy

Question 40

What is altruism?

Answer 40

the performance of an action that benefit another individual at a cost to the actor

Question 41

What is reciprocal altruism? | Give an example of an animal that does this

Answer 41

partnerships in which mutual exchanges of altruistic acts occur because they benefit both participants ie: vampire bats share blood meals

Question 42

What happens in a eusocial society?

Answer 42

workers give up their own reproduction to assist their mother in rearing their sisters

Question 43

What is a society?

Answer 43

a group of organisms of the same species that are organized in a cooperative manner

Question 44

What are the advantages of social systems?

Answer 44

kin selection, greater production from predators, increase feeding and mating success

Question 45

groups of individuals that differ in size and morphology and perform different tasks are known as being part of a what?

Answer 45

caste