Exam 1

Question 1

How are animals and their behaviors integral parts of human society?

Answer 1

-Over 80 million homes have a pet
-Cattle, Chickens, turkeys, sheep, and hogs are important agricultural products
-Dogs have long been used in both police work and the military

Question 2

Animal Behavior Definition

Answer 2

any internally coordinated, externally visible pattern of activity that responds to changing external or internal conditions

Question 3

Ethogram

Answer 3

formal description or inventory of an animal’s behavior

Question 4

What is the scientific method?

Answer 4

Scientific Method
-Observation
-Research Question
-Research Hypothesis
-Prediction
-Methodology: test of predictions
-Reject or Accept Hypothesis

Question 5

What is the relationship between correlation and causality?

Answer 5

-Correlation: represent two variables that vary together predictably
-Correlation does not demonstrate causation
-Positive correlation: upward trend
-Negative Correlation: downward trend
-No correlation: no trend at all

Question 6

What is the relationship between a research hypothesis and a scientific theory?

Answer 6

-Research Hypothesis: explanation based on assumptions that makes a testable prediction
-Scientific Theory: hypothesis that makes many predictions, has been tested hundreds or thousands of times by many scientists, and has not been rejected

Question 7

Describe Tinbergen’s four questions.

Answer 7

-Proximate Explanations:
-1. What mechanism causes the behavior to occur?
-2. How does he behavior develop in the individual?
-Ultimate Explanations:
-3. How does the behavior affect survival and reproduction?
-4. How did the behavior evolve?

Question 8

Anthropomorhism

Answer 8

-Anthromorphism occurs when we attribute human motivations, characteristics, or emotions to animals
-Can be challenging to produce testable predictions but the area of active research

Question 9

Mean

Answer 9

measure of central tendency is one number that indicates the centrality of the data values

Question 10

Median

Answer 10

the middle values of a set of ordered data

Question 11

Range

Answer 11

describe the variation in the data

Question 12

Variance

Answer 12

is a non-negative number that provides information of the spread in the data
the larger the variance, the more dispersion there is

Question 13

Standard Deviation

Answer 13

the square root of the variance

Question 14

Standard Error

Answer 14

a sample mean is simply the standard deviation of the data divided by the square root of the sample size

Question 15

What is the observational method?

Answer 15

-Observe and record behavior without manipulating the environment or the animal
-Used to construct ethograms and describe behavioral patterns

Question 16

Independent variable

Answer 16

is the variable that is manipulated

Question 17

Dependent Variable

Answer 17

measure change in dependent variable in response to the change

Question 18

Experimental Group

Answer 18

does experience the manipulation

Question 19

Control Group

Answer 19

does not experience the manipulation

Question 20

Describe the comparative method

Answer 20

-Closely related species may share similar behavioral adaptations because of shared ancestor
-Compare behaviors of closely related species with ancestors to determine if behavior is:
-Ancestral (plesiomorphic) trait: found in common ancestor of two or more species
-Derived (apomorphic) trait: found in more recently evolved species and not present in common ancestor

Question 21

What are the modes of Natural Selection?

Answer 21

-Directional selection: individuals in a population with an extreme trait value at one end of the spectrum possess the highest fitness
-Disruptive selection: individuals in a population with extreme trait values on both ends of the spectrum have the highest fitness
-Stabilizing Selection: individuals in a population with intermediate trait values have the highest fitness

Question 22

Discuss how variation may or may not affect fitness

Answer 22

-Eastern Screech owls show great variation in dispersal direction indicating fitness not associated with compass direction

Question 23

Define Fitness

Answer 23

Direct Measure of Fitness: number of progeny that go on to reproduce
-Indirect measure of fitness include: survivorship, number of mates, body size and growth, and feeeding efficiency
-Adaptations are traits that result from natural selection and have been selected for their current function

Question 24

What is frequency-dependent selection?

Answer 24

-Frequency dependent selection can maintain polymorphisims in a population
-Frequency did affect survivorship; negative-frequency dependent; this may explain morphological polymorphism
-Research Paper: Salamander polymorphism
-Varied the ratio of striped and unstriped clay models with attached food reward
-Placed these in field and recorded attacks on them by birds and mammals
-Less common model type had lower attacks (Higher fitness) than the model that was more common each day

Question 25

Define and Describe Sexual Selection

Answer 25

-Sexual Selection: acts on heritable traits that affect reproduction (sexual dimorphism) -Morphological differerences between the sexes -Widowbrids study on how females prefer longer tail length

Question 26

What is a genotype?

Answer 26

variation due to differences in the genetic makeup of organisms

Question 27

What is a phenotype?

Answer 27

variation in observable traits

Question 28

What are broad sense and narrow sense heritability?

Answer 28

-Heritability: proportion of phenotypic variation in a trait that is due to genetic influences -Broad Sense heritability include all the genetic effects on a phenotype -Narrow Sense Heritatbility can be determined by examining parent-offspring relationships -reflects proportion of phenotypic variation due solely to additive genetic values

Question 29

What are innate behaviors and fixed action patterns?

Answer 29

Innate Behaviors indicate a genetic basis for the behavior -Greylag geese all retrieve eggs in a very fixed manner -Many organisms respond to predators with a fixed action pattern -Behavior that displays almost no variation and once started cannot be stopped until completed

Question 30

What is QTL Mapping?

Answer 30

-QTL Mapping combines genetic information with trait information -Quantitative trait loci (QTL): stretches of DNA that either contain or are linked to genes influencing a trait such as behavior -QTL mapping is a statistical technique that combines genetic information with trait information to determine which regions of the genome contain the genes that influence the trait QTLs -Candidate genes are major genes suspected of contributing to a large amount of the phenotypic variation in a specific trait

Question 31

How are knockout genes used in behavioral studies?

Answer 31

-Knockout mice are transgenic meaning they have additional DNA added to their genome that stops a particular gene from functioning

Question 32

Describe animal personalities

Answer 32

-Animal personalities are consistent differences in behavior over time or across different environmental contexts

Question 33

What are sensory systems?

Answer 33

-Different sensory receptors can detect chemicals, light, vibrations, electric fields, or magnetic fields -Sensory receptors are nerve endings that respond to environmental stimuli and transmit information via neurons

Question 34

Chemoreception Sensory System

Answer 34

-Chemoreception: the most primitive and universal sensory system -Gustation: detection of dissolved chemicals, often within the mouth -Olfaction: detection of airborne chemical stimul -odorants are general and not species specific -Pheromones are species-specific

Question 35

Photoreception Sensory System

Answer 35

-Photoreception: allows animals to detect light and perceive objects as images -Visual sensory systems detect electromagnetic radiations -Photoreceptors contain photosensitive opsin proteins that change shape when struck by light, generating action potentials -Species differ in the number and kinds of photoreceptors that possess and so are sensitive to different wavelengths of light

Question 36

Mechanoreceptor Sensory System

Answer 36

detect vibrations that travel through air, water, or substrates -are often found on the head, but can be found on the thorax, wings, or legs of different species -Species differ greatly in the frequencies of wavelengths they can detect

Question 37

Electroreception Sensory System

Answer 37

-Electroreception: using electric and magnetic fields to find buried prey or potential mates -can also be used to determine the direction for long distance movements