Exam 2

Question 1

White-crowned Sparrow Example

Answer 1

Shows nature-nurture interactions and innate predispositions

Regional dialects: environmental (learned) behavior—The song one hears is the song one sings

Chicks raised in isolation show similar genetic tendencies (no rapid changes in frequency) but must be exposed to external sound to make a successful mating song

Four different sparrows are raised in environment with songs of different species: All of them learned songs closest to the one of their own species—innate predisposition

When their own species song was not available, they learned from the tutor songs but constructed songs by combining them

Question 2

Innate predisposition

Answer 2

Genetic disposition for a certain behavior

Question 3

Sensory Period

Answer 3

Learning period for songbirds

Question 4

Sensorimotor Period

Answer 4

Starts vocalizing, practices to improve. Listening to their own vocalized song is essential to achieving replication of the earlier song (sensori + motor).

If the researcher cuts the auditory nerve then song crystallization never happens

Question 5

Open-ended Learning

Answer 5

Individuals can acquire new song elements throughout life

Question 6

Closed-ended Learning

Answer 6

Must listen to a tutor song during a specific period. Once crystallization has occurred further learning is no longer possible

Question 7

Why is songbird behavior studied so often?

Answer 7

The pathways and interactions in the brain are well-known

Question 8

Lyre Bird Example

Answer 8

Open-ended learning. Mimics sounds or birds and man-made objects. Can mimic camera shutter sounds, chainsaws, car alarms

Question 9

Great Tit Personality Example

Answer 9

They have genetically heritable ‘adventurous’ personality trait. It can be seen on a parent-offspring regression chart, where the slope is the degree of inheritance.

Question 10

Yellow Fruit Fly Example

Answer 10

Shows an example of pleiotropy.

Yellow flies are rare in nature but common in laboratories. They measured yellow mutants behavior and reproductive success: Wild type males have a higher mating success rate than yellow mutants.

Pleiotropy: single gene affects 2+ traits
The gene that affects color also affects mating behavior.

Question 11

Ant Basic Characteristics

Answer 11

There are diverse caste structures among the different species. All ants are eusocial.

One or several queens per colony.
10^2 to 10^7 worker individuals per colony.
Drones are fertile males, much fewer in number than workers.
Soldiers and workers are females, but do not produce eggs.

Higher group selection—mutant genes in individuals do not get passed along when individuals do not reproduce.

Army ants: do not have a nest, workers cooperate to attack prey much larger than themselves

Question 12

Fire Ant Example

Answer 12

Monogyne and polygyne types (1 queen or multiple queens)

Scent is what differentiates colonies, they use scent as a cue to know what individuals are enemies

Gp-9^BB is the monogyne gene

Gp-9^Bb is the polygyne gene

Gp-9^bb ants aren’t viable

Polygyne colonies can’t smell a difference between other colonies very well:
- Colonies sometimes merge
- Reduced aggression between colonies
- More advantageous in locations where there is enough space to expand

Question 13

Major vs. Minor Genes

Answer 13

Major: individual gene is responsible for large amount of phenotypic variation

Minor: individual gene contributes a small amount of variation (additive)

Question 14

Mice Risky Behavior Example

Answer 14

The experiment shows how genes influence behavior.

Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a peptide hormone that affects stress behavior
AVPR1A receptor gene in mice
Conducted stress tests on wild-type and V1aR gene knockout mice
Elevated maze test, open field test, light/dark box
The knockout mice were more willing to go into riskier areas

Question 15

What determines phenotype?

Answer 15

Genetics, environment, and gene-environment interactions

Question 16

What determines gene expression?

Answer 16

Environment, time, type of tissue/cell/etc

Question 17

Fish Aggression Example

Answer 17

Experiment shows phenotypic variation caused by environment.

Some are raised in oxygen rich environment, some are raised in oxygen poor environment.
They are more aggressive when in the environment they grew up in (because they will expend more energy in a familiar environment)

Question 18

Fruit Fly Aggression Example

Answer 18

This example shows that gene expression is influenced by environmental factors.

Treatments: court a female, interact with a rival male, no interaction (control)
Analyzed mRNA to see which genes were expressed during each treatment
16 genes associated only with male-female courtship behavior
Hundreds of genes associated with male-male interactions

Question 19

Reaction Norm

Answer 19

Function showing the relation between environment and phenotype; range of behaviors expressed by a single genotype over a range of environments. If the reaction norms of two genotypes cross, then there is GxE interaction

Question 20

Rover and Sitter Fruit Flies Example

Answer 20

Rovers go out for food, sitters wait for food to come close by

Typically, rovers will travel farther in order to find other food. However, when food is scarce, rovers behave like sitters and will not leave a food patch to find a new food patch.

This shows GxE interactions; the two genotypes have different reaction norms.

Question 21

Fields of study

Answer 21

Genomics (genes), transcriptomics (mRNA), proteomics (proteins), metabolomics (substrates, intermediates, and products of cell metabolism)

Question 22

Sensory Systems

Answer 22

Visual, mechanosensory (movement: auditory, vestibular, lateral line), somatosensory (pain, touch, itch, thermal), chemosensory (olfactory, gustatory (detection of dissolved chemicals often within the mouth)), electrosensory, magnetosensory

Question 23

Chemosensory senses

Answer 23

Gustatory are the 5 taste elements. Olfactory (smell) is much more complex

Question 24

Mice Gustatory Example

Answer 24

T1R1, T1R2 and T1R3 receptor knockouts. Knockouts 1 & 3 had no response to tasting amino acids (umami) and knockouts 2 & 3 had no response to tasting sugars.

Question 25

Cuttlefish Olfactory Example

Answer 25

Sneaker males (pretend to be females) They aggregate based on odor and can smell new eggs

Question 26

Butterfly Sexual Dimorphism Example

Answer 26

Males and females appear different under UV light

Question 27

UV Sexual Selection in Birds Example

Answer 27

Females prefer males with light heads/more reflectance Tested this by applying sunscreen to male birds’ heads

Question 28

Animals with tetrachromacy

Answer 28

Most reptiles, birds, amphibians, fish, insects

Question 29

Animals with trichromacy

Answer 29

Most primates, honeybees

Question 30

Animals with dichromacy

Answer 30

Most mammals, colorblind humans

Question 31

Animals with monochromacy

Answer 31

Seals, dolphins, whales, night monkeys

Question 32

Pit Organ Example

Answer 32

A hole on the face to detect infrared light Cavity filled with air, like the retina there is a very thin membrane at the back, it is lined with heat sensors It acts like a pinhole camera Infrared light = longer wavelengths When placed in a room with warm and cool balloon, they attack the warm balloon

Question 33

Elephant Communication Example

Answer 33

Communication using infrasound. Infrasound diminishes slowly so it can travel farther through the environment. Can detect it through the ground

Question 34

Ultrasonic sound

Answer 34

Small animals can hear and sometimes communicate in ultrasound

Question 35

Lateral Line System

Answer 35

Detects water movement Sensors are embedded in the skin, hairs detect motion

Question 36

Antlion Example

Answer 36

Shows how researchers can learn if an animal can detect prey using vibrations. They build sand cones, the ants go in and antlion larvae attach with their pincers. They can capture the ants by throwing sand in the direction of the vibration so as to create an avalanche

Question 37

Barn Owl Example

Answer 37

Key stimulus: noise, fixed action pattern: head turning Model mouse is pulled with a string, creating a very quiet scratching noise. The barn owl orients its head towards the noise source, then flies towards the target. Can detect differences of 10 microseconds The two neurons receive the signal, and transmit it along the huge axon to both sides of the brain. The neural axons enter the side of the brain that is on the same side from the top, and enter the opposite side from the bottom. This causes the axons to overlap and translate interaural time differences. Coincidence: the signals arrive at the same time to the neuron

Question 38

Two purposes of the senses

Answer 38

Identification and localization Vision has a great advantage with localization because it is intrinsic to how the retina works When you listen with one ear, you are unable to localize the sound

Question 39

Which animals have electroreceptors?

Answer 39

Many fish, amphibians, insects, and a few mammals

Question 40

Electric Fish Example

Answer 40

They produce weak electricity for navigation and communication Can sing songs using electricity During spawning they make a specific pulse; the females carry the eggs in their mouths and then put them into the spawning hole once the male communicates via chirping

Question 41

Ampullae of lorenzini

Answer 41

Organ in sharks and rays for electric detection

Question 42

Bumblebee Electrical Receptor Example

Answer 42

Flowers have a static charge that bees can sense using their hairs

Question 43

Magnetic Termite Example

Answer 43

Heat is an enormous problem for large termite mounds They always build the broadest part of the mound in the direction of least sun radiation (east-west)

Question 44

Bat and Mantis Example

Answer 44

Example of sensory coevolution Bats use ultrasonic calls, frequency of the call increases as it gets closer to its prey Tympanal membrane: Single eardrum in insects, detects bat calls Mantises are able to escape attacks Deaf mantises have a lower escape rate

Question 45

Honeybee Communication

Answer 45

Bees have an internal clock that doesn’t require stimulus: 1 hour time difference = 15 degree movement of the sun's position Waggle Dance Waggle duration Long duration: distant Short duration: near Circular dance: very close Amplitude of waggling: quality of food source Compound eyes: sensitivity to polarized light Their head acts as a gravitation sensor: Head tilt angle is sensed by sensory hairs around the neck Bee ancestral species made horizontal hives, dance is directly pointing at the food source

Question 46

Vervet Monkey Example

Answer 46

Example of auditory alarm calls Different alarm signals depending on the predator: Land, aerial, and snake This is because different responses are needed based on the predator—go into the tree if there is a land predator, hide in the bushes if there is an aerial predator, stand on hind legs to intimidate snakes

Question 47

What are the two pieces of information that an alarm call may contain?

Answer 47

Information or Influence Information: there is a leopard, there is a snake Influence: Climb a tree, look down We don’t know if the call contains information or influence

Question 48

Titmouse Communication Example

Answer 48

Call seems to contain information Number of D-note signals conveys the risk of the predator Small high-risk predators vs. Large low-risk predators They gather together and make lots of loud noise (mobbing behavior) during high-risk attacks too

Question 49

Ant Pheromone Communication Example

Answer 49

Shows that the environment influences signaling Doesn’t work well in hot environments because the pheromone evaporates Red stick is without pheromone When the original stick is heat-treated, the ants do not prefer one over the other May explain why social foraging ants do not forage at high temperatures

Question 50

Fish Visual Signal Example

Answer 50

Shows that the environment influences signaling Male fish morphs are either blue or yellow Blue males contrasted most with background in the beach habitat Yellow males contrasted most in the root habitat Higher mating success in environment with more contrast

Question 51

Accurate Signaling

Answer 51

Advantageous to both signalers and receivers, similar fitness interests As opposed to inaccurate, where the receiver is at a disadvantage

Question 52

Conditions that favor accurate signaling:

Answer 52

Fitness interests of signaler and receiver are similar Signals cannot be faked Signals will be accurate indicators when they are costly to produce or maintain

Question 53

3 Accurate Signaling Examples

Answer 53

Horned beetle: Only males have horns, shows his strength Pheasant: wattle coloration for mate attraction Stalk-eyed fly: grows stalk to make eyes are far apart as possible, courting signal

Question 54

Aposematic Coloration

Answer 54

Warning coloration signaling associated with chemicals or toxins. Bright coloring is costly.

Question 55

Betta Fish Signaling Example

Answer 55

Example of accurate signaling Can open and fold their gill cover to make themselves appear larger during fights When oxygen is not available, the betta fish doesn’t open his gill cover because it is too costly