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Animal Behavior > Exam 4 > Flashcards

Exam 4 Flashcards

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1
Q

Cryptic coloration

A

Reduces the ability of a predator to find it
Countershading, disruptive colors, background matching

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2
Q

Countershading

A

often aquatic, dorsal (backside) is darker, ventral side is brighter to match brightness of ocean floor and surface

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3
Q

Ponyfish Countershading Example

A

Bioluminescent organ that illuminates the bottom side of the fish’s body

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4
Q

Disruptive Coloration

A

High contrast makes it difficult to tell foreground from background or to distinguish an animal
Example: cannot tell zebras apart when they are in a pack

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5
Q

Background matching

A

pattern blends in with the environment, some can change color to camouflage. Squid can do this despite being unable to see color

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6
Q

Predator Avoidance in Crabs Example

A

Crabs on shell-hash have higher survival
Placed crabs with two types of tile, one with shell-hash and one white
Small crabs preferred the shell-hash more than the large crabs
Large crabs preferred the shell-hash when predation risk was high

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7
Q

Caterpillar Defensive Example

A

Squeezed by wasp predators
Measured parasitism
Drop and bite measures were most effective

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8
Q

Startle display

A

sudden movement that exposes conspicuous colors or a sound to reduce attack rate by predators

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9
Q

Great Tit & Butterfly Example

A

The butterfly’s movement is retrained
Resting position is usually closed
The dead butterfly is positioned with wings open
Live butterfly exhibited startle display 75% of the time
The bird attacks the dead butterfly more quickly (latency was longer for live butterfly)

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10
Q

Wolves and Elk Example

A

In Yellowstone, wolves were reintroduced to the park
Elk behavior changes with the presence of wolves
Female elk spent more time vigilant and less time feeding when the wolves were nearby
Male behavior didn’t differ

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11
Q

Food patch risk

A

Rich food patches are riskier, more prey aggregated for predators to attack

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12
Q

Redshank Bird Food Patch Example

A

Salt marsh is twice as abundant with food as the mudflat
Proportion of birds on the salt marsh is higher when the temperature is lower—birds are warm-blooded, and therefore have to eat more in order to maintain their body temperature

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13
Q

Fiddler Crab Food Patch Example

A

Hides in a burrow, but must leave in order to mate
Control: no female present
The recorded how long the males stayed in their burrow in response to (fake) bird attack
When female was present, they reemerged much more quickly

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14
Q

Song Sparrow Example

A

Do changes in perceived predation risk affect song sparrow life history?
Researchers protected the bird nests from predation
Then they played vocalizations of common predators, four days at a time
Predation treatment females laid fewer eggs, had less offspring, and nested in denser vegetation
She decides to save energy for the next breeding season in response to the predation risk
Relationship between perceived predation and reproduction

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15
Q

Group living: main purpose

A

reduce predation

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16
Q

Dilution effect

A

when swimming with many other fish, the chance of being caught is much lower than if the fish is swimming solo in open water

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17
Q

Confusion effect

A

it is easier for the predator to follow and catch one fish instead of multiple fish

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18
Q

Selfish herd theory

A

the predators are more likely to kill the members on the outside of the social group, so individuals can reduce predation risk by moving to the center of the group

Hamilton proposed this theory as an alternative explanation to the popular hypothesis—that evolution of animal aggregation is based on mutual benefits in the population
- Grouping is a result of selfish motivation, not for mutual benefits
- The group mutual benefits are merely a consequence

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19
Q

Group size effect

A

vigilance behavior of individuals declines as group size increases

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20
Q

Predator harassment

A

rapid movement around a predator, often coupled with loud vocalizations

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21
Q

Squirrels Harassing Snakes Example

A

the squirrel moves around and flaps its tail, the tail temperature of the squirrel is higher when harassing a rattlesnake to make the tail visible (rattlesnakes have pit organs), its tail doesn’t heat up when harassing gopher snakes (which can’t see infrared)

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22
Q

Chemical deterrence

A

release of a noxious repellant
Ex: Skunks

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23
Q

Bombardier Beetle Example

A

Creates a noxious hot chemical
Sprays it onto parasites / predators
Sprays quickly enough that it does not burn the beetle, creates steam

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24
Q

Escape Behavior

A

Some animals show themselves to predators by stotting or tail flagging
Stotting: jumping movements, makes itself more visible

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25
Pursuit-deterrence hypothesis
advertisement behavior informs a predator that it has lost the element of surprise, so pursuit will not be successful
26
Alarm signal hypothesis
advertisement behavior is a warning signal to other members of the group
27
Cheetah and Gazelle Example
The cheetah can run faster than the gazelle However, the gazelle can run for longer Therefore, the cheetah stalks the gazelles until they gets close enough to catch them The gazelle stotts to make itself more visible before attack attempt
28
Tail Flagging Deer Example
Researcher stalked a deer and measured the tail flagging based on researcher’s distance from the deer No difference between solitary and social deer, so it doesn’t support the alarm signal hypothesis As the distance shortens, there is less tail flagging
29
Competition hypothesis
dispersal functions to reduce competition for resources
30
Inbreeding avoidance hypothesis
dispersal function to reduce inbreeding depression
31
Inbreeding Avoidance Great Tit Example
Individuals that mated with close relatives had dispersed the shortest from the natal site Dispersal behavior influences likelihood of inbreeding Supports inbreeding avoidance hypothesis
31
Breeding Dispersal Dragonfly Example
Those who have a higher mating success return to the same mating spot
31
Factors that affect dispersal
Reproductive success and public information affect breeding dispersal behavior
31
Breeding dispersal vs. site fidelity
Many species exhibit site fidelity after a reproductive success and exhibit breeding dispersal after a reproductive failure (win-stay lose-shift pattern)
32
Kittiwake Dispersal Example
Experimental group: All birds have their eggs taken by the researchers Control group: only focal birds lose their eggs Return rate of focal birds was higher when neighboring birds succeeded (control group)
33
Costs of migration
Opportunity cost Movement
34
Benefits of migration
Food/vegetation, *longer days*, water availability, avoidance from freezing, heat, dryness
35
Arctic Tern Example
Species of seabird Round trip migration between the two polar regions covering up to 50,000 miles each year Breeds only in the North while the day is 24/7 (sun does not set) Gives them the opportunity to grow quickly because the parent bird can forage for the entire day Migrate to Antarctica during the time where the sun doesn’t set in order to maximize foraging time True monogamy species They have a navigational ability
36
Common Green Darner Example
Migration takes three generations to complete North, south, non-migratory
37
Is migratory behavior hereditary?
Yes Positive correlation between migration date of parent and offspring
38
Biological Clocks
Endogenous: clocks are brain nuclei and other organs Ubiquitous: all species Stable: very accurate Entrainment: adjustment is required for error correction
39
Hamster Endogenous Example
Hamsters are nocturnal Example of endogenous clock Put the hamster in a constantly dark condition, and the hamster will still have almost the exact same routine Free running rhythm: clock is freely running without the influence of light
40
Hamster Entrainment Example
Shift the dark period by 6 hours, eventually they will shift their activity after many days
41
Monarch Example
Monarch migration, capture and then watch the direction they fly in Use the sun (like honeybees) to orient when migrating Clock is in the antennae Can shift their clock using the dark period shift technique Photoreceptors on the antennae, which look at the light in the sky separately from their eyes When their antennae are removed, they cannot determine the direction to go in When they painted the antennae black so that light cannot enter, the clock shifted by 8 hours over the course of 11 days. This is because the free running period is 23.3 hours. With clear paint, they maintain the correct phase Navigation Example
42
Desert Ant Example
Temperature becomes extremely high, and it is difficult to find food Go out, find the food, then return straight back Using the method of path integration Able to determine the best path back by remembering their number of steps and the curve of their travel Move the ant, it will still go in (internal) direction of home in relation to the sun Cannot determine position when moved, only direction Navigation example
43
Orientation vs. Navigation
Orientation: determination of the correct direction/angle Navigation: determining a location and moving toward it
44
Bird Star Compass Example
Birds that migrate at night can use the constellations to navigate Chicks must observe rotating constellations and learn Adults use the learned star position of Polaris to determine north orientation No biological clock is necessary Emlen funnel: put the bird in a funnel and see which direction they try to go The birds were placed in emlen funnels at sunset, and then put in a planetarium No matter the time, they try to go in the same direction Did not use the angle of the constellation pattern, only Polaris direction They put up a wrong artificial constellation pattern, the bird will still know which is the center of the rotation and use it as a guide Navigation example
45
Eurasian Reed Warbler Example
Not known how they navigate Take the birds 1000 km east, they are able to still go to the correct migration spot, knew they were misplaced Theory that one of their biological clocks is entrained to the new location, not fully known
46
Sea Turtle Example
Born in Florida, migration movement within the Atlantic Ocean Use magnetic fields for orientation during migration Treatment: altered magnetic field Control: normal magnetic field Measured movement and orientation They try to go back to the path Use both inclination angle and intensity
47
Purpose of sex
maintenance of genetic diversity and variation
48
Two-fold Cost of Sexual Reproduction
Only females bear offspring in sexual reproduction With asexual reproduction, all organisms can produce offspring individually
49
intrasexual selection
Mate competition is intrasexual selection (compete with members of the same sex)
50
intersexual selection
Mate choice is intersexual selection (selection by one sex for members of the other sex)
51
Bateman’s Hypothesis
female reproductive success is most strongly limited by the number of eggs that she can produce, male reproductive success is limited by the number of mates Results in male-male competition
52
Parental Investment Theory
The sex that has the greater investment (pays higher cost) in offspring production should be choosier when it comes to mates
53
Simultaneous hermaphrodite
produces eggs and sperm at the same time
54
Flatworm Example
Simultaneous hermaphrodite example Ovary is not connected to the outside, body must be punctured by the other flatworm’s penis, a puncturing strike anywhere on the body can inseminate the eggs Flatworms want to act as the male because it is more advantageous, don’t have to go through pregnancy
55
Sex role reversal
males invest more in reproduction and parental care, males are choosier
56
Male pregnancy
the male carries the offspring ex. Seahorses, pipefish
57
Pipefish Example
Male chooses brightly colored females Sex role reversal
58
Dung Beetle
Mate competition Female lays eggs on the dung ball The males fight each other for the female
59
Sexual selection: peacocks
Tail length and number of spots correlate with mating success
60
Female choice benefits
get both direct (food, gifts, territory, etc.) and indirect benefits (genes)
61
Nuptial gifts
Male will sometimes try to steal back the nuptial gift Spermatophore as a nuptial gift, fluid will be digested within her body and used for nutrients Correlation where if she eats larger spermatophore, she produces larger eggs
62
Lizard Territory Example
Female prefers the male territory with more rocks, higher reproductive success
63
Exaggerated male traits derived from sexual selection
runaway process Keeps becoming exaggerated until it develops negative consequences, natural selection selects starts to select against it
64
Female choice examples
Tadpole Example Correspondence between growth rate and attractiveness Guppie Example Both good gene hypothesis and runaway process Preexisting attraction to orange color
65
Good genes hypothesis
Females choose males with an exaggerated trait that accurately (honestly) indicates males' genetic quality
66
Mate guarding
male prevents female from leaving and mating with another male and having extra-pair young
67
Damselfly Mating Example
Penis is designed to remove sperm from other males before mating with the female
68
Cryptic female choice
able to control the sperm’s success Inbreeding depression avoidance

Animal Behavior (5 decks)

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