final exam

Question 1

timbergens 4 areas of inquiry

Answer 1

1. causation
2. ontogeny
3. survival value
4. evolution

Question 2

causation

Answer 2

stimuli necessary to elicit a motor patter/ nature of brain architecture to produce the behavior.

Question 3

ontogeny

Answer 3

(development) doesa behavior develop from learning, innate, or both

Question 4

survival value

Answer 4

how does behavior contribute to survival and reproductive success

Question 5

evolution

Answer 5

evolution history of behavior

Question 6

sign stimulus

Answer 6

aspect of the environment that triggers fixed action pattern

Question 7

fixed action pattern

Answer 7

involuntary & ssterotyped behavior that has a stimulus threshold that must be reached before it is triggered.

Question 8

action potential and neurotransmission

Answer 8

neurotransmitters binding the postsynaptic membrane initiate an action potential in the receiving cell

Question 9

Explain how the axon hillock makes “yes/no” decisions to propagate an action potential.
Include resting potential, IPSP, EPSP, and summation in your explanation.

Answer 9

the axon hillock uses threshold to make decisions.
starting off the axon hillock can be at resting potential this means there is no information being trnasmitted.
when information is transmitted is can have an IPSP affect when binding o the postynaptic membrane opens the (Cl-) gates hyperpolarizing the region of the target cell or and EPSP affect when the (Na+) gate open depolarizing the region of the target cell
Then summation where the sum of the postsynaptic potentials determine whether an action potential will be activated. If the sum reaches the threshold needed, then an action potential gets propagated down the axon to the axon terminal.

Question 10

What is a central pattern generator (CPG)? Give an example of a rhythmic motor pattern

Answer 10

the CPG is a network that producing rhythmic motor patterns without using higher brain centers. ex. walking, breathing

Question 11

Define instinct

Answer 11

a response that does not have to be learned or practiced and is displayed the first time it is present to the triggering stimulus
ex. swimming in aquatic species.

Question 12

How can you tell if a behavioral trait is adaptive? Give an example of a behavioral
adaptation. Define fitness.

Answer 12

you can tell a behavior is adaptive it improves survival and reproductive success (fitness) of its environment. ex. hibernation, migration

Question 13

. Make sure you understand how natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow are
different processes that cause evolution.

Answer 13

Natural selection: those whos adaptations do well in the enviroment will live and pass on those traits/ mutations allowing for evolution to occur.
Genetic drift – changes in population due to random chance. Ex. Bottleneck- population dies no concern of their genetic composition founder- moves to a different location. There will be less traits or more traits causing change – leading to evolution.
Gene Flow – exchange between one or more populations. Evolution occurs because different alleles are transferred to other populations allowing for change and evolution.

Question 14

. Give a general explanation for why foraging strategies are under strong natural selection.

Answer 14

Optimal foraging assumes that natural selection has resulted in foraging behavior that maximizes fitness, while taking into account the dependence of energy intake rate on the forager’s ability to detect, capture, and handle each prey item. Animals can survive and die as a function of variation in their
foraging strategies.

Question 15

Ad Libitum Sampling

Answer 15

Ad Libitum Sampling: Often abbreviated as ad lib, records as much information as possible.
It is informal, non-systematic, and often used in field notes.

Question 16

Focal Animal Sampling:

Answer 16

Here, all occurrences of specified actions of one individual are
recorded during a predetermined sample period (e.g., one hour).

Question 17

Instantaneous or Scan Sampling:

Answer 17

An animal’s activities are recorded at pre-selected
moments (e.g., every 30 seconds). It is a sample of states (you are unlikely to catch an animal “in
the act” of doing a behavior classified as an event), and is used to study the percent of time spent
in a certain activity

Question 18

All Occurrence Sampling:

Answer 18

The observer focuses on a particular behavior rather than a
particular individual. For example, one might count the number of dominance displays in a herd
of mares.

Question 19

Define behavioral imprinting and give an example.

Answer 19

phase sensitive behavior Examples:

Filial Imprinting –Young animal imprints on the
behavior of its parent(s). - ex: baby zebra imprint on their mother

Sexual Imprinting –Young animals imprint on
the characteristics of a desirable mate

Question 20

Define habituation and give an example.

Answer 20

a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations
- Park squirrels don’t immediately initially run away from humans anymore because they got used to them.

Question 21

Using Pavlov’s experiment, explain the basics of classical conditioning. Include the
unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response. the conditioned stimulus and
conditioned response

Answer 21

Classical condition is a type of learning through association In Pavlov’s experiment where he measured dog saliva, he used first used meat powder as an unconditioned stimulus as a way to trigger an unconditioned response (saliva production). Then each time he gave the meat powder he would ring a bell. After that when he rang the bell (conditioned stimulus), the dog would produce saliva (conditioned response)

Question 22

Explain operant conditioning and explain how operant conditioning is different from classical
conditioning.

Answer 22

Classical conditioning involves associating an involuntary response and a stimulus, while operant conditioning is about associating a voluntary behavior and a consequence.
Operant example: mouse press green button gets a treat, mouse presses red button they get an electric shock, then learning to only press the green button.

Question 23

Explain how operant and classical conditioning are used when clicker training a dog.

Answer 23

Using a clicker combines both operant and classical conditioning, each time a dog does the correct behavior he gets a treat and a noise from the clicker. The dog then begins to associate the clicker with an award leading to perform the behavior at the sound the clicker.
Unconditioned stimulus – treat
Unconditioned response – does the behavior
Conditioned stimulus – clicker
Conditioned response – performing the behavior

Question 24

Glutamate is the most excitatory neurotransmitter and is highly involved in the process of
LTP. Name the two glutamate receptors we discussed in lecture and state which ions they
allow into the cell.

Answer 24

1. AMPA Receptor - opening of NA+ cannels depolarizing
2. blocked by Mg2+ until depolarization
   from AMPA Receptor activation, Once this ion channel opens, it allows Na+ and Ca2+ to flow in to the
   cell.

Question 25

What is reciprocal altruism? Why is reciprocal altruism an example of cooperation? What conditions will facilitate the evolution of reciprocal altruism? Give an example of reciprocal altruism in pumas.

Answer 25

one solution to the evolutionary paradox of one individual making sacrifices for another unrelated individual, in hopes for the animal to do the same at a later time. This facilitates evolution by participating in natural selection those who spend more energy on themselves and more on other they will be less fit.

Question 26

Ketamine is a disassociative anesthetic commonly used to anesthetize large predators, while narcotics like Carfentanil and thiafentanil are used the anethatize wild ungulates. Why would ketamine be an inappropriate choice to drug a wild ungulate like a pronghorn or a deer, and why would a narcotic like thiafentanil be a poor choice for a predator like a bear? Give these explanations with respect to the animal’s physiology and ecology.

Answer 26

Ketamine would be inappropriate for wild ungulates because they are prey. Giving them ketamine will not allow them to protect themselves leaving them more susceptible to their predators. Using thiafentanil on large predators like bears is bad because it has a lot of side effects that need to be closely monitored and if the bear wakes up and the veterinarian Is too close it can hurt the veterinarian and those around it.

Question 27

Explain briefly how the rabies virus enters an animal’s nervous system and produces a change in behavior. Describe the behavioral symptoms induced by the virus. How does these behavioral changes help a virus find a new host?

Answer 27

Rabies is transmitted when one animal bites another animal and punctures the skin. • The rabies virus alters the behavior of the host to be more aggressive/agitated. It is a virus that infects the nervous system. first infects a muscle cell close to the bite wound. Once enough virions have replicated, they begin to bind to acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction. • Once rabies enters the peripheral nervous system it hijacks the cellular transport machinery and eventually makes its way to the central nervous system via retrograde transport. Then moves into the salivary glands. • Rabies circulates in populations of mammals that bite and spills over into the human population when wildlife bites humans or domestic dogs.

Question 28

Give a detailed answer including behavioral observational methods you would use to collect data on dominance status and the order that cows enter the milking parlor, how you would determine dominance ranks and what statistical analysis you would perform to determine if dominance status is related to parlor entry order.

Answer 28

I would use all occurrence sampling of dominant traits while the cows are at the pen and going into the milking parlor to observe dominance traits and see what order they naturally go into the milk parlor I Using a a sociometric matrix. 2. Calculate the percentage of interactions an individual wins from the total number of interactions that the individual was involved. 3. Calculate ranks from a sociometric matrix. By using dominance values. Then compare my statistics to my observations to validate the hierarchy.

Question 29

Briefly explain how natural selection and sexual selection can act in opposition. B) Give an example of a trait that is under sexual selection in elephant seal males. C) Give an example of a sexually selected trait in a production animal.

Answer 29

Sexual selection is selection of a physical characterists/phenotype, the phenotype might be wanted but it might not be the best trait for survival. Leading to natural selection elimanting the individual regardless. Elephant seal males – sexual selection is for the blubber fat. Stallions\ Sexuall selected trait in production animals – size of the animal