Module 4 Exam Review

Question 1

Fixed action pattern

Answer 1

a simple, relatively unchangeable behaviour that usually goes to completion once it has been elicted

Question 2

migration

Answer 2

a regular, long-distance change in location

Question 3

4 step chain of communication

Answer 3

signaller- signal- medium- recipient

Question 4

pheromones

Answer 4

speciific secreted substances that bind to a receptor to trigger a specific response

Question 5

associative learning

Answer 5

reflects the ability of individuals to link cause and effect

Question 6

risk sensitive foraging

Answer 6

risk sensitivity is expected to be influenced by how desperate the forager is for food
high hunger- risk prone
low hunger - risk averse

Question 7

sexual selection

Answer 7

natural selection arising through preference of certain characteristics in a mate
- behaviour indicates genetic quality

Question 8

parental care of offspring conflict

Answer 8

• Interests of the offspring are best served if the parent invests to the point that success of the offspring is maximized
• Difference between parents and offspring is what constitutes optimal investment results in parent offspring conflict

Question 9

why species aggregate in groups

Answer 9

• everybody is there for the same resource

- better protected from predators

Question 10

actor

Answer 10

individual that initiates the behaviour

Question 11

recipient

Answer 11

individual that the behaviour is directed at

Question 12

is cooperation and selfish behaviour favoured by natural selection

Answer 12

yes

Question 13

is altruistic and spite favoured by natural selection?

Answer 13

no

Question 14

hamiltons rule

Answer 14

(relatedness x #of beneficiaries) - Cost >0

Question 15

fixed action pattern example: migration*

Answer 15

• responsive to environmental cues
• stimulus: incoming cold, no resources available, changing daylight amounts
• physiological mechanism: can measure the physiology that allows migration (track the circadian pattern, magnetic fields can track orientation)
• experience: it must be innate (natural tendencies), and learned

Question 16

Intraspecies communication

Answer 16

Chemical/physical communication between members of the same species (ie. physical: fruit flies mate by ‘tapping’ (WHATEVER THAT IS REFERRING TO….), chemical: gypsy moths release a volatile chemical to males for mating)

Question 17

Interspecies communication

Answer 17

Interacting with individuals of other species (cross-species communication) (ie. odours released to attract pollinators)

Question 18

Human Influences on communication

Answer 18

Examples: water becoming murky due to pollution decreases visual communication for some fish, noise pollution disrupts some birds communications (increase frequency of territorial song to compete with anthropogenic noise)

Question 19

Types of social interactions

Answer 19

Altruism: one will sacrifice fitness for another
Cooperative: fitness benefit for both
Spite: fitness loss for both
Selfishness: one party benefits @ expanse of the other

Question 20

Inclusive fitness

Answer 20

Total fitness of an individual is related to individual fitness and relatives (remember: fitness = offspring)

Relatedness determines degree of altruism you are willing to put in

Question 21

Altruism A for B is favoured if:

Answer 21

relatedness of A and B x benefit of recipient B > cost to actor A

Question 22

Why live in groups?

Answer 22

clustering of appropriate habitat

patchy resources

mating aggregations

protection from predators (safety in numbers)

more eyes and sensors to detect predators

more individuals can defend against predators

lower chance of becoming prey; more other targets

protection from predators (selfish herd)

Question 23

Case Study: Vampire Bats

Answer 23

• will share food with another bat in hopes they would do the same even if they are not related
• to INC fitness of non-relative it cannot be a cost
  BUT benefit is reciprocity (hungry bat will get fed if reciprocity is likely.. from same area, etc

Question 24

Case Study: Ground Squirrels (prairie dogs)

Answer 24

kin selection

• prairie dogs issues alarm calls when it sees badger
• exposes itself to predation but alerts other dogs of danger
• dogs more likely to give alarm calls (twice as likely) if they were with relatives
• dogs just as likely to give alarm calls if with parents vs siblings
• when dogs moved away but not have kids yet, unlikely to give calls
• once they have kids, they become likely to give calls again

Question 25

Frequency Dependance

Answer 25

- fitness consequences of behaviors depend on frequency of individuals exhibiting that behavior - game theory for resource distribution - aggressive domination (hawk), submissive (dove) - when two individuals fight for resource, there is a cost (reduced fitness) hawk vs dove, hawk wins, dove runs away - hawk enjoys resources, wins fitness dove vs hawk, hawk wins, dove runs away - does not gain any fitness dove vs dove, share with other dove - fitness gained is divided by two hawk vs hawk - one gets resource but both will suffer cost of fighting and reduced fitness (1 in 2 chance of winning, 1 in 2 chance of losing) when hawks is <80% of population, they have higher fitness when hawks is >80% of population, doves have higher fitness

Question 26

Hamilton's Rule

Answer 26

fitness = individual fitness + fitness of relatives - B = benefit to recipient - C = cost to actor - r = relatedness of recipient to actor - altruism happens when Br-C > 0 - inclusive fitness - involves individual and relatives fitness - if altruistic gene carried by related individuals and individual, altruistic behaviour spreads

Question 27

Calculating Relatedness

Answer 27

- multiply probabilities on same path - add paths together to get total ex. full siblings 1/2 x 1/2 for actor --> mother --> recipient 1/2 x 1/2 for actor --> father --> recipient 1/4 + 1/4 = total for recipient

Question 28

Eusociality

Answer 28

- one female (queen) does all reproducing - workers care for queen and offspring, will never reproduce - relatedness between sterile works is 3/4 - workers share mother and father - 1/4 chance sister has same allele from mother - 1/2 chance sister has same allele from father (father is haploid) - 1/4 + 1/2 = 3/4 - sterile works more related to sisters than their own offspring (offspring only have 1/2) - kin selection favours raising more sisters rather than offspring cooperative

Question 29

Kin Selection in plants

Answer 29

individuals grow close to each other interact with each other through roots and above ground seeds often fall close to mother suggest individuals interact / identify with related individuals

Question 30

Ecology

Answer 30

- distribution and abundance of organisms (abiotic and biotic) - structure and function of ecosystem (trophic interactions, energy flow (food webs), biogeochemical cycling) - multiple spatial and temporal scales (millimeters to thousands of kilometers, seconds to millions of years, different scales of investigation) - evaluating and solving environmental problems

Question 31

Spatial and Temporal Variation in Solar Energy

Answer 31

life depends on energy from sun hitting on sphere global variations in solar radiation per unit of area on Earth equator gets most sun rays strike perpendicularly sun ray and Earth contact usually oblique air temp decreases 0.5-0.7 degrees for every degree of latitude (110km)

Question 32

Creation of Air Circulation and Precipitation

Answer 32

- atmosphere traps water - solar radiation near equator creates air circulation and precipitation - sun energy causes air to rise at equator - air flows towards poles - as air move sup, air cools and its water vapor becomes rain - dry air pushes back to Earth and creates deserts at 30o north/south latitude - air then flows back towards poles at 60o north/south latitude, releases precipitation - cold dry air then goes towards poles and create a cold desert - predictable global wind patterns created - climate influenced

Question 33

Wind Patterns

Answer 33

Earth rotates on axis land near equator moving faster than land at poles causes winds to deflect from vertical latitudinal patterns (Coriolis effect) winds come from poles and blows east to west in the tropics air is slow compared to speed that land is moving at at temperate zone above 30o, wind is from west has affects on movement of solar energy and water vapour

Question 34

Ocean Currents

Answer 34

water moves because of wind patterns and Earth rotation (movement of water deflected/interrupted by land ) water is good at retaining heat ocean currents redistribute solar energy Pacific Coast of western North America (land cooled by cold California current (north to south), part of North Pacific subtropical gyre) Western coast of Europe (gulf stream carries warm water from equator to coast) Maritime provinces of Canada (icy Labrador current flows south from coast of Greenland, colder than Western Europe even though it is more south latitudinal)

Question 35

Seasons

Answer 35

caused by Earth's tilt (axis tilted at 23.5o) half of orbit, northern hemisphere tilted towards sun - other half of orbit, southern hemisphere tilted towards sun seasons also happen at equator and closer latitudes due to hot air rising from equator and losing moisture when it rises when northern hemisphere faces sun, rays hit sun directly north of equator (at 0 degrees) causes wet season north of equator, dry season south of equator - opposite happens when southern hemisphere faces sun