Animal Behavior Final

Front 1

What 4 questions are addressed in the optimal foraging models we look at?

Back 1

1. What food items should the forager eat?
2. How long should a forager stay in a certain food patch?
3. How is foraging affected when certain specific nutrients are required?
4. How does variance in food supply affect decisions about what foods to eat?

Front 2

Zeitgeber

Back 2

(“time giver” in german) any external or environmental cue that entrains, or synchronizes, an organism’s biological rhythms to the earth’s 24-hour light/dark cycle and 12 month cycle

Front 3

What are some processes regulated by SCN?

Back 3

Locomotor activity, electrical firing, cytosolic calcium levels, 2-deoxyglucose uptake, neuropeptide secretion, gene expression

Front 4

What are the 3 general patterns of rhythms?

Back 4

1. Amplitude
2. Period
3. Phase Shift

Front 5

What do we use to measure activity levels?

Back 5

actograph

Front 6

What kind of biological rhythm is most focused on in animal behavior?

Back 6

circadian rhythms

Front 7

What part of mammalian and avian brain is responsible for initiating activity and inactivity?

Back 7

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)

Front 8

What are the two terms used to describe patterns of activity?

Back 8

Free-running period and entrainment

Front 9

What kind of animals show a slightly LONGER 24 hour period of free-running activity?

Back 9

Diurnal animals

Front 10

What kind of animals will show a slightly SHORTER than 24 hour period of activity?

Back 10

Nocturnal animals

Front 11

What kind of studies show evidence for endogenous nature of pacemakers within animals?

Back 11

isolation studies
genetics
translocation
individual variation

Front 12

Would you predict humans to have a slightly longer or shorter period of activity in 24 hour darkness?

Back 12

longer

Front 13

What is the average period of activity for humans?

Back 13

24.11 +_ 16 period

Front 14

What is the most common Zeigeber used by enothermic animals? Why?

Back 14

Photoperiod; predictable and reliable

Front 15

What zeigebers do ectotherms use?

Back 15

photoperiod, temperature, rainfall

Front 16

What are some examples of social cue zeitgebers?

Back 16

jet lage, nap time

Front 17

What are the steps of the model of mammalian pacemaker system?

Back 17

1. Receptor system
2. Nervous system
3. Circadian oscillator generates endogenout self-sustained rhythm
4. Message carried to other neural structures via neurotransmitters
5. Gene expression affected in target cells
6. Output system via messenger to effector tissue and organs
7. Overt observed rhythm

Front 18

What are the 3 take home messages from looking at pacemaker molecules?

Back 18

1. cyclical, regular increases & decreases in protein production and degration; seen in cell cycle and biological rhythms
2. connections between negative and positive elements are essentially the same no matter what kind of organism you are looking at
3. this means it is a highly conserved evolutionary principle

Front 19

Where are endogenous pacemakers located in cockroaches & sea hares (Aplysia)?

Back 19

located in their optic lobes and eyes

Front 20

What are the two pacemaker systems in mammals?

Back 20

Suprachiasmatic nucleus and ventro-medial hypothalamus (VMH) (possible- female courtship receptivity; / satiety and courtship behaviors )

Front 21

What is the adaptive value of biological rhythms?

Back 21

Many animals live in environments in which light, temperature, and humidity can be critical for their survival and that can fluctuate on a daily or yearly basis, such as deserts, arctic or temperate conditions.

Front 22

Why do animals have endogenous rhythms at all? why not just respond directly to external cues?

Back 22

With an endogenous rhythm, an animal is prepared for changes in its environment. An endogenous rhythm allows it to anticipate potentially dangerous conditions and prepare for them through
physiological and behavioral
change.

Front 23

What are some ways animals prepare for hibernation?

Back 23

1. increasing food intake
2. digging extra deep burrows or sleping chambers

Front 24

What are some other ways animals prepare for winter other than hibernation?

Back 24

1. Mice produce large numbers of progeny, some of which will survive the winter and reproduce the next summer.
2. Other rodent species show communal nesting.
3. Some mammals, such as raccoons, do not actually hibernate, but will remain torpid in their dens during the coldest days and nights of winter.

Front 25

What is the difference between hibernating and torpid states?

Back 25

differences in duration and what stimulates them:
hibernation - response to changing photoperiod; longer lasting super deep sleep due to hormonal changes
torpor - more brief; the result of changes in temperature and food availability

Front 26

How are animals able to reproduce so soon after emerging from winter den?

Back 26

Hormones are timed for release during the hibernation period, "awakening" the physiological systems necessary for reproduction before hibernation ends

Front 27

What are the 4 different types of learning?

Back 27

1. Sensitization/Habituation
2. Pavlovian (Classical) Conditioning (a. imprinting; b. taste aversion)
3. Instrumental Learning (Operant conditioning)
4. Social (cultural) learning (Cultural Transmission)

Front 28

What are the four necessary parts of Classical Conditioning?

Back 28

1. Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): automatically triggers a response
2. Unconditioned Response (UCR): Automatica physiological response to stimulus
3. Conditioned Stiimulus (CS): initially neutral (NS), eliciting no response
4. Conditioned Response (CR): Identical in appearance to the UR

Front 29

Who did imprinting experiments with Gray-lag geese?

Back 29

Konrad Lorenz

Front 30

Who is particularly associated w/ taste aversion conditioned learning?

Back 30

John Garcia (1917-present)

Front 31

How does taste aversion differ from Classical Conditioning?

Back 31

1. it can occur w/ a long delay between stimulus and response
2. It can occur in 1 trial
3. It can be highly species and stimulus specific

Front 32

Which type of animal behavioral scientists are interested in learning?

Back 32

Psychologists

Front 33

What is the classic experiment for instrumental/operant learning?

Back 33

Mouse pressing lever for food

Front 34

Who is particularly associated with Operant Conditioning?

Back 34

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

Front 35

What university is known for their great psychology department, twin studies and adoption, & IQ tests?

Back 35

University of Minnesota

Front 36

What magazine in the 1950s was important in presenting animal behavior studies to the general public?

Back 36

Life magazine

Front 37

If you had to choose one method of instrumental (Operant Conditioning) Learning, which would be most effective?

Back 37

Positive Reinforcement --> most efficient; easiest way to get very complex series of activities = autoshaping

Front 38

What type of learning is our species particularly good at?

Back 38

Cultural Transmission - learning by observation & learning from teaching

Front 39

What is the classic example of cultural transmission?

Back 39

Potato washing in Japanese macaques in the island of Koshima by Imo

Front 40

Why is cultural transmission of information considered different from just a specilized form of individual learning?

Back 40

1. Cultural influences are passed from individual to individual, so a single individual in the population can have a dramatic effect on the behavior of the entire group. Longevity of the learned behavior
2. Speed of dissemination through population. Within a lifetime or just a few lifetimes, behaviors can change in a population.

Front 41

What are the 3 components of Communication?

Back 41

1. Production of a signal
2. Transmission of a signal
3. Reception of a signal

Front 42

What are some examples of modes of communication?

Back 42

Auditory
Visual
Electrical
Chemical
Vibratory

Front 43

What are some examples of Venues in which communication occurs?

Back 43

Foraging
Predation
Play
Aggression
Mating

Front 44

Who studied honey bee communication? What specifically did he test?

Back 44

Karl von Frisch - discovered the complex communication systems of honeybees;
Tested the accuracy of the waggle dance for Direction and Distance

Front 45

What are the two types of honey bee "dancing"?

Back 45

Round & "Waggle

Front 46

What question did Martin Lindauer tackle and what speculative scenario did he propose?

Back 46

How does the complex behavior of the honey bee waggle dance evolve?
Stage 1: No distance or direction information; just arroused by buzzing and odor of flowers (Trigona)
Stage 2: Distance & direction information communicated indirectly or passively; pheromone scent trail
Stage 3: Separate distance and direction information; distance by duration of sound & direction by short zigzag flight oriented toward food source (Melipona)
Stage 4: Communication of distance and direction simultaneously; Round and waggle dances of honeybees

Front 47

What two modes of signals do Leaf-Cutter ants used to communicate?

Back 47

use both Chemical (pheromonal) - used to indicated leaf sources over a long distance
vibrational (stridulation) - used to recruit other hive members over short distances

Front 48

What information does stridulation of gasters of ants provide?

Back 48

Provides information about the quality of leaves to other foragers

Front 49

What frequency range can water rippling be? What range is most common?

Back 49

2-100 Hertz range
20-50 Hertz range

Front 50

Where are electric fish mostly found?

Back 50

habitats such as murky or silty rivers where vision is not a particularly useful sense; South America and Africa

Front 51

What UT professor studied Electric Organs?

Back 51

Dr. Harold Zakon - studies South American wave fish;

Front 52

Males discharge EODs at a lower frequency than females in each species of wave fish except which species?

Back 52

Brown Ghost fish - males have higher frequency

Front 53

How do electric discharging fish alter the frequency of their EODs?

Back 53

altering hormones in their body

Front 54

What are the two uses of Electric field generation in animals?

Back 54

1. Navigation
2. Communication

Front 55

What is color change used for in many species?

Back 55

aggressive intent - can communicate threat without the attendant need to engage in actual combat

Front 56

When are Deceptive alarm calls used by swallows?

Back 56

False alarm calls are given by male swallows when their paternity is threatened by Extra Pair Copulations (EPCs)
Breaks up potential EPCs. Emits these when female is missing and in her most fertile part of reproductive cycle

Front 57

Where is the syrinx located?

Back 57

The syrinx is located at the intersection of the bronchi and trachea; if it also has a larynx it will be much higher up

Front 58

What is the syrinx primarily made of?

Back 58

Primarily a cartilagenous structure

Front 59

What is the most commonly used/researched songbird?

Back 59

Zebra finch

Front 60

What are the differences in male and female nuclei of Zebra finch songbirds?

Back 60

1. Male nuclei are larger - contain MORE soma
2. See clear connections between male axon projections; not so in females
3. established the process of neurogenesis in song controlled nuclei; nuclei increase and decrease in size on a seasonal basis (more neurons in spring)

Front 61

In what species was neurogenesis first discovered in the CNS of a vertebrate?

Back 61

Zebra finch song controlled nuclei

Front 62

What are the ways the syrinx can be controlled?

Back 62

1. Independent bilateral phonation
2. Unilateral dominance
3. Alternating lateralization
4. Sequential lateralization

Front 63

What are the model animals for language acquisition?

Back 63

Songbirds

Front 64

What did Dr. Erich Jarvis do?

Back 64

discovered that inside a hummingbird's brain—even though that brain is very tiny—is a sophisticated neural network that allows hummingbirds to teach each other to sing. His research on the brains of birds has helped establish how a simple bird brain can solve sophisticated problems.

Front 65

Females' reproductive success depends on____

Back 65

access to resources

Front 66

Males reproductive success depends on _____

Back 66

access to females

Front 67

What two mammals definitively show leking behavior?

Back 67

Uganda Kob and Fruit Bat

Front 68

What are the 2 major reasons why and how migrations have become popular studies?

Back 68

1. electronic tracking devices have become smaller and cheaper
2. climate change --> many scientists are very concerned with documenting and understanding climate change

Front 69

What are two ways animals avoid physical combat?

Back 69

establishing borders (territoriality) and establishing a dominance heirarchy

Front 70

How can an animal reduce the costs of maintaining a territory?

Back 70

if it learns who its neighbors are and switches its defense of the territory from actual combat to threat displays

Front 71

What are the two components of the Dear Enemy Effect?

Back 71

1. Do not challenge your neighbor for portions of its territory
2. Do not be vigilant against your neighbor on the assumption that it can be trusted

Front 72

What did Getty and Godard test?

Back 72

The dear enemy effect in Hooded Warblers

Front 73

What are the two distinct male life histories in Bluegill Sunfish?

Back 73

1. Parental: resources diverted to growth instead of reproduction. Territorial and attract females.
2. Sneaker to Satellite: resources diverted to reproduction at an early age. These are small individuals that can deliver sperm at an early age.

Front 74

Why are some satellites in some species tolerated?

Back 74

it increases the security of a territory; aids in defending

Front 75

If resources are scarce, how will a territory most likely change?

Back 75

Animals will increase the size of their territory

Front 76

What is the most studied species in terms of sociality, and family groups?

Back 76

Florida Scrub Jay

Front 77

How do animals navigate?

Back 77

They can use just about any kind of environmental cue to assist them if they can sense it: Sun, Earth, Stars patterns, Olfactory cues, Magnetic compass or map

Front 78

What do Indigo buntings use to navigate?

Back 78

Use star patterns (north star in northern hemisphere) migrate at night = celestial navigation; more specifically starts and constellations within 35 degrees of the N. Star

Front 79

Who studied navigation patterns in Indigo Buntings using planetarium?

Back 79

Steve Emlen

Front 80

What happens if you implant a magnet in a pigeon?

Back 80

it disrupts the ability of the pigeon to orient to the earth's magnetic field on an overcast day

Front 81

What compounds can act as transducers of the earth's geomagnetic field?

Back 81

Magnetite and Greigite

Front 82

In what animal have we found two individually identifiable neurons that respond to changes in earth-strength magnetic fields? what are they

Back 82

Nudibranch mollusc (Tritonia diomedea)
Neurons left pedal 5 (LPd5) and right pedal 5 (RPd5)

Front 83

What proportion of your genes do you share with a parent, offspring, or sibling?

Back 83

0.5

Front 84

What proportion of your genes do you share with a niece, nephew, aunt or uncle?

Back 84

0.25

Front 85

What proportion of your genes do you share with a first cousin?

Back 85

0.125

Front 86

What factors is decision to aid family members a function of?

Back 86

1. how related individuals are
2. how high or low the cost is
3. how high or low the benefits of the trait are

Front 87

What did W.D. Hamilton do?

Back 87

became famous through his theoretical work expounding a rigorous genetic basis for the existence of kin selection and altruism, an insight that was a key part of the development of a gene-centric view of evolution.

Front 88

What is unique about eusocial insect sex determination?

Back 88

Haploid sex determination: Female are diploid, but males are haploid; 75% relatedness between sisters as opposed to 50% relatedness between parents and offspring

Front 89

How does haplodiploid system of sex determination explain evolution of a sterile caste of worker in hymenoptera?

Back 89

Femlae is 75% related to fellow workers but 50% related to offspring. It makes sense that she should help queen produce sisters rather than reproducing on her own

Front 90

What is the only eusocial mammal?

Back 90

Naked Mole Rats - live underground in colonies in which "workers" are pheromonally sterile. The underground colony is presided over by the Queen with a harem of 2-5 males. She is the only one that reproduces.

Front 91

What are the 5 conditions that are conducive to the evolution of siblicide in birds?

Back 91

1. Competition for food
2. Provision of the food to nestling in small units
3. Weaponry
4. Spatial Confinement
5. Competitive disparities between siblings --> may be a consequence rather than a cause of siblicide

Front 92

What is the result of infanticide in polygynous mating systems in which males have just taken over and dominate a group of females?

Back 92

1. the males do not have to support young that are not their genetic descendents
2. the females will cycle into reproductive rediness earlier and can be mater by the new resident

Front 93

Who Proposed that evolution of reciprocal altruism could be explained by concept of Prisoner's Dilemma game theory?

Back 93

Robert Trivers - 1971

Front 94

What is the *** for tat strategy?

Back 94

Cooperate, then repeat opponents last move
1. Unless provoked, the agent will always cooperate
2. If provoked, the agent will retaliate
3. The agent is quick to forgive
4. The agent must have a good chance of competing against the opponent more than once

Front 95

Where does Facultative siblicide occur?

Back 95

IN places that have very fluctuating environmental conditions, can't predict what their resources are going to be like

Front 96

Where is obligative siblicide occur?

Back 96

in places that are very constant, but in very poor resource conditions.