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163 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What is an innate behaviour?
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-inborn behaviour
-does not require experience or learning |
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Give an example of an innate behaviour.
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-taxes (movement)
-reflexes -instincts |
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What is chemotaxis?
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-the ability of organisms to move up or down chemical gradients
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What are the two main components of learning?
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-ability to acquire neuronal representation of new information
-use of this information to determine subsequent behaviour |
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Describe an distinct innate behaviour observed in wood ducks.
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Egg Dumping
-females lay eggs in the nests of other females |
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What conditions make "egg dumping" adaptive?
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-well-dispersed nests
-well-hidden nests |
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Does "egg dumping" increase reproductive success?
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No
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What trait of medium ground finches is adaptive when small seeds are scarce?
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Large beaks
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Upstream (low predation) guppies' offspring have which adaptive traits?
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-large offspring
-mature at a later age |
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Downstream (high predation) guppies' offspring have which adaptive traits?
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-many small offspring
-mature at an early age |
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In which environment do brightly coloured guppies thrive?
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Low predation, upstream
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In which environment is distant predator inspection adaptive?
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High predation, downstream
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In a low predation environment, which schooling behaviour is observed in guppies?
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Fewer schooling, smaller schools
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What was the main point of the guppy experiment?
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Traits are only adaptive in specific environments; if the environment changes, then the trait may become non-adaptive or maladaptive
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Are helping behaviours observed in scrub jays?
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Yes
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Are helping behaviours observed in wood ducks?
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No
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Why does helping close relatives increase fitness?
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-relatives share individual's genes
-helping relatives reproduce allows their genes (and yours) to be passed on to the next generation |
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Nest sites are plentiful. Will a scrub jay help its parents?
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No; it will have higher fitness by breeding
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Name the one mammal that is known to exhibit eusociality.
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Naked mole rats
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What are two factors that cause naked mole rats to have increased fitness in a eusocial colony?
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-unusually high degree of relatedness
-harsh conditions that make foraging individually very difficult |
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An adaptation is a trait that provides an individual with the _______ fitness relative to other ___________ in the environment.
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highest, individuals
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What is the dominant mechanism for changing animal traits over time?
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Evolution
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_________ give individuals an edge over their peers.
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Adaptations
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True or false: The conditions for evolution are always met.
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False, only sometimes
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A _______ gene behaves in a way that attempts to increase its own frequency.
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Selfish
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What do selfish genes provide their carrier with?
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A fitness advantage
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Name two benefits of schooling behaviour.
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-less individual risk
-greater vigilance -group confusion (predators) |
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An individual's lifetime reproductive success is known as _______.
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Fitness
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What are the two components of inclusive fitness?
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Direct fitness, indirect fitness
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What is Hamilton's Rule?
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rb>c
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What does the "b" in Hamilton's Rule represent?
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Benefit to recipient
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What does the "c" in Hamilton's Rule represent?
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Cost to donor
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What does the "r" in Hamilton's Rule represent?
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Relatedness of donor and recipient
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What happens if Hamilton's Rule is satisfied?
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The frequency of the behaviour will increase
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Starlings with _____ mass have a higher ___________.
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lower, angle of ascent
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More protective cover results in _________ mass in birds.
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increased
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Did great tits show a higher or lower mass when predators were fewer?
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Higher
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What risks are associated with the terrestrial habitat of red-eye tree frogs?
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Snake attacks
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Red-eye tree frogs are at a higher risk in the aquatic environment if they are _______.
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Younger
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What was the main point of the red-eye tree frog experiment?
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-calculation of mortality risk leads to decisions about habitat/environment
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Which provides a better survival rate for a red-eye tree frog: Snake attack or aquatic environment?
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Aquatic environment
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Optimal fat content in birds is influenced by... (2)
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-availability of food
-predation risk |
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Vervet monnkeys employ the use of ___________ as an anti-predatory tactic.
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Alarm calls
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Gazelles have 4 main predators. Name them.
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lions, cheetahs, wild dogs, hyenas
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What response do gazelles have to cheetahs?
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Taunting
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What response do gazelles have to hyenas?
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Flee
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Gazelles are more likely to taunt in _____ groups.
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Large
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What response do cheetahs have to gazelle taunting?
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Move away sooner, and go further away
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What response do hyenas have to gazelle taunting?
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Trick question! Gazelles do not taunt hyenas
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Describe why taunting is an effective anti-predatory behaviour for gazelles.
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-cheetahs rely on the element of surprise
-gazelles have greater endurance than cheetahs in a chase |
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Common ground squirrels respond to predation by ________.
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Asserting themselves or aggressing
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Mortality rates in newly hatched baby turtles are _________ and ______.
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huge, non-random
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What adaptation have ground squirrels developed to allow them to better protect their territory?
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Immune response to snake venom
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How does attacking a snake increase a ground squirrel's fitness? (2)
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-snake is less likely to return
-squirrel protects close relative in territory (share its genes) |
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What is the main point of the example of ground squirrels?
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Anti-predator behaviour does not always involve fleeing
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Survival rate _______ for animals in a group.
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Increases
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This anti-predatory behaviour in squid allows for a better escape.
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Confusion, ink explusion
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What is "anisogamy"?
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Observable different between genders
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_______ selection acts on gamete size.
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Divergent
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A trait makes an individual more vulnerable to predators, but makes the individual more desirable to the opposite sex. Will this trait persist?
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Yes
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Three gazelles notice they are being stalked by a herd of wild dogs. How will they respond?
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Flee
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A group of tree frog eggs is left alone on the leaf. When will they drop into the water?
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After approximately 7 days
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A lone gazelle sees a lion in the bushes. How will it respond?
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Flee
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A starling is born in the wild, then moved to an aviary. Will it be more or less massive than its sister, who is still in the wild?
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More massive
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What is another term for "cuckoldry"?
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Extra-pair copulation
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What are the two types of selection involved in evolution?
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Natural selection, sexual selection
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A ______ male closely resembles a female; this allows it to mate with a female who is already paired with a male.
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Satellite
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A ____ male is a stereotypical male.
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Parental
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A ______ male employs a "hit 'n run" mating strategy.
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Sneaker
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Which type of male is at risk of being attacked by a parental male?
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Sneaker
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Most blue-gill sunfish males show the _______ male phenotype.
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Parental
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What type of selection results in the development of extreme traits in males?
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Runaway selection
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Why does runaway selection occur?
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Snowball effect
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What genotype and phenotype do males involved in runaway selection have?
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-genotype: code for preference for the trait, and the trait itself
-phenotype: the trait |
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What genotype and phenotype do females involved in runaway selection have?
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-genotype: code for preference for the trait, and the trait itself
-phenotype: preference for the trait |
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Several examples of runaway selection were discussed in class. Name two.
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-peacocks
-long-tailed widowmakers -stalk-eyed flies |
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What key point was demonstrated with the behaviour of male and female lions?
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Gender roles
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Scorpion flies were an example of which factor in female choice?
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Direct benefits
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Stalk-eyed flies were an example of which factor in female choice?
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Runaway selection
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Which males do blue-footed boobies copulate with: their social mate, or the males they prefer based on genes alone?
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Both
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The blue-footed boobie is an example of two concepts in sexual selection. Name them.
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-extra-pair copulation
-good genes (female choice) |
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Two examples of male mammals holding harems were given. Name them.
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-elephant seals
-red deer |
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Harem-holding behaviour results in ________.
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Anisogamy
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Facial beauty is a paradox. This is because ________ faces are preferred.
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Average
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What feature of faces is indicative of good genes?
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Symmetry
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Symmetry in faces is produced by the _______ genes.
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Homeobox
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Females will choose the males other females prefer. What is this an example of?
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Social learning
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What are the direct benefits of nuptial gifts to the female scorpion fly? (2)
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-more eggs produced
-longer life-span |
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What are the benefits of large nuptial gifts to the males scorpion fly?
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-longer copulation with female
-more sperm transferred |
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True or False: Male red deer will always engage in combat when facing another male.
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False; combat is a last resort
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Roaring occurs most frequently in which male red deer?
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Harem-holders
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Two male red deer have had a roaring contest, and are now walking parallel to one another. If one of the males walks away, will combat result?
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No
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Male scorpion flies sometimes engage in trickery. Describe the behaviour.
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-assume female posture
-wait for a male to present a nuptial gift -accept the gift -present that gift to a real female |
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True or False: birds are monogamous.
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False.
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True or False: female fruit flies will avoid males who have recently engage in copulation.
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True.
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Bison experience anisogamy, but do not hold harems. Why must they engage in combat?
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Limited number of females in heat
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A mother goose sees a small round object outside of her nest. What happens next? What is this an example of?
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She will roll the object into her nest.
Innate behaviour |
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A peach-faced lovebird and a Fischer's lovebird get to lovin' and make a baby lovebird. Which parent's innate twig-carrying behaviours will be expressed?
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A combination of both, but it will only be able to hold it in its beak
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True or False: Innate behaviours are frequently modified.
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False
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True or False: Parental love is an innate response.
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True.
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True or False: It is impossible to alter an innate response.
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False.
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Begging behaviour in gulls is an innate response. What stimulus elicits the behaviour?
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Red dot on parent's beak
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Begging response in gulls is _______ by learning.
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Enhanced
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Damselflies respond to:
(a) Pike in the water (b) Prey in the water (c) Chemical cues released by pike preying on prey (d) All of the above |
c.
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Damselflies use _______ as an anti-predatory strategy.
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Freezing
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Inexperienced damselfiles are able/unable to respond to mealworm chemical cues. Experienced damselflies are able/unable to respond to meal worm cues.
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unable
able |
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What was the main point of the experiment with the damselflies?
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-demonstrate the effect of learning on innate behaviours
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What was the difference between the two experimental groups in the damselfly experiment?
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(1) Inexperienced = no exposure to pike at all
(2) Inexperienced = only exposure to pike feeding on mealworms |
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Which of the following is not a typical prey for a pike?
(a) Minnows (b) Damselflies (c) Mealworms (d) All of the above ARE typical prey |
C.
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In the fruit-fly-flavoured-dish experiment, which was passed on the offspring: the preference for a specific flavour, or the ability to form a preference?
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Ability to form a preference
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When exposed to dishes with flavour + quinine, the fruit flies _____ that flavour when given a choice.
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Avoided
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What is the main point of the fruit fly/flavour dish experiment?
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The ability to learn can be selected for
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Fruit flies were exposed to a pineapple dish, and an orange-quinine dish, then given a chance to breed on two dishes without quinine. Eggs on the pineapple dish were reared. What is the significance of this?
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Selecting for offspring of parents who learned to avoid quinine.
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What conditions promote the evolution of learning (variability within lifetime, between generations)?
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High variability between generations
Low variability within lifetime |
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Why does learning require such specific circumstances to develop?
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Developing the ability to learn is costly to the individual; only learn if there is a clear benefit
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Bumblebees show a _____ degree of learning.
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High
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Which protein does long-term memory depend on?
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CREB
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What do innate behaviours inform us about?
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Things in our environment that need our attention
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A bumblebee ______ flowers and by doing so, it learns about them.
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Samples
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Learning is adaptive when there are/aren't reliable trends over many generations, and are/aren't reliable associations in an individual's life.
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Aren't
Are |
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When innate behaviours don't lead to a predictable outcome, _______ should occur.
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Learning
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Name two factors that make a sea slug an excellent model organism.
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-huge neurons
-simple connectivity -can show simple learning |
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Sensitization results in a(n) _________ response. Habituation results in a(n) __________ response.
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increased
decreased |
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What causes the gills of the aplysia to withdraw?
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Touching the gill siphon
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In safe conditions, Aplysia demonstrates learning though the _______ in length of response.
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Decrease
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In unsafe conditions (shock), Aplysia shows learning though the _________ in length of response.
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Increase
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Neurons that ______ together, _______ together.
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Fire
Wire |
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Why were sea slugs significant in the field of learning?
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First connection between neurobiology and observed learning patterns
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A sea slug has been prodded repeatedly. The next time the gill siphon is touched, how will the length of the response compare to previous responses?
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It will be shorter
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Sluggy the sea slug just tried to make toast, but since he's in the sea, he got a shock to his gill siphon. If Sluggy has his gill siphon touched again shortly after, will the length of the response be shorter or longer?
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Longer
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After taking a drug in a familiar environment repeatedly, will an individual require more or less drug?
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More
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Getting used to taking taking a drug in a certain environment is known as ___________.
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Tolerance development
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True or False: The process of conditioning is the same for any two stimuli.
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True
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Learning should favour individuals who learn cues that are ________ in their particular environment.
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Useful
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Is there a bias to learning in animals?
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Learn cues that are relevant to situation
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Taste is a relevant cue for _________. Audiovisual cues are relevant cues to _________.
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Food quality
Physical harm |
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What are sonograms used for?
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Compare and contrast songs in different species of birds
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The _______ is a bird's voice box.
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Syrinx
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A bird's voice box can produce ____ notes at once: _____ and ______
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Two
High Low |
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What are the four brain structures involved in bird song?
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-HVC
-RA -nXIIts -LMAN |
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Birds must be able to ______ and _____ in order to acquire a song.
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Hear
Sing |
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Which sex does most of the singing? What physiological differences are associated with this?
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Males
Larger brain size |
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Which hormone prevents brain cell death in birds? Consequence of cell death?
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Estrogen
Cell death means a smaller brain, and the inability to sing |
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What are the functions of bird song? (2)
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-attract females
-ward off predators or other males |
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Song repertoire is ________ correlated with HVC volume
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Positively
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Why is communication through song advantageous to birds in particular?
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Low visibility environment
Birds can communicate without seeing one another |
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Several things occur when males sing most frequently. Describe them. (3)
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-females seek out males
-# of clutches of eggs increases -# of eggs per clutch increases |
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Do males sing more or less once they find a mate?
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Less, they essentially stop
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When females are removed from a nest males sing _______.
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More
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When given a choice, females prefer nest boxes that have what feature?
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Species specific song.
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Give two reasons why it is advantageous for a male to know more than one song.
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-additional protection for territory
-females prefer males with large repertoires -allows for a larger territory |
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What did the experiment with great tits at Oxford University demonstrate?
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-males avoid areas with bird song, especially those areas with multiple songs
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For a white-crowned sparrow, when is the critical period for song learning?
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10-50 days old
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True or False: Birds can only learn their species specific song.
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False
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True or False: Birds will learn only their species specific song if they have been exposed to both the species specific song and another song.
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True.
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There are three birds that can acquire new songs in their lifetime. Name two.
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-songbirds
-parrots -hummingbirds |
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Is a species specific song an innate behaviour?
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Yes
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Having a large repertoire is a _______ ________ because females choose those males first.
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Fitness advantage
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Which hypothesis of song learning is supported by homology in the brains of birds that can learn new songs?
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The ability to learn was dropped by all other species
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Song sharing facilitates refined communication by using different ____ types.
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Song
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Tommy the Blackbird knows 3 different songs. When he sees Suzie the Blackbird, how many of these songs is he likely to sing?
(a) None (b) One (c) Two (d) Three |
(d) Three
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A songbird's egg is laid in the wild, but hatched and reared in the lab. Will this bird's song resemble that of its siblings, which remain the in the wild?
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No
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Name the two factors that induce singing in male birds.
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Genetics
Hormones |