5 Adaptations and Behavioral Ecology

Question 1

adaptation

Answer 1

A trait or suite of traits that increases fitness

Question 2

variation

Answer 2

raw material for evolution by natural selection, must be heritable

Question 3

TAS2Rs

Answer 3

sense bitter flavors

Question 4

AVI/AVI

Answer 4

no bitter flavor tasted

Question 5

phenotypic trade-off

Answer 5

one phenotype experiences higher fitness in one environment, and another phenotype experiences higher fitness in another environment

Question 6

phenotypic plasticity

Answer 6

ability of an organism to change phenotype in response to environmental stimuli

Question 7

Daphnia make more proteins when they smell midge larvae (predator); proteins cause change:
Thicker shells

Answer 7

example of environmental variation AND inducible defense

Question 8

genotype-by-environment interaction

Answer 8

when two different genotypes respond to environmental variation in different ways

Question 9

evolutionary trade-off

Answer 9

unavoidable compromise or balance between one trait and another; one trait is enhanced at the expense of another

Question 10

behavioral ecology

Answer 10

study of the ecological and evolutionary basis of animal behavior

Question 11

proximate causes

Answer 11

immediate reasons that result in behaviors

Question 12

ultimate causes

Answer 12

evolutionary and historical reasons that result in behaviors

Question 13

adaptive evolution

Answer 13

traits that confer survival or reproductive advantages increase in frequency over time

Question 14

optimal foraging theory

Answer 14

When energy is a limiting factor in heterogeneous landscapes, animals invest more time acquiring the highest-quality food possible where it is most abundant, the shortest distance away, and the least risky

Question 15

Profitability of a food item (P) depends on

Answer 15

how much energy (E) the animal gets from the food relative to amount of time (t) it spends obtaining the food

Question 16

The Marginal Value Theorem

Answer 16

as an optimally foraging animal’s travel time between food patches increases, so should its foraging time in each patch

Question 17

migration

Answer 17

seasonal movements from one region to another where conditions are more favorable for survival or reproduction

Question 18

dormancy

Answer 18

condition in which organisms dramatically reduce their metabolic processes

Question 19

torpor

Answer 19

A brief period of dormancy in which individuals reduce activity and body temperature; common in birds and mammals

Question 20

hibernation

Answer 20

Endotherms reduce energetic costs of maintaining high metabolisms during winter food shortages by reducing movement, heart rate, and body temperature

Question 21

brumation

Answer 21

Ectotherms cannot maintain metabolism, activity, heart rate, or body temperature during cold weather

Question 22

aestivation

Answer 22

The shutting down of metabolic processes during the summer in response to hot or dry conditions.

Question 23

diapause

Answer 23

Involves partial or complete physiological shutdown during development in response to unfavorable conditions like cold or dry conditions