Animal Behavior

Question 1

behavior has its ultimate basis in what?

Answer 1

evolution

Question 2

ethology

Answer 2

study of animal behavior

Question 3

why do birds sing?

Answer 3

1) attract mates
2) let other birds know their location
3) hold territory

Question 4

is behavior subject to natural selection?

Answer 4

yes

Question 5

behavior results from what two things?

Answer 5

genes and environmental factors

Question 6

innate behavior

Answer 6

due to genetic progamming

Question 7

FAP

Answer 7

fixed action pattern
- sequence of behavioral acts that are essentially unchangeable and usually carries to completion once initiated

Question 8

Greyleg Goose behavior

Answer 8

rolls the egg back to the nest using side-to-side head motions when something is sensed near the nest

Question 9

European Cuckoos behavior

Answer 9

lay the eggs in nests of other species (like Reed Warblers nests and they feed the eggs due to FAP)

Question 10

imprinting

Answer 10

recognition and attachment of young to a particular adult

Question 11

how do humans have to deal with imprinting

Answer 11

minimizing/eliminating human presence while raising CA condors

Question 12

associative learning

Answer 12

animals associate one feature of their environment with another (classical conditioning, bell)

Question 13

example of associative learning

Answer 13

a white footed mouse will avoid eating caterpillars with specific colors after a bad experience with a distasteful monarch butterfly caterpillar

Question 14

trial & error learning (operant conditioning)

Answer 14

an animal learns to associate one of its behaviors with a reward or punishment (skinner “reward” box)

Question 15

habituation

Answer 15

involves loss of responsiveness to unimportant stimuli or stimuli that do not appropriate feedback

Question 16

what is an example of habituation?

Answer 16

some animals stop responding to warning signals after no predator cry is heard afterwards

Question 17

spatial learning

Answer 17

more complex modification of behavior based on experience with the spatial structure of the environment

Question 18

digger wasps

Answer 18

Niko Tinbergen showed that they use landmark shapes to find nest entrances

Question 19

how do chimpanzees learn by observation?

Answer 19

young chimpanzees learn to crack palm nuts with stones by copying older chimpanzees

Question 20

cognition and problem solving

Answer 20

using reasoning and logic (most animals do not have this)

Question 21

cognition

Answer 21

process of knowing that may include awareness, reasoning, recollection and judgement

Question 22

kinesis

Answer 22

simple change in activity or turning rate in response to a stimulus

Question 23

example of kinesis

Answer 23

bugs become faster in dry areas (to avoid desiccation)

Question 24

taxis

Answer 24

automatic, oriented movement toward or away from a stimulus

Question 25

example of taxis

Answer 25

many stream fish exhibit a positive taxis and automatically swim in an upstream direction

Question 26

changing seasons are associated with what rhythm?

Answer 26

circannual rhythm (ASSOCIATED TWICE A YEAR WITH MIGRATION)

Question 27

fiddler crab lunar cycle behaviors

Answer 27

courtship occurs during new and full moons

Question 28

dominance hierarchies are known in what species?

Answer 28

baboons, wolves, chickens

Question 29

inclusive fitness

Answer 29

an individual doesn’t have to reproduce to increase its fitness…instead the individual can increase the fitness of relatives

Question 30

example of ritual behavior

Answer 30

snakes fighting each other instinctively in front of a female, without biting each other

Question 31

kin selection

Answer 31

behaviors that favor relatives (altruism not really altruism, Dawkins)