Animal Behaviour Flashcards
What causes worker bees to perform different tasks more/less often at different ages?
Genre responding to the environment to alter nervous system and behaviour.
In bees, the juvenile hormone is (high/low) in nurses and (high/low) in older foragers?
Low then high
In male competition for females, how do dominance and reproductive success correlate?
Very positively.
Give an example of something which can increase copulation time.
Nuptial gifts (e.g. food)
What is the name for males who use alternate tactics such as using female colouration?
Satellite makes
What is the name for males who use alternate tactics such as hiding and releasing sperm at the same time as territorial males?
Sneaker males
Suggest a method of ensuring a mate doesn’t copulate with another male.
Mate guarding
What is polyandry?
When a female mates with several males and the male takes care of the young.
If Northwestern Crows usually drop large whelks from 5M, what does this mean in regards to optimal foraging?
Large ones are more likely to break at this height, fewer are broken at lower and no more are broken at higher.
Why is it not worth the energy and time for a Northwestern Crow to find another whelk after multiple attempts to break one?
The chance of a whelk breaking is not affected by the number of times it has already been dropped.
What is assumed to be achieved if calories per unit of time are maximised?
Maximum reproductive success.
Give 2 factors in feeding which are not energy intake.
Exposure to predators and time taken to retrieve food.
Give 2 examples of copying of foraging success.
Ospreys using nesting colonies as information centres and bees doing a waggle dance in the hive.
Give 2 potential advantages in avoiding predation by being in a large group.
Increased vigilance and use of alarm signals.
What is the dilution effect?
Predators are less likely to focus on “you” in a larger group.
What is the confusion effect?
Predators find it difficult to focus on a single prey in a large group.
Give 3 tactics used by organisms using the confusion effect on predators.
Random movements, mobbing and flash colouration.
What is aposematism?
Appearing conspicuous and distasteful to avoid attack.
Give 3 examples of ways animals blend in to avoid attack.
Immobility, crypsis and masquerading.
What is Batesian mimicry?
When something palatable mimics something unpalatable.
What is Mullerian mimicry?
When both the model and mimic organism are unpalatable, allowing use of startle effects.
Give some examples of methods to avoid capture.
Strength, producing slime, autonomy, spines, producing acid and venom resistance.
