Animal midterm 1 Flashcards
explain how our perception of the visual world is different then bees and birds (for example) what are the consequences of this?
we see very differently from them. bees -> UV light to see different patterns on flowers, birds->plumage looks very different in UV as well. This allows them to pick up on signals that we aren’t aware of.
How do birds have an “extra sense”, explain
Birds seem to be able to feel electromagnetic fields of the earth to allow them to create maps in their head (or so it seems), extremely refined.
What is “Umwelt” ?
the world as it is experienced by a particular organism, each one sense the environment in its own way relative to what it “needs” to do.
Explain Umwelt of a tick.
positive geotaxis, moves towards fur(or hair) and war m bodies, drops when it detects butyric acid (what mammals release)
Why can’t you compare one animals intelligence to another’s?
so much variability, different ways to measure intelligence but mostly animals are as smart as they need to be to survive in their environment.
Explain the study by Inoue and Matsuzawa done on working memory in Chimps.
Mother and offspring chimps were trained on arabic number for a masking task and limited-hold memory task. they had to memorize lay out of numbers on screen. were WAY better then humans.
What is Anthropomorphism?
when we attribute human traits/emotions/characteristics /intentions to non human attributes. Considered to be innate tendency of human beings. (back to us spiritually Mother Nature)
What is a pro of anthropomorphism?
a ‘sense’ of the animal can lead to great insights when we try to ‘think’ like an animal.
What is a con of anthropomorphism?
animals don’t sense or process the world as we do its important to be aware of this when studying behaviour.
What is animal behaviour.
Scientific study of how and why animals behave how they do. (observable, repeatable, testable evidence)
How r u gonna do on this exam?
FAN FLIPPIN TASTIC
What is artificial selection?
The way we breed selectively animals based a desirable phenotype. e.g. dog breeding German bread to be strong and loyal, sheep dog bread to be energetic.
Who is the selective agent in artificial selection of show dogs.
Humans
How do selective agents in artificial selection select for the phenotype they want.
Via the effect on the genetic make up (genotype) coded in the genes.
What is the selective agent in nature? how does it behave.
The environment is the selective agent, every environment selects animals differently depends on the variations within. e.g. Beatles (spotted vs white) which ever one has best survival will be selected in the environment.
What is required for evolution by natural selection?
individuals must vary, some variation must be heritable, some individuals survive and reproduce better then others, survival and reproduction is not random (ind with more suitable traits do better), organism that are left have adaptions.
why do they call natural selection blind?
because it is this complex environment that is influencing it, organisms aren’t being ‘hand picked’
what is the difference in the environment of the Guppy (Poecilia reticulate) in Trinidad, in upper and lower stream levels.
upstream of water falls there is less predation and down stream of waterfalls there is a lot of predation
How does the environment of each type of guppy in the Trinidad case influence the offspring of that population?
in upstream populations, females produce few larger offspring (harder for predator to eat) travel in small groups. Downstream, females produce many small offspring in hopes that a larger percentage of them will survive travel In large groups.
When switching a guppy from areas (low to high predation or vice versa) what will be the consequences?
Within a deacde they will acquire the adaptations of the other population.
How are adaptations and traits conveyed through generations?
they must be transferred through genes.
How does your DNA hold a record of your family relationships?
It holds this record because your genetic make up is a fraction of your relatives make up. parents being 1/2 each, grand parents 1/4, and so on.
If a behavioural trait Is being favoured In a population, what does that mean for the individuals carrying the genes that code for that behaviour?
They will be more frequent in the population.
What is It called when a behavioural trait Is to help organism that share genes with you in order to further them in the population.
Kin selection
according to kin selection, why are you more likely to save you’re brother from being eaten by a shark then your second cousin?
because you share more of your genetic make up with your brother.
What is eusociality?
level of organization in animal sociality where individuals give up their reproductive succes to care for offspring of others in pop. (communal care of young), overlapping generations and division of labour (some specialized).
Do organisms in a eusocial population tend to be more or less related to each other?
tend to be more related, studies demonstrates within colonies of eusocial mole rats almost same levels of relatedness as inbred lab mice.
What is an extreme example of a eusocial population?
The Naked mole rat, one queen who reproduces in the whole population, served by 3 males, every one else acts as defenders and foragers. (only eusocial vertebrate) ants as well.
What is direct fitness?
An individuals reproductive success (number of viable offspring)
What is indirect fitness?
reproductive success of genetic relatives.
What is inclusive fitness?
direct and indirect fitness put together.
What are taxonomy and phylogeny? (generally)
two ways of classifying animals.
What is taxonomy?
the naming of the animal.
What is phylogeny?
understanding the evolutionary history of the animal by phylogenetic tree.
What is the defining feature that sets eukaryotic cells apart from prokaryotic cells(bacteria and Archaea)?
Eukaryotic cells have membrane-bound organelles, especially the nucleus which contains the genetic material and is enclosed by the nuclear envelop.
What are Chordates?
animals possessing a notochord. (hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail, for at least some period of their life cycle. )
Vertebrate are a subphylum of what?
chordates
insects are in which phylum?
arthropod phylum
What Is the definition of a mammal ?
a warm blooded vertebrate animal, of a class that is distinguished by the possession of fur or hair, the secretion of milk by females for the nourishment of young and (typically) birth of live young.
What does a node represent on a phylogenetic tree?
common ancestor to the species that come after splitting or branching point, all branch tips arising from a given branching point are descendent of the common ancestor of that branching point.
What does a root represent on a phylogenetic tree?
the common lineage from which all species indicated on the tree are derived.
When evolution works on existing traits of shared ancestors in different ways of what do you call this?
Homologous traits.
What do you call it when evolution shapes similar traits for common functions. for example bat wings and bird wings?
Analogous traits.
What is behavioural genetics? (broadly)
It is how genetics and environment influence behaviour. interdisciplinary (psych, bio, neuroscience, ethology), study of heritability of behavioural traits.
