animal systems

Question 1

What type of stress response involves the adrenal medulla? The adrenal cortex? What class of hormones is involved in each type of response?

Answer 1

adrenal medulla: short term stress, where the flight or fight system is activated, and norepinephrine and epinephrine
- increase heart rate, blood pressure,

adrenal cortex: long term stress
- release cortisol

Question 2

What pathway regulates the fight or flight response? What hormones are involved? What do they do?

Answer 2

sympathetic nervous system
Norepinephrine and epinephrine
they increase heart rate, energy, blood pressure

Question 3

Know the releasing hormones and anterior pituitary hormones involved in steroid hormone release from the adrenal cortex. What is released from the adrenal cortex?
What does this hormone do?

Answer 3

glucocortoids (cortisol)
- break down proteins and fats and convert to glucose
-surpress immune system
-inhibit reproduction and growth

Question 4

What is the main glucocorticoid that is released in humans? What about birds and rats?

Answer 4

cortisol in humans
corticosterone in birds and rats

Question 5

How is the stress response adaptive? Why is stress sometimes harmful?

Answer 5

adaptive: make glucose available and move it to needed sections
increase alertness
braking immune systems
stop sperm and egg development

it can be harmful because it can cause fatigue, mess with memory, pause immune system, bad for reporduction system

Question 6

What do behavioral ecologists study? How is the success of a behavior measured by behavioral ecologists?

Answer 6

they study how behaviors contributes to differential survival and reproduction of organisms

success of a behavior is paassing down your genes

Question 7

What are proximate causes of behavior? What are ultimate causes of behavior?

Answer 7

proximate: what trigger the behavior, genetic/physical contributers, role of experience

ultimate: how does behavior porduce reproductive sucess

Question 8

What is innate behavior? What is a fixed action pattern (FAP)? What is a sign stimulus?

Answer 8

innate behavior: behavior that requires no learning and is under strong genetic influence

FAP: a sequence of innate behaviors were once triggered, have to be carried to completion

sign stimulus: something that triggers a FAP

Question 9

Sign stimuli can be sent through what sensory modalities (e.g., visual system, auditory system…)?

Answer 9

visual, auditory, chemical, vibrations, tactile, electrical

Question 10

Can FAPs be shaped by learning?

Answer 10

yes

Question 11

Behavior results from a mix of __________ and ___________

Answer 11

genes, environment

Question 12

What is involved in birdsong learning?

Answer 12

genetics and learning
they are genetically programmed to learn by will only respond with songs to the correct songs heard

Question 13

Define the 3 mechanisms animals use to find locations in the environment. Which is the simplest? Which is the most complex?

Answer 13

1. piloting: movement of animals from one familiar landmark to another
   2.orientation: movement across a compass line
   3.navigation: use compass line to determine where they are relative to their destination

piloting most simple
navigation most complex

Question 14

What are limitations associated with piloting?

Answer 14

• typically only used for short distances (require familiarity)
  -not useful over night or over ocean
  -only works if landmarks are stationary

Question 15

What mechanism is used by monarch butterflies during migration?

Answer 15

orientation

Question 16

What are 2 stimuli that animals (including butterflies) can use for a compass?

Answer 16

sun, earth’s magnetic field

Question 17

What does the internal clock have to do with one of these compasses?

Answer 17

internal compass needed to keep track of position of the sun, since it changes over time

Question 18

What are limitations associated with orientation?

Answer 18

with only a compass, if you get blown off track you can’t find your way again

Question 19

What does an animal need to navigate?

Answer 19

compass and cognitive map

Question 20

What is a cognitive map? What are some cues on which the map can be based?

Answer 20

cognitive map: a mental map of spatial relations between objects

can be based off earth’s magnetic field, landmarks, sounds, odors

Question 21

Which mechanism of location finding allows an animal to correct its direction of travel if it is displaced?

Answer 21

navigation

Question 22

What is communication?

Answer 22

use of specifically designed signals to modify the behaviors of others

Question 23

How do bees symbolically communicate the location of food to other foragers?

Answer 23

they do a waggle dance to communicate the direction and distance of food from the hive

Question 24

What are considered the primary functions of communication for most animals?

Answer 24

attract mates, repel rivals

Question 25

What is the handicap principle?

Answer 25

1. courtship signals are expensive to produce
2. thus only highest quality males can produce them
   3.therefor signals can communicate accurate informations about males

Question 26

What does testosterone have to do with the handicap principle?

Answer 26

testosterone mediates these signals

Question 27

What is intersexual selection? What is intrasexual selection?

Answer 27

intersexual selection: choose mates on the basis of particular characteristics

intrasexual selection: competition among one sex for a mate

Question 28

How do intersexual and intrasexual selection drive the evolution of elaborate male traits?

Answer 28

the female’s preferences drive what traits are expressed (b/c they are the ones that are successful and passed down)