Chapter 51

Question 1

ethology

Answer 1

study of behavior

Question 2

Behavioral Ecology

Answer 2

study of behavior (as in adaptation) in the context of ecology (the present) and evolution (over time).

Question 3

Proximate Cause

Answer 3

triggered by environmental, genetics, physiological, and anatomical mechanisms

Question 4

Ultimate Causes

Answer 4

focuses on the evolutionary significance and why natural selection favors this behavior.

Question 5

innate behavior

Answer 5

under strong genetic influence (not learned)

Question 6

fixed action pattern

Answer 6

sequence of innate behaviors; carried to completion once initiated by a sign stimulus (external sensory trigger)

Question 7

imprinting

Answer 7

specific learned behavior with a significant innate component, acquired during a sensitive period (critical development stage)

Question 8

signal

Answer 8

behavior in an animal that causes a change in another’s behavior

Question 9

communication

Answer 9

transmission, reception, and response to signals- visuals, audio, chemical, tactile and electrical cues

Question 10

pheromone

Answer 10

a secreted or excreted chemical signal for communication; acts much like a hormone to influence physiology/ behavior

Question 11

Examples of pheromone

Answer 11

courtship & mating, quorum sensing, kin recognition, aggression, trail marking, alarm signaling, territorial

Question 12

promiscuous

Answer 12

no strong pair bonds or lasting relationships

Question 13

monogamous

Answer 13

one male mating with one female

Question 14

polygamous

Answer 14

individual of one sex mating with several from the other

Question 15

territory

Answer 15

area, usually fixed in location, that individuals defend against other members of the same species

Question 16

total range

Answer 16

covered by individual or group during lifetime

Question 17

home range

Answer 17

used by individual or group on a regular basis

Question 18

agonistic behavior

Answer 18

includes a variety of threats or actual combat that settles disputed between individuals in population (over resources; mate)

Question 19

dominance hierarchy

Answer 19

ranking of individuals based on social interactions

Question 20

altruism

Answer 20

reduce on fitness to increase that of another

Question 21

kin selection

Answer 21

altruistic behavior towards close kin

Question 22

inclusive fitness

Answer 22

total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes (own offspring or close kin)

Question 23

coefficient of relatedness

Answer 23

probability of two individuals that share the same parent or ancestor, a particular gene will be shared

Question 24

eusocial societies

Answer 24

extremely altruistic colonies (bees, ants, termites, naked mole rates) recently been applied to humans

Question 25

Behavior

Answer 25

everything an animal does; how and why?

Question 26

Ecology

Answer 26

study of interactions of organisms with each other and their physical environment

Question 27

Biotic Components

Answer 27

Organisms that are apart of the environment

Question 28

Abiotic Components

Answer 28

nonliving chemical and physical factors

Question 29

Ecological Niche

Answer 29

its role and position a species has in its environment

Question 30

Biosphere

Answer 30

global ecosystem; entire portion of earth that is inhabited by life

Question 31

Biome

Answer 31

one of the worlds major ecosystems, classified according to the predominate vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms of that particular environment ex. tundra, desert

Question 32

Ecotone

Answer 32

region of integration between biomes; often rich with unusual combinations of native organisms

Question 33

estuary

Answer 33

where freshwater mouth meets ocean - enriched in nutrients - salinity gradient - often abused with development, run-off, landfill

Question 34

Eutrophication

Answer 34

aquatic systems released from nutrient limitations can be too productive; algae "bloom" can result in red tides, fish kills and hypoxic dead zones

Question 35

population ecology

Answer 35

populations in relation to environment

Question 36

immigration

Answer 36

add new individuals from other populations

Question 37

emigration

Answer 37

movement of individuals out of a population

Question 38

dispersal

Answer 38

movement of individuals from centers of high population or from area of origin

Question 39

Demography

Answer 39

vital statistics of a population over time

Question 40

survivorship curve

Answer 40

plot of proportion in cohort still alive at each age

Question 41

Type I

Answer 41

Death rate increases with age

Question 42

Type II

Answer 42

death rate constant for all ages

Question 43

Type III

Answer 43

Death rate high at young age

Question 44

Exponential growth

Answer 44

geometric increase in unlimited conditions

Question 45

Carrying Capacity

Answer 45

Max. population size that an environment can support

Question 46

Logistic population growth

Answer 46

per capita rate of increase declines as carrying capacity is approached

Question 47

Trade offs

Answer 47

when energy, nutrients, time are used for one thing they cannot be used for another

Question 48

K-selection

Answer 48

density-dependent selection, for certain population life centered around having fewer offspring that have good chance of survival

Question 49

R-selection

Answer 49

density-independent selection, for certain populations a high reproductive rate is key to fitness

Question 50

sustainable resource management

Answer 50

harvesting without damaging the resource

Question 51

maximum sustained yield

Answer 51

harvesting at a level that produces a constant yield without forcing a population into decline