Chapter 8 - Behavioral Ecology

Question 1

An animal’s activities are centered on these 3 critical needs

Answer 1

Obtaining food
Finding mates
Avoiding predators

Question 2

Study of the ecological and evolutionary basis of animal behavior

Answer 2

Behavioral Ecology

Question 3

Addresses a “how” question

Focuses on events that take place during an animal’s lifetime

Answer 3

Proximate Cause

Question 4

Addresses a “why” question

Examines the evolutionary and historical reasons for a particular behavior

Behavioral ecologists are primarily concerned with this explanation of animal behavior

Answer 4

Ultimate Cause

Question 5

T/F Natural selection can cause adaptive evolution if traits that confer
advantage are heritable

Answer 5

True

Question 6

Process in which traits that confer survival or reproductive advantages tend to increase in frequency over time

Answer 6

Adaptive Evolution

Question 7

T//F Behaviors are determined by genes and by environmental conditions

Answer 7

True

Question 8

Proposes that animals will maximize the amount of energy acquired per unit of feeding time

Relies on the assumption that natural selection acts on the foraging behavior of animals to maximize their rate of energy gain

Answer 8

Optimal Foraging Theory

Question 9

What is the mathematical representation of the Optimal Foraging Theory?

Answer 9

P = E/t

Where P is profitability, E is the energy gained, and t is the time of obtaining and processing the food

Question 10

States that to optimize its energy gain, an animal should forage in the most profitable patches-those in which it can achieve the highest energy gain per unit of time

Answer 10

Marginal Value Theorem

Question 11

A foraging animal should stay in a patch until this time when the rate of energy gain in that patch has declined to the average rate for the habitat

Answer 11

Giving up time

Question 12

T/F, an animal will not accept a lower rate of energy gain if the inter patch distance is greater

Answer 12

False, One prediction of the marginal value theorem is that the animal may accept a lower rate of energy gain if the distance between patches is greater

Question 13

Optimal foraging theory best describes the foraging behavior of?

Answer 13

Animals that feed on immobile prey and applies less well to animals feeding on mobile prey

Question 14

Trade-offs that affect foraging decisions may be related to

Answer 14

Predators
Environmental conditions
Physiological conditions

Question 15

A process in which individuals with certain characteristics gain an advantage over others of the same sex solely with respect to mating success

Answer 15

Sexual Selection

Question 16

Hypothesis of sexual selection that posits a male that can support a costly and unwieldy ornament is likely to be a vigorous individual whose overall genetic quality is high

Answer 16

Handicap Hypothesis

Question 17

Hypothesis of sexual selection that posits that the female receives indirect genetic benefits through her sons, who will themselves be attractive to females and produce many grandchildren

Answer 17

Sexy son hypothesis

Question 18

Any investment by the parent in an individual offspring that increases the offspring’s chance of surviving (and hence reproductive success) at the cost of the parent’s ability to invest in other offspring

Answer 18

Parental Investment

Question 19

Refers to the number of mating partners that males or females have and the pattern of parental care

Answer 19

Mating System

Question 20

Male mates with only one female, and she with him
Pairing may last for one or more breeding season
Both parent typically care for the young

Answer 20

Monogamy

Question 21

One male mates with multiple females
Female usually provides most or all parental care
Male may control access to these females directly or indirectly

Answer 21

Polygyny

Question 22

One female mates with multiple males
Male usually provides most or all parental care
Female may defend these males directly or indirectly

Answer 22

Polyandry

Question 23

Both males and females mate with multiple partners in a breeding season

Answer 23

Promiscuity

Question 24

Emlen and Oring argued that the diverse mating systems seen in nature result from

Answer 24

Behavior of individuals striving to maximize their reproductive success or fitness

Question 25

Occurs when habitat where food and nest sites (and hence females) were widely separated

Answer 25

Monogamy

Question 26

Occurs when habitat where food and nest sites (and hence females) were located closer to one another

Answer 26

Polygyny

Question 27

Advantages of living in groups

Answer 27

• Higher Reproductive success
• Shared responsibilities over caring for young
• Reduced risk of predation
• Improved foraging success

Question 28

This is when the number of individuals in a group increases meaning the chance of being the one attacked decreases

Answer 28

Dilution Effect

Question 29

Disadvantages of living in groups

Answer 29

• Greater energy expenditures
• More competition for food
• Higher risks of disease

Question 30

T/F Group size may reflect a balance between the costs and benefits of group living

Answer 30

True

Question 31

Ok pahinga saglit jogging muna

Answer 31

Charowt