chapter seven: evolution of feeding behavior Flashcards

1
Q

how do crows collect and eat whelks

A

they grab one, fly up, drop it, and then repeat this process until the whelk breaks

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2
Q

three observations on how these crows forage

A
  1. crows choose whelks that are 3.5-4.5 cm long
  2. they flew up about 5m to drop whelk
  3. they kept flying up and dropping the whelk until it broke
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3
Q

three predictions about crows based on these observations

A
  1. large whelks should be more likely to shatter than small ones after a drop of 5m
  2. drops of less than 3m should yield a reduced breakage rate whereas drops of much more than 5m should not greatly improve the chances of opening a whelk
  3. the probability that a whelk will break should be independent of the number of times it has already been dropped
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4
Q

zach found that the highest net return for these crows occurs when ___ whelks are dropped from a height of ___

A

large
5 meters

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5
Q

are the crows behaving optimally

A

yes

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6
Q

when animals don’t appear to be behaving optimally, ____

A

other things must also factor into our explanation. animals ALWAYS behave optimally

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7
Q

dugongs prefer to eat ___ but switch to ___ when ____

A

roots
leaves
sharks are around

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8
Q

___ change when sharks are present in the area

A

costs

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9
Q

why is it beneficial for dugongs to eat leaves when sharks are around rather than roots

A

they don’t need to have their head in the ground looking for roots when there are predators near, even though the roots are more nutritious than leaves

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10
Q

the strategy that ays off is dependent on what other individuals are doing

A

game theory

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11
Q

an individual is born with one phenotype and they have that phenotype for the rest of their life

A

hereditary strategy

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12
Q

cichlid fish feed by ____

A

biting the scales off of other fish

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13
Q

two phenotypes are available to cichlid fish: ___ or ___

A

jaw angled to the left or to the right

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14
Q

angle of the cichlid fish jaw is ___

A

hereditary

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15
Q

an individuals behavior depends on what is most beneficial in the moment; individual flexibility

A

conditional strategy

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16
Q

some ruddy turnstones will eat in the ___ rather than ___, why?

A

mudflats
an area with lots of food
less competition

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17
Q

behaviors that are so weird that it’s difficult to make sense of their adaptivity

A

darwinian puzzles

18
Q

what is the benefit of drinking alcohol

A

could have been to know when fruit was ripe

19
Q

why is alcohol consumption problematic for some people? should we not be adapted to consume it?

A

because of the sheer volume available; the amounts in fermented fruit are minuscule compared to what we experience today

20
Q

what is the benefit of spices

A

antimicrobial

21
Q

which cultures tend to use more spices and why

A

those based in hot climates; more microbes grow in hot climates

22
Q

why do these spices only grow in hot climates

A

their antimicrobial properties are a self defense mechanism (plants are also attacked by bacteria), we simply take advantage of them too

23
Q

eating non-nutritional things (dirt, ice, soap)

A

pica

24
Q

pica could be due to ___ or ___

A

nutrient deficiencies or toxin processing

25
Q

honeybees have a language that is ___ and ___

A

precise and symbolic

26
Q

honeybees dance to convert information about ___

A

location of food

27
Q

if the food is close to the hive (< 50m), the bee performs a ___; ___ may also give another clue

A

round dance
odor

28
Q

if the bee is outside the hive, the direction of the waggle points ____ and the duration of the waggle represents ___

A

directly toward the food source
how far away the food is

29
Q

if the bee is inside the hive, bee dances on ___

A

vertical wall

30
Q

angle of the waggle relative to the vertical indicates ____

A

direction of the food relative to the sun

31
Q

a possible first stage of the dancing behavior

A

trigona bees

32
Q

trigona bee behavior

A

returning foragers hum and mov excitedly; other foragers smell bee and go search for that food

33
Q

food for these trigona is ___ because they live in the tropics

A

never far

34
Q

some trigona make ___ to food

A

scent trails

35
Q

melipona bees make ___

A

sound pulses

36
Q

the longer the pulse, the ___ the food

A

further

37
Q

melipona discoverer makes several short zig zag flights to indicate ___

A

direction of food

38
Q

Apis florea dances on ___, waggle ____

A

horizontal comb in the open
points directly to food

39
Q

Apis mellifera (honeybee) has the ____ language

A

most complex

40
Q

if a behavior is adequate, there is no ____

A

selective pressure to improve