Exam 1

Question 1

Types of Hypothesis

Answer 1

Research, Alternative, Null

Question 2

Alternative Hypothesis

Answer 2

Statistical hypothesis that the explanation is significant

Question 3

Null Hypothesis

Answer 3

Statistical hypothesis that the explanation is not significant

Question 4

Robin Hypothesis Example

Answer 4

Yards with more food have more robins. (Alternative and Null Hypotheses: The amount of worms does/doesn’t determine the number of birds)

Question 5

Directional hypothesis

Answer 5

Alt hypothesis predicts in which direction the dependent variable will be affected (positive or negative correlation)

Question 6

Proximate mechanisms

Answer 6

Immediate cause and development of behavior: Neural, sensory, internal mechanisms

Question 7

Ultimate reasons

Answer 7

Evolutionary causes of behavior: Happens after the behavior, an increase in chance of survival

Question 8

Tinbergen’s four questions

Answer 8

Mechanisms (proximate & current), development (proximate & over time), function (ultimate & current), & evolution (ultimate & over time)

Question 9

Hans the Horse Example

Answer 9

Claimed he was able to do mathematics, found that the trainer would cue the horse to stop stomping when he got to the right answer

Question 10

Darwin

Answer 10

First one to bring adaptation theory into the explanation of speciation

Question 11

Cuckoo & Warbler Example

Answer 11

Brood parasitism behavior, animals evolve behavior (instincts) that increase their own fitness, not learned

Question 12

Classical ethology

Answer 12

Understanding species behavior of wild animals by experimentation and observation, claim that behaviors work the same as evolved physical characteristics

Question 13

Fixed Action Pattern

Answer 13

Each species has a fixed set of behaviors that are not learned

Question 14

Key stimulus

Answer 14

The ‘key’ to activate the fixed action patterns

Question 15

Digger Wasp Example

Answer 15

(Tinbergen) Fixed action pattern called orientation flight, key stimulus is light.

Question 16

Geese Egg Rolling Example

Answer 16

Key stimulus is egg rolling, movement is a fixed action pattern, completes action even if egg is removed

Question 17

Herring Gull Chick Example

Answer 17

Key stimulus is shape patch with high contrast, fixed action pattern is pecking to ask for food

Question 18

Stickleback Example

Answer 18

Key stimulus is red lower body, fixed action pattern is aggressive male attack behavior

Question 19

Behaviorism

Answer 19

Branch of psychology, emphasis on learning theories, studies behavior independent of animals’ mental states / consciousness (Skinner and Pavlov)

Question 20

Skinner

Answer 20

Extreme environmentalist (everything is a result of environment), ignored biology, substituted humans with animals to study behavior ignoring species differences

Question 21

Pavlov

Answer 21

Conditioning behavior, occurs when novel stimulus is paired with an existing stimulus

Question 22

Evolutionary psychology

Answer 22

Understanding human thinking and behavior in terms of natural selection

Question 23

Behavioral ecology

Answer 23

Study of the evolution of behavior based on fitness

Question 24

Guilty Dog Example

Answer 24

(Avoidance of anthropomorphic explanations) The owner tells the dog not to eat and leaves.
See if the dog has a guilty submissive posture after eating without permission. Guilty behavior shown based on the owner’s response to the dog, not actual guilt.

Question 25

Wolf Spider Example

Answer 25

Question: How do male wolf spiders find unmated female spiders?

Tapping behavior is advertisement behavior by the male, signaling to attract females. Strategy where the males listen to other males; if there are other males tapping, there is likely a female nearby; conserves energy.

First experiment led to null hypothesis; second experiment was done with grown spider who had prior social interactions and it supported the new hypothesis.

(Shows example of hypothesis based research)

Question 26

Tungara Frogs Example

Answer 26

The second sound is a better signal for females, however the frogs do not use it as often. Bats try to locate the frogs by the second sound.

(Shows that observation is important for hypothesis generation)

Question 27

Squirrel and Hawk Example

Answer 27

Mathematical model to predict behavior. Finding what food the squirrel will go for based on distance from safety (tree)

Question 28

Methods to study behvaior

Answer 28

Observational, experimental, comparative

Question 29

Sheep Mating Example

Answer 29

Observational method

Either guard a ewe (tending) or chase guarded ewes (coursing).
There was not a difference between the two groups in the amount of time spent foraging.

Question 30

Naiads & Tadpoles

Answer 30

Experimental method

Naiads have a long digestive organ that can take in water and eject it for jet propulsion. Jumping tadpoles: if there is a dragonfly nymph, they jump out of the water.
Put an object in the water for a predator control treatment.

In presence of the predator, the tadpole jumped. In presence of predator control, there was only a tiny increase in jumping compared to the control.

When a mesh is put over the dish, the survival of the tadpoles decreases.

Question 31

Deer Mouse Example

Answer 31

Comparative method

Evolution of burrowing behavior: Phylogenetic tree shows the evolutionary relationship of different species of mice.
The creation of an escape tunnel while burrowing is a derived trait by the deer mouse.

Question 32

Sheldrake and Mallard Duck

Answer 32

Comparative method

Inciting behavior: threatening behavior where the female points out another male to a potential mate with her beak, asking him to attack the other duck.

In mallard ducks, the beak direction doesn’t always point towards the enemy; they make a head movement asking to attack nearby male without pointing directly towards the enemy

Ritualized meaning of behavior: the meaning of the behavior has changed

The sheldrake duck has the ancestral behavioral trait, the mallard has a derived trait

Question 33

Dog and European Bullfinch Scratching

Answer 33

Comparative method

For dog, scratching is a natural movement. The natural movement for birds is to scratch their head by stretching their leg underneath their wing up towards their head. However, most birds stretch their leg around their wing instead, can only be explained by evolution.

Question 34

Darwin’s conditions for natural selection

Answer 34

Variation is the basis of evolution.

Traits are partially heritable. Traits can be passed from parent to offspring.

Traits confer differences in survivorship and reproductive success; fitness

Question 35

Reasons for the existence of variation

Answer 35

Genetic composition differences; Recombination

Differences in environmental conditions

Frequency-dependent selection

Differences in learned behaviors (doesn’t cause evolution)

Lack of variation in fitness (doesn’t cause evolution)

Question 36

Fishers vs. Pirates Example

Answer 36

Frequency Dependent Selection

Fisher birds hunt, pirate birds steal
If almost everyone is fisher, then pirates are successful, and population of pirates increases
If most are pirates, then there are less fishers, and the pirates are unsuccessful

Evolutionarily Stable Strategy: maintains variation at a ratio
70% fisher / 30% pirate

Question 37

Salamander Example

Answer 37

Frequency Dependent Selection

Two clay models, one is striped and one is not. They both have peanuts attached to them.

Testing for why the two variations exist, recording attacks on them by birds and mammals.

When the phenotype is rare, they are advantageous

Fitness is number of peanuts preserved per model

Question 38

How to test heritability

Answer 38

Parent-offspring regressions and selection experiments

Selection experiment control is random breeding, compare it to selective breeding results

Regression line is a correlation line, slope indicates the degree of heritability

Question 39

Measures of Fitness

Answer 39

Number of viable offspring

Indirect:
Number of mates, survivorship, # offspring, size, feeding rate, growth rate

Question 40

Male Bluegill Sunfish Example

Answer 40

Frequency Dependent Selection

Parental males: work to attract females and mate (courting, nest building, large size)
Satellite males: look and act like females, secretly inseminates eggs
Sneaker males: very small, sneak into parental male nest and inseminate eggs

Question 41

3 Modes of Natural Selection

Answer 41

Directional, Disruptive, Stabilizing

Question 42

Tadpole Disruptive Selection Example

Answer 42

Spadefoot toad tadpoles have either small or large mouths. The detritivores consume detritus and small invertebrates. The carnivores consume invertebrates. Intermediates can eat both, but their fitness is lower because their mouth is the wrong size for both specializations.

Question 43

Cichlid Stabilizing Selection Example

Answer 43

Defend territory to secure food. Large territory is harder to defend. When placed in an aquarium with different patches of food, the ones that defended medium sizes of territory had the highest fitness.

Question 44

Levels of Natural Selection

Answer 44

Genes, individual, groups, species

Excepted answer is mostly individual, sometimes group (altruism and eusociality)

Question 45

Kin selection

Answer 45

Individuals increase their fitness by helping close relatives

Kin selection theory = inclusive fitness theory

Question 46

Inclusive fitness

Answer 46

Individual + kin fitness

Question 47

Multilevel selection

Answer 47

Both individual and group selection

Question 48

Eusociality

Answer 48

Reproductive division of labor into breeding and nonbreeding castes, cooperative care of young, part of group selection

Question 49

Who proposed the idea of inclusive fitness?

Answer 49

Hamilton

Question 50

Sexual selection

Answer 50

Happens to traits that are specific to males or females

Includes mate selection

Difference between natural and artificial selection, selective breeding =/= sexual selection

Question 51

Fox Domestication Example

Answer 51

When he put food out for a fox, he recorded how close the fox was willing to come to the human
Control and selected foxes were raised the same way
After selecting for 45 years, he created a very tame fox

Measured to see if the fox would follow pointing

Looking at selected fox cognitive behavior gives insight about possible history of domesticated dog selection

Fear and aggression depend on neurotransmitters, the neurotransmitters change during domestication

Question 52

Dog Toy Experiment

Answer 52

Two identical toys
Human plays with one of the two
Measure which one the dog touches, see if the dog goes for the one touched by the human

When one toy is touched with a feather and not by the human, the dog does not have a preference