Exam 2 Flashcards
What happens to these receptors when the tympanum vibrates?
They become deformed
How do these receptors respond to energy contained in selected stimuli?
they change the permeability of the cell membrane to positively charged neurons
What is a tenant of modern ethology?
Observing and efficiently describing behavior
How does one use behavioral quantification to build a better understanding of an animals umwelt
action patterns
moths can detect ____ of bats
High frequency sounds
What is the echolocation hypothesis
The suggestion that bats use high frequency sounds to listen to echos reflected back
- can estimate distance by measuring time delay
- can determine shape and size
What do moth ears consist of?
A thin flexible sheet of cuticle that lies over a chamber on the side of the thorax called a tympanum
The effected stimuli for the auditory receptor is provided by the…
tympanum which mechanically stimulates the receptor cell, opening stretch-sensitive channels in the cell membrane
A1 and A2 receptors are linked to relay cells called…
interneurons
How does the inflow of positively charged ions change the cell?
It changes the charge inside the cell which is normally more negative and causes the nerve to fire, sending a signal down the axon
- called an action potential
Does the A1 receptor have poor or great sensitivity?
great sensitivity
What does the A1 receptors great sensitivity allow for?
It allows it to generate action potentials in response to the cries of little brown bats up to 30m away (this is BEFORE bats can detect a moth)
Rate of firing with an A1 receptor is proportional to the loudness of the sound. This provides information about what?
the direction the bat is moving and the bats location in space
- also allows moths to know if the bat is above or below it due to the oscillations when the moth beat their wings up and down
When the bat is close to the moth, which receptors fires in the moth?
the A2 receptors
what are the special features of moth ears?
1) the A1 receptors are sensitive to the ultrasounds of low to moderate intensity whereas the A2 receptors begin to produce action potentials only when the ultrasound is loud
2) A1 receptor fires much more frequently in pulses of sound rather than long sounds
3) sound increases = A1 receptor fires more often and with a shorter delay
4)receptor cells don’t respond at all to low frequency sounds
A1 receptors fire rapidly but…
slows after a bit of a constant buzz
A1 receptors fires ONLY…
on high intensity calls
A1 receptors are sensitive to both…
high and low intensity bat feeding buzzes
which receptor is the main bat detector?
the A1 receptor
Which receptor is the emergency system?
the A2 receptor
What is stimulus filtering?
The ability of neurons and neural circuits to filter out large amounts of info in order to focus on biologically relevant elements
Explain the nose appendages of the star nosed mole
Appendage 2 is the most sensitive but does not contain more emmers’ organs than the other appendages, instead it uses more neurons. It’s named the tactile fovea
- moles also dedicates more brain function to the nose so that info from the nose travels through nerves to the somatosensory cortex
What is the somatosensory cortex?
It decodes sensory signals from tough receptors
How much of the somatosensory cortex is dedicated to the 22 nose appendages?
25%
What is cortical magnification?
A disproportionate investment in particular brain regions responsible for focusing on signals from certain structures or servilla
What is cognition?
a mental process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and senses
Is there a relationship between brain size and intelligence?
No
Ex: the new Calodonium crow can perform intelligent tasks with a small brain
Examples of tasks that crows can perform
1) modify objects to extract insects from their hiding place
2) solve complex problems
The Social Brain Hypothesis
Proposes that advanced problem solving evolved the context of dealing with the obstacles to reproductive success by interacting socially with members of the same species
What idea does the social brain hypothesis encompass?
That it may have been the demands of pair-bonding found in social species that selected for larger brains
Polistes Fuscatus is the scientific name of what wasp?
Paper wasp
Explain the experiment with the paper wasp (polistes fuscatus)
- placed species in a T maze with one electrical arm and one non electrical arm
- each arm had a picture of a different wasp face on it
- P. fuscatus quickly learned to avoid wasp face linked with electrical shock
- this is because they recognize individuals based on their facial color patterns
Two important factors of game theory
avoiding patterns and finding food
Two key theories of game theory
optimality theory and the evolutionary game theory
What is game theory?
it enables biologists to model the interactions between different individuals or species
What is game theory used for?
To determine which among a series of species of behavioral strategies is likely to evolve in a given context
What are evolutionary stable strategies (ESS)?
When a single strategy for a given population cannot be invaded by an alternative strategy
What is the hawk strategy?
Display acts of aggression and then escalates into a fight until it wins or is injured
What is the dove strategy?
Displays aggression and then either retreats if faced with escalation or shares resources
When hawk meets a dove:
Hawk gets all resources (V)
When hawk meets a hawk:
half of the time it wins or loses ((V-c)/2)
When dove meets a dove:
they share (V/2)
When dove meets hawk:
immediate loss (0)
ESS with sides blotched lizard - PHENOTYPES
Orange throated - big and aggressive, large territories with many females
Blue throated - smaller, less aggressive, small territories with one females
Yellow throated - mimic females and don’t defend territories
Negative frequency dependent selection with the lizards
- rare orange throated phenotype fares well - takes over many territories, soon theres a lot of orange
- become easy targets for yellow sneakers
- yellow increases and orange decreases
- this results in boost in blue bc there are fewer orange to lose females to = blue increases
- process starts over
Territory definition
an area where the owner has sole or prioritized access to resources such as food and shelter
Key predictions on where red knot bird individuals will settle
they will settle on the sight where their reproductive success is maximized
the red knot bird
these birds move about to achieve equal densities over the total surface provided by these tidal flats
White squares
low abundance
Gray squares
moderate abundance
Black squares
high abundance
What is economic defensibility
the trade off in cost vs benefits for maintaining a territory
- individuals are only predicted to defend territories when benefit out weighs cost
Example of economic defensibility
chimpanzees - males patrols boundaries of their territories and if they encounter a small number of chimps from another territory, they will attack and kill their neighbors
What are the costs of economic defensibility
Time and energy and the risk of injury or death
Yellow Spring Lizards
Researchers implanted testosterone capsules beneath the skin on non-territorial males during non breeding season. The testosterone implanted males patrol more, performing more threats, and used 1/3 more energy than the control
Butterfly territoriality
Follow the rule “resident always wins”
- males are competing for sunspots with food resources
- BUTTERFLIES DON’T PLAY
Action pattern definition
Discrete, complex movements involving many muscular contractions that are closely associated temporarily
- they are repeated in the same manner time after time
- they are similar among individuals of the same species
Who proposed the echolocation hypothesis
Donald Griffin
How many neurons are attached to the moth tympanum and what are they called?
- The A1 and A2 auditory receptors
What happens to the signal after it is sent down the axon
The signal is delivered to muscle cells across a synapse with neurotransmitters thus causing a muscle contraction
