Exam 2

Question 1

Communication

Answer 1

an action on the part of one organism that alters the probability of a behavior occurring in another organism in a manner that is adaptive to either one or both

Question 2

Communication is dependent on…

Answer 2

the structure and function of the sense organs

Question 3

Order the major sensory systems begin functioning:

Answer 3

Tactile –> Vestibular –> Chemical (Olfactory) –> Auditory –> Visual

Question 4

Mammals mark their territories with…

Answer 4

chemical signals.

Ex: Gas, pee

Question 5

Discrete signals

Answer 5

present messages in an “on /off” manner

Little variability in intensity and duration
"yes" "no"
"present" "absent"
"hot" "cold"
"Day" "night"

Question 6

Graded signals

Answer 6

Communicate a continuum of arousal or motivational states

Vary in intensity and/or duration as the motivation or arousal of the animal changes

Question 7

Redundancy

Answer 7

use of different modalities to communicate the same information

Guarantee that communication will succeed in the event that one form fails or is inperfect

Question 8

Advantages of Visual Communication

Answer 8

• Instantaneous rate of transmission
• Short signal fade-out time
• Instantaneous location sender

Question 9

Disadvantages of Visual Communication

Answer 9

• Not as effective in dark hours
• Not as effective in topographically diverse environments
• Greater risk of exploitation by illegitimate receivers

Question 10

Advantages of Auditory communication

Answer 10

• Communicate info over short & long distances
• Effective in darkness
• Risk of exploitation isn’t as great as visual cues

Question 11

Disadvantages of auditory communication

Answer 11

Location of sender is not as good as in visual communication

Question 12

Advantages of Olfactory Communcation

Answer 12

• Provide info over short
  & long distances
• Not impeded by physical barriers
• Slow fade-out time in certain circumstances

Question 13

Disadvantages of Olfactory Communcation

Answer 13

• Slow-fade out time
• Location of sender can be difficult
• Lingering smells can be exploited by predators

Question 14

Advantages of tactile communication

Answer 14

• Transmitted quickly day & night
• Fast fade-out time
• Location of sender is very easy
• Risk of exploitation = very low

Question 15

Disadvantages of tactile communication

Answer 15

Only useful when conspecifics are in physical contact

Question 16

Antithesis

Answer 16

Opposition - Contrast - Resistance

2nd stage of a dialectic process

Question 17

Darwin documented:

When an animal reverses its motivation…

Answer 17

the associated communicatory signals are also reversed

Question 18

Impediments to visual communication are ___ important when animals are ___ in captivity.

Answer 18

Less

Maintained

Question 19

Visual Acuity

Answer 19

involves the degree of detail that can be seen

Question 20

Cone cells

Answer 20

Perceive both well-defined and color images

Question 21

Rod cells

Answer 21

More sensitive to light
Provide images that are coarse and poorly defined

IMAGES AREN’T OUT OF FOCUS, LACK DETAIL

Question 22

Visual Acuity: Domestic Cats

Answer 22

Retinas with proportionately more rods than cones

Their pupils can enlarge by 170% in dark to capture more light

Excellent night vision

Question 23

Aggressive dogs stature:

Answer 23

maximizes the size of its profile

Question 24

Submissive dogs stature:

Answer 24

cowards down

becomes small and low