Exam 2 lecture 2 Flashcards
Do different species have different reproductive strategies?
Yes, they have varied strategies to maximize genetic survival. Some prioritize competition and dominance to secure mates. Others rely on cooperation and social bonds.
Do all species follow conventional biological rules regarding dominance and reproduction?
Not all species follow conventional biological rules regarding
dominance and reproduction. ex: lemurs
Are male or female lemurs more aggressive?
females exhibit higher aggression than males and females dominate males
What are the 3 ways female dominance manifests in lemurs?
Food Control
Females claim the best food sources and prevent
males from accessing them.
Sleeping spots
Prime resting areas are occupied by dominant
females.
Physical aggression
Females attack males when necessary to maintain
control.
Why are female lemurs more aggressive?
Hormones produced by pregnant females affect the development of
aggression in offspring. Increased exposure to specific prenatal hormones leads to more aggressive female behavior.
Female lemurs are more aggressive than male lemurs, but they have lower testosterone. Why is this?
Males have approximately 17 times more testosterone than
females. Testosterone is not the primary driver of aggression in lemurs. Female lemurs exhibit aggression due to different hormonal mechanisms (androsterone) unrelated to testosterone. This challenges the common assumption that higher testosterone directly correlates with increased aggression. This example shows that the biological “rules” governing aggression and dominance aren’t universal.
What are the fundamental biological needs across species?
reproduction, locomotion, respiration, ingestion and digestion, elimination, defense mechanisms, and thermoregulation
What is a poikliotherm?
(Cold-blooded animals that regulate temperature by changing location.
What is a homeotherm?
Warm-blooded animals that regulate temperature internally.
How does posture influence heat exchange?
Reducing surface area conserves heat.
Increasing surface area facilitates cooling.
What conducts heat better, water or air?
Water conducts heat more efficiently than air, influencing how
Aquatic animals regulate temperature.
Does evolution favor adaptability or rigid biological laws?
adaptability
Do all animals have a temperature range?
Yes, all animals have a limited range of body temperatures where they can thrive. If they go outside those temperatures, they will die
Examples of poiklotherms
Most fish are poikilotherms because water is a good conductor of heat but some fish are also poikilotherms, including amphibians and reptiles
What do homeotherms have?
brown fat pads under the skin that are able to burn energy and heat the body when certain hormones are released
Which fish are warm-blooded?
Dark tuna fish is warm-blooded; tuna can detect that they are warmer than the water, but the rest of the body remains cold-blooded. Moonfish are warmblooded. large fish, 1000 pounds
Surface area and heat produced and released
the larger the animal, the more heat they produce and retain and the less they release
What size animals are usually warm-blooded?
large, small animals tend to not be warm-blooded
Metabolic rate and calories consumed based on size
Large animals have a lower metabolic rate per unit body weight. Consume fewer calories per pound compared to smaller animals.
Small animals: Lose heat rapidly due to the high surface-area-to-volume ratio and require lots of food.
Example: Hummingbirds require constant food intake. Some enter temporary hibernation to conserve energy at night.
Are insects warm-blooded?
No, they are too small to maintain a warm-blooded metabolism. Lack of a vascular system to efficiently circulate nutrients. Rely on osmosis for nutrients distribution.
Humans are thought to have 5 senses. What are they?
Olfaction (smell)
Gustation (taste)
Vision (sight)
Tactile sense (touch)
Audition (hearing)
Additionally, vestibular senses like balance and movement are sensitive to gravity and acceleration
Which sense developed first
Olfaction and gustation developed first.
How do flies use olfaction?
Flies have their olfactory organs in their feet. Many different odors we can pick up in the environment and it provides us with information about the environment (predators, prey, conspecifics: pheromones are a means of communication)
How do dogs and rabbits use olfaction
Dogs mark their territory with urine
Rabbits rub their chins against stones and sticks around their territory to warn other rabbits to keep out
What senses does flavor come from?
olfaction and gustation
What does tactile mean?
Receptors sensitive to temperature, pain, light touch)
What senses do dogs rely on?
Rely primarily on olfaction and hearing. Vision is secondary.
What senses do spiders use?
Lack of auditory organs. Use sensitive leg receptors to detect vibrations in their web.
What sense do snakes use?
Smell in stereo using their forked tongues, Each tip of the tongue has separate olfactory receptors and can determine the direction of a scent based on differential
odor detection.
How is sensory perception categorized?
Sensory perception is constrained by biological adaptations, meaning organisms can only detect stimuli relevant to their survival.
What ear placement allows for precise sound localization in owls?
Asymmetrical ear placement allows precise sound localization. Owls can detect slight variations in sound arrival time, aiding in pinpointing prey in total darkness.
What part of the electromagnetic spectrum can humans see?
The electromagnetic spectrum includes a broad range of
wavelengths, but humans only perceive the visible light spectrum.
What species are UV-sensitive?
Bees use UV vision to locate nectar guides in flowers
Butterflies perceive UV patterns that help in mate selection
Migratory birds rely on UV light for orientation
Some fish, amphibians, and mammals possess UV-sensitive
visual adaptations
infrared species
Snakes have specialized pit organs that detect infrared radiation, allowing them to hunt in darkness.
Vampire bats detect heat variations to locate blood-rich areas on their prey.
Infrared imaging replicates this biological ability, enabling night vision technology for humans.
What does human color vision rely on?
Human color vision relies on three types of cone cells, detecting
red, green, and blue wavelengths.
Mantis shrimp
Have 16 types of cones, allowing the detection of ultraviolet,
polarized, and multispectral light.
They have way better color vision than us.
Possess the most complex visual system known in the animal kingdom.
How many hertz vibrations do humans have?
20–>20,000 Hz vibrations per second
subsonic
Subsonic: whales and elephants can hear the low-frequency sounds (larger ears means easier it is to detect low frequencies)
ultrasonic
Dogs can hear above 20,000 hertz, like dog whistles we can’t hear but they can; bats use echolocation that is high frequency: for food and navigation; rat pups: if it strays out of the nest, it will call for its mother through ultrasounds that we can’t hear but the mother can. Ultrasound avoids many predators hearing the call for help.
Is the distance between waves closer or farther in high frequencies?
The distance between waves of compression and expansion are closer in high frequencies
does gravity affect fruit flies or ants
it is not a constraint for a fruit fly
When an ant that is dropped out of an airplane hits the ground, it will get up and walk away; it is not hurt.
We reach terminal velocity faster than an ant and we will be hurt when we hit the ground
How does odor affect taste?
Give people a sucrose solution of the same amount, give them different odors when they are ingesting the sucrose; it radically alters the report of how sweet the sugar water was
Where does cell differentiation come from across different cell types?
One cell (the whole cell exposed to the external environment) divides into 2 cells (half of the cell was exposed to the external environment and half exposed to the internal environment or the other cell), then into 4 cells. Because the cells are exposed to different environments as it develop, we see cell differentiation
magentorecption with navigation abilities
Some animals detect Earth’s magnetic field for navigation and
migration.
examples of magentoreception species
Birds use magnetic fields for long-distance migration.
Monarch butterflies navigate thousands of miles using
magnetic field detection.
Sea turtles use magnetic cues to return to nesting beaches.
aquatic species with electric field sensitivity
Examples include various species of fish, such as electric eels, sharks, and dolphins.
Sharks use specialized cells called ampullae of Lorenzini to sense
the weak electric fields generated by prey.
Dolphins have been observed to emit weak electric pulses and detect their reflections in water.
what reduces the effectiveness of natural pheromones?
Human hygiene practices significantly reduce the effectiveness of natural pheromones.
Frequent washing, use of deodorants, and application of perfumes replace or mask natural body odors; some perfumes and soaps mimic the natural body odors
