Exam 4 Answers

Question 1

The classical ethological approach to communication posits that:

Answer 1

both the signaler and the receiver benefit from information exchange and that there is little selection pressure favoring deceitful communication.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT required for communication to occur?

Answer 2

Close contact between signaler and receiver

Question 3

True or false? Intrasexual signaling can be important during lekking behavior.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

A peacock spider performs a courtship display that includes bright colors, vibrations, and the release of pheromones all at the same time. This is an example of:

Answer 4

Multimodal signaling

Question 5

According to Zahavi’s handicap principle, why is it beneficial to the signaler to exhibit a “handicap”?

Answer 5

it allows the signaler to elicit a stronger response from the receiver

Question 6

Which scientist won a Nobel Prize for their work related to decoding the dance language of the honey bee?

Answer 6

Karl von Frisch

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT true of the honey bee dance language?

Answer 7

Bees follow the dance by visually inspecting the dancer and forming a search image of her movements

Question 8

Which of the following is one of the components of information known to be communicated by the dance language?

Answer 8

direction of the food source

Question 9

Which component of the honeybee waggle dance provides information about the distance to a resource?

Answer 9

the duration of the straight or “waggle run” portion of the dance

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true of the “round dance” of the honey bee?

Answer 10

It does not convey specific information about the direction to a food source.

Question 11

Adrian Wenner raised which of the following concerns about the research claims that the honey bee waggle dance was a form of symbolic communication?

Answer 11

Prior experimental evidence for the dance could be explained by an alternative “olfactory map” hypothesis

Question 12

You observe two different blackbird species. Species 1 has large, ornamented males and small, drab females. Species 2 has similarly sized and colored males and females. By applying general principles related to sexual dimorphism to communication systems in these two species, you would predict what about call complexity?

Answer 12

The call complexity of Species 1 is higher than Species 2

Question 13

Deceptive or dishonest signaling is most likely to persist in a population when:

Answer 13

dishonest signalers are rare compared to cooperative signalers.

Question 14

Cooperative signaling should favor the evolution of:

Answer 14

more subtle signaling, or “conspirational whispers”

Question 15

___________ signaling is when several different ____________ are invoked for communication of information between individuals.

Answer 15

multimodal, sensory modalities

Question 16

The following data (graph below) suggest what about the alarm calls of male swallows?

Answer 16

False alarm calls may be a form of deceptive signaling used to break up EPCs.

Question 17

Which of the following prediction(s) arise from the ideal free distribution model?

Answer 17

Distribution of individuals matches the distribution of resources across patches.

Question 18

_________________ is the natural environment that surrounds a species, whereas _______________ is a smaller area that is selected by individuals of a species to meet its smaller-scale physical requirements.

Answer 18

Habitat, microhabitat

Question 19

Abiotic factors that can influence the habitat an animal chooses include:

Answer 19

availability of shelter.

Question 20

In its simplest form, the conspecific cueing hypothesis examines whether:

Answer 20

animals learn about the characteristics of a territory from their interactions with other individuals.

Question 21

Individuals that do not hold territories of their own but are allowed to share the territory of another, at least temporarily, are referred to as:

Answer 21

satellites

Question 22

Migration differs from dispersal in which way?

Answer 22

Migration involves long-distance movement that is bidirectional, whereas dispersal is usually shorter-distance and unidirectional.

Question 23

Which of the following are proximate factors related to the preparatory stage of migratory behavior?

Answer 23

Fat deposition and photoperiod (day length)

Question 24

Which of the following factors is NOT known to be a sensory mechanism that animals use to navigate during long-distance migration?

Answer 24

following food availability

Question 25

The "evolutionary precursor hypothesis" for migration posits that:

Answer 25

Small scale seasonal movements evolved into larger scale migratory movements

Question 26

True or False? A trade-off in animal behavior is when time or energy dedicated to one activity cannot be used for other activities.

Answer 26

True

Question 27

Lizard A observes another lizard (B), in good body condition, with a territory on the branch of a tree. A nearby tree has a an unoccupied territory (branch), with exactly the same quality territorial characteristics. According to the "conspecific cueing" hypothesis, if given a choice between these two territories, which territory should a lizard choose to occupy and why?

Answer 27

Lizard A should choose the occupied territory because the fact that it's occupied it serves as a cue that it's a good territory.

Question 28

If the ideal free distribution is achieved, then individuals who move from their current patch will:

Answer 28

suffer from reduced payoffs relative to individuals that stay put.

Question 29

_____________________ is an area occupied and defended by an individual.

Answer 29

Territory

Question 30

In a population of lizards, we observe one particular morph of males that shows the following behavioral characteristics: low territorial behavior, no mate guarding, and quick "sneaky" copulations with females that reside on the territories of other males. What type of behavioral strategy does this characterize?

Answer 30

satellite

Question 31

The economic model of territoriality, illustrated in the graphs below, makes which of the following predictions?

Answer 31

The area of economic feasibility for holding a territory will increase when the benefits of holding a territory increase.

Question 32

At a duck pond, I throw 5 pieces of bread per minute and my friend throws 1 per minute. My friend gets 3 ducks coming to her and I get 4. These data agree with the ideal free distribution model.

Answer 32

False

Question 33

An animal is found to roam widely across its home range, never defending a territory, and moving from one food patch to the next as resources change. This animal can be referred to as:

Answer 33

A nomad

Question 34

What conditions might favor a territory holder allowing an intruder to remain on its territory?

Answer 34

Under abundant food and when the intruder assists with defense

Question 35

What is a name for an amine containing chemical released in the brain such as serotonin, which can modulate aggressive behavior?

Answer 35

a biogenic amine

Question 36

What term do animal behaviorists use to describe the behavioral phenomenon in which familiar territory holders (often neighbors that have already fought in the past) show reduced aggression in subsequent encounters.

Answer 36

Dear enemy effects

Question 37

Which of the following is a proximate explanation for territoriality in Drosophila fruit flies?

Answer 37

An individual’s level of territoriality is heritable and affected by numerous genes

Question 38

Which of the following answers best describes the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) for the hawk- dove game when V > C ; how about when V < C? (Recall that V is the value of the resource and C is the cost of fighting).

Answer 38

Hawk is the only ESS; mix of hawks and doves.

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a key prediction of sequential assessment?

Answer 39

The costs of fighting are minimal.

Question 40

What best describes the behavior of a hawk vs a dove in the context of game theory models of aggressive behavior?

Answer 40

A hawk will escalate in a fight until they win or are injured; a dove may act if it will escalate but always gives up the fight/resource when attacked.

Question 41

What is conspecific cueing?

Answer 41

When individuals use the choices of others to determine the quality of a potential territory

Question 42

Which of the following does NOT characterize the fight or flight response?

Answer 42

physiological changes including increased digestion

Question 43

Animals that adopt antibourgeois strategies:

Answer 43

play dove when owner, hawk when intruder.

Question 44

Bystander effects occur when:

Answer 44

the observer of an interaction changes its assessment of the fighting abilities of those that it observed.

Question 45

What is a potential cost associated with aggressive behavior?

Answer 45

- The possibility of injury - Time spent on fighting is not spent on other important activities such as mating - A great deal of energy may be required to maintain high levels of aggression for long periods of time - Sustained high levels of aggression can cause chronic stress and a decrease in general health

Question 46

Which of the following is NOT known to affect an animal’s resource holding potential?

Answer 46

Group Selection

Question 47

Which of the following can be viewed as evidence in favor of a bystander effect in swordtail fish?

Answer 47

After seeing a fight, observer fish are less likely to engage with an intimidating partner they saw win

Question 48

Which of the following has been deemed a cost of having elevated testosterone levels?

Answer 48

- Hyperaggressiveness can lead to reduced self-maintenance (insufficient eating/resting) - Higher risk of injury - Reduced immune response makes males with higher testosterone more susceptible to disease

Question 49

Which of the following is a “tradeoff”?

Answer 49

The fact that testosterone can increase reproductive success but decrease lifespan

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT a benefit we discussed in class of an animal adopting a subordinate strategy?

Answer 50

Saving on the cost of biochemical synthesis of testosterone

Question 51

Koko the gorilla uses which of the following novel and unique forms of communication with her trainer?

Answer 51

sign language