Introduction to Ethology

Question 1

adaptation

Answer 1

a characteristic that confers higher inclusive fitness to individuals than any other existing alternative exhibited by other individuals within the population; a trait that has spread or is spreading or is being maintained in a population as a result of natural selection of indirect (kin) selection.

Question 2

allele

Answer 2

a form of a gene. Different alleles typically code for distinctive variants of the same enzyme

Question 3

adaptationists

Answer 3

a behavioral biologist who develops and tests hypotheses on the possible adaptive value of a particular trait. Persons using an adaptationist approach tests whether a given trait enable individuals to propagate their special genes more effectively than if they had an alternative trait

Question 4

Darwinian puzzles

Answer 4

a trait that appears to reduce the fitness of individuals that possess it. Traits of this sort attract the attention of evolutionary biologists

Question 5

natural selection / direct selection

Answer 5

the process that occurs when individuals differ in their traits and the differences are correlated with differences i reproductive success. Natural selection can produce evolutionary change when these differences are inherited

Question 6

function

Answer 6

One of Tinbergen’s four approaches to ethology that asks: How does the behavior impact an animal’s chances of survival and reproduction?

Question 7

causation

Answer 7

One of Tinbergen’s four approaches to ethology that asks: What are the stimuli that elicit the behavior, the physiological mechanisms and how has it been modified by experience?

Question 8

development

Answer 8

One of Tinbergen’s four approaches to ethology that asks: How does the behavior change with age and what early experiences are necessary for the behavior to be shown?

Question 9

evolutinary history

Answer 9

One of Tinbergen’s four approaches to ethology that asks: How does the behavior compare with similar behaviors in related species? How might it have arisen through the process of evolution?

Question 10

sign stimulus

Answer 10

the sensory cue that triggers a behavior

Question 11

sign releaser

Answer 11

a sign stimulus that is emitted and received by members of the same species

Question 12

chain of reactions

Answer 12

sequences of sign stimuli and FAPs between individuals - such as mating rituals

Question 13

super-normal stimulus

Answer 13

an exaggerated sign stimulus

Question 14

fixed action pattern (FAP)

Answer 14

an innate, highly stereotyped response that is triggered by a well-defined, simple stimulus. Once the pattern is activated, the response is performed in its entirety

Question 15

null hypothesis

Answer 15

occurs when there is no effect of manipulation / no relationship between manipulated and measured variables

Question 16

descent with modification

Answer 16

Darwin’s idea that all species descended from one or few original species

Question 17

(lifetime) reproductive success

Answer 17

the number of surviving offspring produced by an

Question 18

phenotype

Answer 18

any measurable aspect of an individual that arises from an interaction of the individual’s genes with its environment

Question 19

genotype

Answer 19

the genetic constitution of an individual; refers to either the alleles of one gene possessed by the individual or to its complete set of genes

Question 20

fitness

Answer 20

a measure of the genes contributed to the next generation by an individual, often stated in terms of the number of surviving offspring produced by the individuals

Question 21

ethology

Answer 21

The scientific study of animal behavior, with special attention to behavior occurring in the natural context