L1

Question 1

Which three ethologists were jointly awarded the Nobel prize in 1973?

Answer 1

Niko Tinburgen, Konrad Lorenz, Karl von Frisch

Question 2

What are Tinburgens four questions about behaviour?

Answer 2

Evolutionary history, Function, Causation, Development

Question 3

What is considered when looking at evolutionary history of behaviour?

Answer 3

Why did it evolve in this way, Look at relative species, trace behaviour back through phylogeny

Question 4

What is considered when looking at function of behaviour?

Answer 4

what is the adaptive significance of the behaviour, how does it increase fitness of individual/lifetime reproductive success?

Question 5

What is considered when looking at Causation of behaviour?

Answer 5

what are the stimuli involved, and what are the mechanisms causing the behaviour

Question 6

What is considered when looking at developement of behaviour?

Answer 6

how does it develop in individual, is it innate or learnt, or both? (ontogeny)

Question 7

What is Karl Von Frisch known for studying?

Answer 7

dance of the honey bees, noticed the complex waggle dances used to communicate with their hive mates.

Question 8

What is Konrad Lorenz know for studying?

Answer 8

imprinting, and looked at courtship behaviour between ducks, tried to infer evolutionary history

Question 9

describe the courtship behaviour of three spines sticklebacks

Answer 9

Have an innate releasing mechanism, males red throat of males and swollen stomach on females is signal

Question 10

How do bats use scent to find partners with optimum genetic compatibility?

Answer 10

males wave wings in front of female, dispersing their scent, odour broadcasts the chemical composition of their MHC genotype, female can use this to measure the quality of the male

Question 11

What is the MHC gene?

Answer 11

Major histocompatibility gene, family of genes found in all vertebrates that encodes for vital proteins in the immune defence system, play an important role in mate selection