Lecture 1: Intro

Question 1

Proximate

Answer 1

• Explains a situation/behavior based on immediate environmental or physiological causes
• explains how organisms work by describing their structures and mechanisms and their ontogeny

Question 2

Ultimate (Evolutionary)

Answer 2

• Explains a situation/behavior based on evolutionary forces that have shaped that trait/behavior
• explains why organisms are the way they are by explaining how selection shaped their current forms and phylogeny

Question 3

Mechanisms (Proximate)

Answer 3

• description of an organism’s structure and how it works

- mechanistic explanations for what an organism’s structures are like and how they work

Question 4

Ontogeny (Proximate)

Answer 4

• description of an organism’s development

- developmental explanations for sequential changes in individuals across the lifespan

Question 5

Phylogeny (Evolutionary)

Answer 5

• description of the history of a species as reconstructed from its fossil records and DNA evidence.
• Phylogenetic explanations for sequential changes in a species across time

Question 6

Adaption (Evolutionary)

Answer 6

• explanation for the characteristics of a species based on how they give a selection advantage.
• Evolutionary explanations for why an organism is the way it is

Question 7

Naturalistic Fallacy

Answer 7

• The tendency to equate “natural” or “traditional” with “correct”
• Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s right/good or wrong/bad

Question 8

What are hormones?

Answer 8

• Chemical messengers that carry information about ecology
• Ways to measure reproductive function
• Allows for “broadcast” communication of information across the body

Question 9

Ecology

Answer 9

-the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings

Question 10

Berthold’s Experiment

Answer 10

• had chickens; normal, castrated, and castrated but transplanted
• castrated chickens did not develop and were less aggressive
• transplanted chickens grew up normally
• showed that testes released chemicals (hormones) into bloodstream to change behavior

Question 11

Endocrine System

Answer 11

• Set of glands in the body that produce hormones

- Ex: hypothalamus, pituitary gland, thyroid, stomach, testes, ovaries