Lecture 12

Question 1

What kind of crickets were used in lab?

Answer 1

House Crickets; Acheta domesticus

Question 2

Is there true copulation between crickets?

Answer 2

No

Question 3

How does the semen in males work?

Answer 3

Males package semen in a packet, spermatophore that is manipulated by cerci

Question 4

Female mounts the male or male mounts the female?

Answer 4

Female mounts the male

Question 5

(Tinbergen’s 1963 Four Questions) The four main areas of behavioral research are…

Answer 5

Causation, Development, survival Value, Evolution

Question 6

Which area(s) of behavioral research is/ are proximate mechanism(s) and which is/ are ultimate mechanism(s)?

Answer 6

Proximate = Causation and Development
Ultimate = Survival Value and Evolution

Question 7

Dominance Hierarchy based and maintained on…

Answer 7

his/her strength and influence over other individuals

Question 8

Competitor’s strength evaluated through…

Answer 8

ritualized behaviors and displays that flaunt their size, songs, endurance, strength, and displays of color

Question 9

What are the costs and benefits of dominance behavior?

Answer 9

reduce chances of injury over fights for resources

Cost to the submissive members is less access to resources

Question 10

In regards to females, when males are assessing each other’s rank in a dominance hierarchy…

Answer 10

they may be trying to influence a female’s mate choice

Question 11

What is intrasexual selection?

Answer 11

dominance struggle between males

Question 12

What is intersexual selection?

Answer 12

competition to attract females

Question 13

Patterns of male success include

Answer 13

dominant males enjoy mating advantage

male mating success unrelated to dominance

subordinate males enjoy a mating advantage

Question 14

Aggressive behaviors in crickets include…

Answer 14

chirping, wing flaring, avoidance, biting, pushing, wrestling, and guarding

Question 15

Courting behaviors in crickets include…

Answer 15

antenna stroking, chirping, following, guarding

Question 16

The insect nervous system is organized into

Answer 16

segmental ganglia: ventral nerve chord

Question 17

Three phases occur during an action potential

Answer 17

depolarization, repolarization, after-hyperpolarization

Question 18

Any action or display by one animal - the ____ - that functions as a signal and affects the current or future actions/displays of another animal - the _____

Answer 18

sender; receiver

Question 19

Where are the ears on a cricket?

Answer 19

on their forelegs just below the knees

Question 20

Crickets are tuned to a…

Answer 20

species-specific syllable repetition rate

Question 21

Cricket auditory interneurons that transmit the sound signal to the brain

Answer 21

omega neurons and ascending neurons

Question 22

the instantaneous discharge rate of the neuron are ____ when short sound pulses are repeated at ____ repetition rates

Answer 22

low; high

Question 23

the instantaneous discharge rate of the neuron are ____ when the beginning sound pulses match the duration of the species-specific sound pulses

Answer 23

high

Question 24

Who else is listening to cricket song?

Answer 24

The parasitic fly Ormia ochracea depositing eggs on a male cricket.

Question 25

What animals fight over…

Answer 25

rank (in a social group), shelter, food, mate

Question 26

What are in typical fights?

Answer 26

Ritualized displays, stepwise escalation, sequential assessment, decision

Question 27

Why choose crickets for dominance studies?

Answer 27

easy to breed and maintain, known to be aggressive and territorial, and there were early publications