Unit 5 Lesson 9

Question 1

Fixed Action Patterns

Answer 1

sequence of unlearned acts directly linked to a simple stimulus and which is usually carried to completion
-trigger is an external cue or sign stimulus (color etc)

Question 2

Migration

Answer 2

• guided by environmental cues
• may use position of sun or North star
• some can sense position relative to earth’s magnetic field, possibly due to megnetite in heads or effects of magnetic field on photoreceptors in eye

Question 3

circannual rhythms

Answer 3

behavioral rhythms linked to season, such as migration or reproduction

• influenced by day:night ratio
• may be guided by moon cycles/tidal movements

Question 4

signals

Answer 4

stimulus transmitted from one animal to another

Question 5

Forms of Animal Communication

Answer 5

1. Visual
2. chemical: transmission and reception of specific molecules
3. tactile communication: movement, touching
4. auditory communication

Question 6

Pheromes

Answer 6

chemical substances emitted by animals that communicate through odors or tastes

• common in mammals and insects (usually related to reproduction)
• ex. one secreted by queen bee maintains social class
• can also serve as alarm signals

Question 7

innate behavior

Answer 7

developmentally fixed behavior that does not vary within a population

Question 8

cross-fostering study

Answer 8

young of one species are placed in the care of adults from another species

• measures changes in offspring behavior
• can eventually determine parental behavior

Question 9

twin-study

Answer 9

compares the behavior of twins who have raised apart with that of those who have been raised together.

Question 10

Learning

Answer 10

modification of behavior based on specific experiences

Question 11

Imprinting

Answer 11

long-lasting response to a particular individual or object formed at a specific stage in life

• has sensitive period: a limited development phase when this type of learning can occur
• young learn basic behaviors and parents learn to recognize their offspring
• young recognize key characteristics or first moving object as parent

Question 12

spatial learning

Answer 12

establishment of a memory that reflects the environments spacial structure

Question 13

cognitive map

Answer 13

a representation in the nervous system between objects in an animals surrounding
-may note a position halfway between to landmarks

Question 14

associative learning

Answer 14

the ability to associate one environmental feature (such as a color) with another (such as a foul taste)
-some associated pairings are restricted, typically depending on native environment

Question 15

classical conditioning

Answer 15

an arbitrary stimulus (like ringing of a bell) becomes associated with a particular outcome

Question 16

operant conditioning

Answer 16

animal first learns to associate one of its behaviors with a reward or punishment and then tends to repeat or avoid that behavior

Question 17

cognition

Answer 17

the process of knowing that involves awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgement
-many species (including insects) demonstrated this ability in labs

Question 18

problem solving

Answer 18

cognitive activity of devising a method to proceed from one state to another in the face of an obstacle
-highly developed in primates and dolphins, some birds

Question 19

Development of Learned behaviors

Answer 19

• some behaviors develop gradually, in stages

- sparrows memorize song by listening, sing tentative notes, eventually matching it to memorized song

Question 20

social learning

Answer 20

learning by observing others
-ex. vervets learn appropriate alarm calls by observing others and receiving social confirmation (another call) when he is right

Question 21

culture

Answer 21

a system of info transfer through social learning or teaching that influences the behavior of individuals in a population

Question 22

Optimal foraging model

Answer 22

-natural selection should favor a foraging behavior that minimizes the costs (energy expenditure or risk of being eaten) and maximizes benefits( nutrition)

Question 23

Mating Systems and Sexual Dimorphism

Answer 23

• promiscuous- no strong pair bonds
• longer relationships
  
  • monogamous: not dimorphic
  • polygamous: dimorphic

Question 24

Parental Care

Answer 24

• when young cannot care for themselves, male may benefit by staying, resulting in monogamy
• mammalian males typically play no role in raising young but may protect a harem

Question 25

certainty of paternity

Answer 25

when acts of mating or births are separated, exclusively male parenting is rare.
-males may engage in behaviors that increase their certainty of paternity.

Question 26

Mate Choice by Females

Answer 26

• may play a central role in the evolution of male behavior and anatomy through intersexual selection
• female offspring may take cues from their father’s appearance when choosing mates

Question 27

Mate-choice copying

Answer 27

individuals in a population copy the mate choice of others

-may mask genetically controlled female preference below a certain threshold of difference

Question 28

Mate Competition for mates

Answer 28

may involve agonistic behavior: contest that determines which competitor gains access to a resource

Question 29

altruism

Answer 29

describes a behavior that reduces an animals individual fitness but increases the fitness of other individuals in the population
-ex. alarm calls, honeybees, naked mole rats

Question 30

Inclusive fitness

Answer 30

the total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes by producing its own offspring and by providing aid that enables other close relatives to produce offspring

Question 31

Hamilton’s rule

Answer 31

-natural selection favors altruism when
rB>C
-B (benefit)= av # of extra offspring beneficiary of an altruistic act produces
-C(cost)= how many fewer offspring the altruist produces
-r(coefficient of relatedness)=fraction of genes that, on average, are shared

Question 32

kin selection

Answer 32

the natural selection that favors altruistic behavior by enhancing reproductive success of offspring

Question 33

Reciprocal altruism

Answer 33

an animal may behave altruistically toward non-relative expecting a returned favor in the future
- possible individuals are likely to meet again or there are negative consequences when they do not return a favor