Week 20 Flashcards
How are Barn owls (Tyto alba) highly adapted?
are highly adapted for preying on small mammals.
- Concave face collects sound
- Prey swallowed whole
- Feathers adapted for silent flight
- Broad wings give greater lift.
- Sensitive eyesight and hearing
- Long legs and sharp talons
Why are owl pellets produced?
Pellets are produced because owls eat their prey whole and then regurgitate the undigested bones, teeth, and fur. These can then be used to identify the owl’s prey.
Why is it relatively easy to investigate the diet of owls?
They produce pellets of regurgitated fur and bones.
Investigating the diet of animals can be difficult. Owl pellets provide an easy to dissect record of the prey animals eaten by an owl.
Fur, bones, teeth, nails, feathers may all be idenitified within owl pellets.
Referring to the scientific paper on Barn Owl diet by Love et al (2000), which of the following is one of their main findings?
Diversity of Barn Owl diet increased between 1974 and 1997.
In the methods for this practical you are asked to estimate prey biomass for the owl pellets (see the instructions).
Which two methods will you use to estimate biomass?
Calculate bird biomass from humerus length.
Use representative biomasses of mammal prey items.
In this practical representative biomass of small mammals will be multiplied by the minimum number of individuals for each species.
Secondly, for bird species where any humerus bones has been identified, biomass can be calculated using the equation
Log mass (g)= (2.4221 x log humerus length (mm)) - 3.8027
From the data you collect in the practical in what format have you been asked to present your results?
One pie chart on prey number, and one pie chart on prey biomass.
The quantitative data you collect on owl diet will be used to look at the proportion of the diet made up of different mammals.
A pie chart is appropriate for comparing proportions.
Two pie charts are required because you will look at both numbers of individuals and biomass.
Today, biologists have identified about 5,000 species of which of the following?
Mammals
True or false: Whales have hair.
Whales are mammals and have fur.
Which of the following has allowed mammals to conserve heat and move into colder climates?
Hair
Fur
The presence of hair and fur in mammals functions to conserve body ______
, and to ______
the animal against its background. Whiskers can serve as a ______
structure, and the quills of a porcupine can defend it against predators.
Blank 1: heat
Blank 2: camouflage
Blank 3: sensory
The main function of the mammary glands in female mammals is to produce and secrete _____
, a protein and fat rich liquid that nourishes newborn animals.
Blank 1: milk
Roughly how many species of mammals do we recognize at present?
5,000
Which of the following are features of mammals that support their high metabolic rate (needed to maintain endothermy)?
Efficient respiration provided by the diaphragm
Four chambered heart
Mammals are distinguished from other vertebrates because all mammals have _____ , although some have more than others.
Blank 1: hair or fur
Which type of teeth are not found in deer?
Canines
The evolution of _____
in mammals has allowed mammals to conserve heat and adapt to living in _____
climates.
Blank 1: hair or fur
Blank 2: cold, colder, cool, or cooler
_____ are composed of keratin and protect the toes of horses and sheep.
hooves
Which of the following are functions of hair in mammals?
Provides warmth
Sensory structures
Camouflage
Defensive mechanism against predators
All females mammals possess ______
glands, which secrete a protein and fat rich liquid that can nourish their newborns.
mammary
The bat wing is a leathery membrane of skin and muscle that is stretched over how many of its fingers?
4
In order to support the high metabolic rate needed for endothermy, mammals have an efficient ______
-chambered heart and a specialized muscle, the _____, which allows for efficient respiration.
Blank 1: four or 4
Blank 2: diaphragm
Which of the following are used by bats to navigate in the dark?
Sound
Which type of teeth in dogs are well suited for biting and holding prey?
Canines
Mammals first evolved about _____
MYA.
Blank 1: 220
Which of the following are composed of keratin?
Claws
Fingernails
Hooves
Which are likely characteristics of the first mammals?
Nocturnal
Insectivorous
Tree climbing
Small
_____ are the only mammals capable of sustained flight.
Bats
Bats use ______ to locate food in dark environments.
Blank 1: echolocation, hearing, or sound
Which of the following was the most primitive group of early mammals?
Prototheria
Which of the following accurately describes when mammals first evolved?
220 million years ago
Which of the following are a part of the subclass Theria?
Placental mammals
Marsupials
Early mammals lived in ____ and ate ______. They had large _____
sockets, and a single lower _____.
Blank 1: trees
Blank 2: insects
Blank 3: eye
Blank 4: jaw or jawbone
Currently, the only living monotremes are the duck-billed _____ and two species of ____.
platypus
echidna
Although monotremes, such as the duck billed platypus, are mammals, they retain many ______
features; for example, they lay eggs and have a cloaca.
Blank 1: reptile or reptilian
The most primitive group of early mammals was ______ which mostly consisted of small, shrewlike animals that laid ______ like their synapsid ancestors.
Blank 1: Prototheria
Blank 2: eggs
What are the features of these three mammal group?
1- Monotremes
2-Marsupials
3-Placental
1- Mammals that lay eggs.
2- Mammals that carry their young in a pouch.
3- Mammals that nourish their embryos using a specialized organ.
The mammalian subclass Theria consists of ______
mammals. The group includes both placental mammals and marsupials, but excludes the ______
because they lay eggs.
Blank 1: viviparous or live-bearing
Blank 2: monotremes
Platypus and echidnas are both found in
Blank 1: Australia