Exam 54: Behavioral Biology

A nonassociative learning called __________ can be defined as a decrease in response to a repeated stimulus that has no positive or negative consequences.

A zoo is hand-rearing an endangered species of songbird.What is the best approach to help prepare the males to attract mates?

Which one of the following examples describes a communication mode that would be best for signaling over the greatest distance in a dark, densely forested environment?

Chemical signals that mediate interactions between two or more members of a given species are called _______________.

A bird sanctuary sometimes takes over the care of eggs or chicks of an endangered duck species if the parents are killed.They are sometimes able to use mothers of farm ducks to cross-foster the chicks, but it doesn't always work.Looking at the following data table, what is the critical period for imprinting in this species? (Note: DAH stands for "days after hatching".)

Alarm calling seems to be an example of _______, that is, it favors relatives.

Which scientist described inclusive fitness as the effect an individual has on propagating its alleles through its own reproduction and through kin selection?

When a parent herring gull arrives at the nest with food, a chick will orient to and peck at the red spot on the parent's bill.The parent will then regurgitate the food into the chick's open mouth and the chick swallows it.What is this set of behaviors an example of?

The degree of parental investment required often results in the non-random mating behavior called __________.

Pea fowl (peacocks and peahens) show sexual dimorphism -- males have long blue-green tail feathers with eyespots, while females have short brown tail feathers.Which statement best describes the graphed data about peacocks?

You work in a lab that studies bird brains and behavior.You and your labmate have both submitted brains to a colleague to be sectioned.Your species is a bird that is known for storing large numbers of nuts each autumn in a variety of hidden locations.Your labmate's species is a raptor known for remarkable predatory behavior.What do you anticipate will be different between the two brains?

The signal from the environment that triggers a stereotyped behavior is a

You place an empty dog-food dish across the room from a puppy that then goes over to investigate the dish.You pick the dish up and ten minutes later you place it in a different part of the room, and you keep repeating this pattern.After the fifth time the puppy no longer goes over to the empty dish.Which of the following terms best describes this form of learning?

The neural circuit that allows a male stickleback fish to orient and behave aggressively towards an inanimate object with a red stripe is an example of a(n)

Young birds see objects flying overhead and respond by crouching down into the nest and remaining still.Over time some objects become familiar and the young birds do not crouch down.What is this type of learning?

A certain species has offspring that require a very large amount of parental care.Predict their mating system.

Tinbergen is credited with founding the field of behavioral ______, the study of how natural selection shapes behavior.

Which statement best sums up our understanding of how animals navigate during migration?

Social insect colonies are composed of highly specialized groups called what?

If a scientist is conducting a study of how a male bird's song and the female bird's response evolved, what type of causation is she exploring?