Deck 10: Social Behaviors

Question 1

You discover a small reef fish species in the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast. You study its ecology and discover that many midsized and large predatory fish consume the new species. Further, you find that this species consumes the same prey as many other species of similar-sized fish. However, many of those other small species tend to live in large schools, whereas individuals of this newly discovered species live alone. Propose a general ultimate hypothesis to explain what ecological conditions could cause a small species to live alone rather in a large school.

Answer 1

not answered

Question 2

Increased competition for food among individuals living in groups may lead to increases in all of the following except

A) movement between habitats in search of food.
B) time dedicated to locating food by individuals.
C) aggression between group members.
D) time spent in parental care of offspring

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a strategy that leaf-cutter ants use to avoid parasitoid flies specialized to hunt large ants?

A) Small ants forage during the day, when the flies are active.
B) Large ants forage at night, when the flies are inactive.
C) Small ants guard larger ants during the day, when the flies are active.
D) Small ants perform all foraging tasks for the ant colony.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Animals that live in groups have a reduced individual probability of predation. This is known as

A) the dilution effect.
B) a lek.
C) altruism.
D) cooperation.

Question 5

Why would evolution favor a social structure that relies on dominance hierarchies rather than individual territories?

Question 6

Group living _____ the individual's risk of predation and _____ the likelihood the group will be detected by a predator.

A) increases; increases
B) increases; decreases
C) decreases; increases
D) decreases; decreases

Question 7

A lek is the location of an aggregation of animals

A) to reduce the rate of predation.
B) for hunting.
C) for feeding.
D) for mating displays.

Question 8

Pack animals such as wolves establish an order that dictates social behavior. This is an example of

A) territoriality.
B) spitefulness.
C) a dominance hierarchy.
D) a lek.

Question 9

Which is not true about territoriality? Territoriality develops

A) when a resource can be defended.
B) when the benefits of defending a resource outweigh the costs.
C) when fitness is increased by having the territory.
D) during the nonbreeding season only.

Question 10

Researchers found that as the flock size of European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) increased, the time needed to find new food patches also increased because large populations

A) have high per capita food consumption.
B) are forced to live in lower-quality habitat.
C) have more aggressive individuals.
D) depleted the food source in the original patch more quickly.

Question 11

Researchers have found that on coral reefs where fishing occurs, the fish have fewer parasites than fish on coral reefs where fishing is excluded. What explains this observation?

A) Fishing eliminated fish with inferior genetics, which were more susceptible to parasites.
B) On coral reefs that excluded fishing, larger populations of fish made them subject to more transmission of parasites.
C) The sites where fishing was excluded had more parasites than the sites with fishing.
D) Fishing removed the largest fish and the largest fish had the most parasites.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a tactic that animals living in groups use to reduce the overall probability of predation?

A) group defense used to protect from predators
B) many individuals looking out for predators at any given time
C) sheer numbers of individuals in the group
D) avoidance of predation by scattering

Question 13

Social behavior in animals is

A) based on genetics.
B) learned.
C) random.
D) acquired.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a cost of living in groups?

A) decreased likelihood of mating
B) increased transmission of pathogens
C) increased predation
D) increased competition

Question 15

When leaf-cutter ants age and become less efficient at their tasks, they

A) are killed.
B) change tasks.
C) are evicted from the colony.
D) are eaten by other colony members.

Question 16

An area that one or more individuals defend against intrusion by others is a

A) dominance hierarchy.
B) lek.
C) home range.
D) territory.

Question 17

In the example of the ruff (Philomachus pugnax), researchers found that males in leks had more success in

A) attracting females.
B) copulating with females.
C) attracting females and copulating with females.
D) none of the above

Question 18

What is a lek? How is it beneficial?

Question 19

Large groups are particularly vulnerable to parasites and pathogens because they

A) have low numbers of resistant individuals.
B) can cause pathogens to mutate and become more dangerous.
C) can rapidly become infected by a single individual.
D) decrease the likelihood of immunity developing.

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT a benefit of a dominance hierarchy?

A) organization of conspecifics to reduce intraspecific competition
B) quick resolution of conflicts
C) group defense of ephemeral resources
D) aggregation of individuals to increase probability of mating

Question 21

Altruism is likely to evolve when

A) B/C > r.
B) C/B > r.
C) C/B < r.
D) C/B = r.

Question 22

For calculations of the indirect fitness benefit of altruistic behavior and kin selection, r is the

A) coefficient of relatedness between the donor and recipient.
B) benefit given to a recipient relative.
C) direct fitness cost to the donor.
D) indirect fitness cost to the donor.

Question 23

A social interaction in which both the donor's fitness and the recipient's fitness are increased is called

A) cooperation.
B) altruism.
C) spitefulness.
D) selfishness.

Question 24

The coefficient of relatedness measures

A) the probability of an individual and its relatives carrying copies of the same genes from a recent common ancestor.
B) the number of generations separating individuals in a population.
C) indirect fitness as the benefit given to a recipient relative by the donor individual.
D) the direct fitness cost of altruistic behavior to a recipient by the donor.

Question 25

Based on the coefficient of relatedness, to which of the following relatives would a donor be most likely to provide altruism?

A) grandparent
B) cousin
C) half sibling
D) full sibling

Question 26

Which social interaction is best described as the opposite of altruism in terms of its effect on donor and recipient fitness?

A) cooperation
B) selfishness
C) spitefulness
D) dominance

Question 27

In the social interaction of altruism, the donor receives a(n) _____ in fitness and the recipient receives a(n) _____ in fitness.

A) decrease; increase
B) decrease; decrease
C) increase; increase
D) increase; decrease

Question 28

Which statement about social interactions is TRUE?

A) The recipient is the individual who directs behavior toward another individual, the donor.
B) Donors and recipients direct behaviors toward one another.
C) The donor is the individual who directs behavior toward another donor.
D) The donor is the individual who directs behavior toward another individual, the recipient.

Question 29

Which equation calculates the indirect fitness benefit of altruistic behavior and kin selection?

A) C × r
B) B × r
C) B ÷ r
D) B + r

Question 30

Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) perform mating displays at leks alone or in coalitions of related males. In the coalitions, only dominant males copulate with females. Why do nondominant males join coalitions?

A) A nondominant male obtains greater inclusive fitness by helping a brother mate than by mating on his own.
B) A nondominant male obtains greater direct fitness by helping his brother mate than by mating on his own.
C) A nondominant male obtains less indirect fitness by helping his brother mate than by mating on his own.
D) A nondominant male may eventually become the dominant male in a coalition.

Question 31

In the wattled jacana (Jacana jacana), a species of tropical wading bird, males perform all brood care. Females protect nests and defend territory. Females sometimes attack and kill chicks cared for by a male. The male then fertilizes the female attacker and cares for the resulting young. This type of social interaction that sees one female killing the young produced by another female so as to be fertilized by the male caring for the original brood is an example of

A) cooperation.
B) selfishness.
C) spitefulness.
D) altruism.

Question 32

Based on fitness effects on donors and recipients, which type of social interaction is expected to occur LEAST often or not at all?

A) altruism
B) cooperation
C) selfishness
D) spitefulness

Question 33

C/B describes the ratio of

A) donor benefits to recipient costs.
B) donor costs to recipient benefits.
C) indirect fitness costs to direct fitness benefits.
D) direct fitness costs to indirect fitness benefits.

Question 34

The evolution of altruistic behavior is most likely to be between

A) parent and offspring.
B) identical twins.
C) cousins.
D) half siblings.

Question 35

What is another term for kin selection?

A) indirect selection
B) direct selection
C) natural selection
D) sexual selection

Question 36

Fitness that an individual gains by passing on copies of its genes to its offspring is favored by _____ selection.

A) indirect
B) direct
C) natural
D) sexual

Question 37

A hummingbird guarding a hummingbird feeder is an example of

A) dominance hierarchy.
B) altruism.
C) territoriality.
D) selfishness.

Question 38

The equation C < B × r describes conditions under which a(n) _____ behavior will ______ in the population.

A) altruistic; increase
B) altruistic; decrease
C) selfish; increase
D) selfish; decrease

Question 39

Why is altruistic behavior an evolutionary problem?

A) It does not lead to an increase in direct fitness.
B) It does not lead to an increase in indirect fitness.
C) It does not lead to an increase in fitness.
D) It decreases fitness.

Question 40

Indirect fitness is favored by _____ selection.

A) natural
B) sexual
C) kin
D) direct

Question 41

Which is NOT a characteristic of a eusocial species?

A) reproductive dominance by many individuals
B) cooperation in nest building and brood care
C) several adults living together in a group
D) sterile individuals

Question 42

The term henpecked in chickens refers to chickens pecking at injured spots on other chickens, exacerbating the original injury. How did researchers overcome the problem of henpecked chickens?

Question 43

Which does NOT have a haplodiploid mating system?

A) ants
B) bees
C) termites
D) wasps

Question 44

Why would an individual in a social group of a diploid species help to rear the young of its siblings rather than reproducing itself? Describe the expected relative importance of direct and indirect fitness benefits and explain your answer.

Question 45

How many castes do bees have?

A) four
B) three
C) two
D) five

Question 46

In haplodiploid mating systems, nonqueen females are

A) haploid and fertile.
B) haploid and infertile.
C) diploid and fertile.
D) diploid and infertile.

Question 47

What evidence do we have that eusociality appeared to evolve independently, many times?

Question 48

In haplodiploid mating systems, males are

A) haploid and fertile.
B) haploid and infertile.
C) diploid and fertile.
D) diploid and infertile.

Question 49

What prevents nondominant mole rats from reproducing?

A) Nondominant mole rats are born sterile.
B) Haplodiploid sex determination means that sibling mole rats are more related to each other than to their parents.
C) Harassment by the dominant members prevents nondominant mole rats from breeding.
D) Once nondominant mole rats reach sexual maturity, they leave to form new colonies.

Question 50

In termite colonies, which of the following does NOT reproduce?

A) drone
B) soldier
C) king
D) queen

Question 51

The worker caste in bees consists entirely of

A) reproductive females in an arrested stage of development.
B) reproductive females.
C) reproductive males in an arrested stage of development.
D) reproductive males.

Question 52

The sex determination system in hymenopterans such as ants, bees, and wasps is

A) triplodiploid.
B) haplodiploid.
C) diplohaploid.
D) haplotriploid.

Question 53

Which group does NOT contain a eusocial species?

A) corals
B) termites
C) ants
D) mammals

Question 54

In general terms, what type of habitat would one likely see territoriality and in what type of habitat would one not expect to see territoriality?

Question 55

If the direct fitness cost to a donor is 6 and the indirect fitness benefit to the recipient is 30, is altruistic behavior likely to evolve between cousins? Is the altruistic behavior likely to evolve between full siblings?

Question 56

The two social interactions called altruism and selfishness both have one individual in the interaction obtaining a positive fitness effect and one individual in the interaction obtaining a negative fitness effect. However, these two interactions are not the same. How are these two interactions different?

Question 57

In haplodiploid societies, which would be expected to show most cooperation?

A) all-male group
B) all-female group
C) mixed male and female group
D) All of these groups would show equal cooperation.

Question 58

In haplodiploid societies, a _____ produces male gametes by _____.

A) diploid female; mitosis
B) haploid female; meiosis
C) haploid male; mitosis
D) haploid female; mitosis

Question 59

Which of the following is NOT an ecosystem process associated with eusocial insects?

A) pollination
B) consuming detritus
C) herbivory
D) decomposition

Question 60

In some eusocial, haplodiploid species, the coefficient of relatedness is said to display strong asymmetries. What does this mean?

Question 61

You are studying flocks of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). You notice that flock size varies quite a bit from just a few individuals to hundreds within the same flock. What might you expect when observing starling feeding behavior in open fields and lawns between individuals in the small flocks and those in the large flocks?

A) Individuals in the small flocks have more offspring.
B) Individuals in the large flocks have more offspring.
C) Individuals in small flocks spend more time looking for predators.
D) Individuals in large flocks spend more time looking for predators.

Question 62

Chronic wasting disease (a disease of white-tailed deer) is of particular concern on deer farms where it can spread much faster than among wild deer. Why might that be the case?

A) Deer on deer farms do not have the same robust immune system as deer in the wild.
B) Deer on deer farms are fed processed deer food as opposed to natural browse.
C) Deer on farms are in large numbers and in close proximity and thus disease can spread more rapidly.
D) The sex ratios of deer on deer farms are skewed compared to in the wild.

Question 63

As a result of group living, an individual living in a group might

A) be less likely to be exposed to disease.
B) be less likely to migrate.
C) be larger in size.
D) have a higher rate of consumption.

Question 64

If individuals in groups must compete with other group members for food, why would an individual be found in a group?

A) The food items/unit of area of habitat is greater.
B) The food items/unit of area of habitat is less.
C) The costs of competition are greater than the benefits of group living.
D) The costs of competition are less than the benefits of group living.

Question 65

In most caribou (Rangifer tarandus), both males and females have antlers. What might you hypothesize about antlers in caribou?

A) There is no metabolic cost to caribou to grow antlers.
B) Antlers play no role in caribou since they are found in both species.
C) Both males and females may be involved in dominance hierarchies.
D) Caribou retain their antlers throughout their life span.

Question 66

Which is NOT true about the social interaction termed cooperation?

A) It is more common than spitefulness in wild animal populations.
B) It is less common than spitefulness in wild animal populations.
C) Donor and recipients do not necessarily receive the same level of benefit.
D) It may occur between unrelated individuals of the same species.

Question 67

One of the benefits of group living is increased vigilance. Vigilance in this sense refers to

A) identifying food sources.
B) identifying possible mates.
C) identifying predator locations.
D) identifying potential competitors.