Deck 33: Behavioral Ecology

Question 1

Choose the best answer for each question.
The benefits of imprinting generally outweigh the costs because

A) an animal that has been imprinted on the wrong object can be reimprinted on the mother.
B) imprinting behavior never lasts more than a few months.
C) animals in the wild rarely imprint on anything other than their mother.
D) animals that imprint on the wrong object generally die before they pass on their genes.

Answer 1

(A)Imprinting is a type of learning. Imprinting can easily be observed in young ducklings. Ducklings learn to follow the first moving object they see after they are born. This object is usually their mother. The advantage of imprinting is that it assists the young duckling in identifying its mother, which will protect it and provide food.
The disadvantage with imprinting is that the duckling can become imprinted on another object. This occurs if the mother is not present and another moving object is introduced to the duckling during the imprinting period. If this occurs, the duckling may not receive proper nourishment and protection and is more likely to die.
Imprinting occurs only during a certain time period. An animal cannot be reprogrammed to imprint onto another object. Hence, option (a) is incorrect.
(b)Imprinting is a behavior that can last beyond a few months. Imprinting will generally last at least as long as the offspring is vulnerable and requires parental care. If the offspring is imprinted onto an object that is not its mother, it may not survive. Hence, option (b) is incorrect.
(d)While it is true that an animal that imprints onto the wrong object, it will likely die. Death will typically occur prior to sexual maturity. However, imprinting is a learned behavior. The animal has genetic programming to imprint onto the first moving object. There is no genetic basis for imprinting on an incorrect object. Hence, option (d) is incorrect.
(c)Animals that live in the wild will generally not imprint on the wrong object. Mothers have a natural instinct to remain with her young when they are imprinting. There are also other behaviors that enhance imprinting (e.g. clucking by mother ducks during the period of imprinting). Mothers that lack this instinct will be unlikely to pass on her genetic material to the next generation. This is because her young will be more likely to perish.
Thus, the correct answer is option (c) animals in the wild rarely imprint on anything other than their mother.

Question 2

Choose the best answer for each question.
Which of the following are costs that a dominant male baboon must pay in order to gain a reproductive benefit?

A) He requires more food and must travel longer distances.
B) He requires more food and must care for his young.
C) He is more prone to injury and requires more food.
D) He is more prone to injury and must care for his young.
E) He must care for his young and travel longer distances.

Answer 2

Dominant male baboons have a reproductive advantage because they have increased access to females. Dominant male baboons are more likely to mate thereby passing down their genes to the next generation. However, dominant male baboons also incur a cost for this advantage.
Dominant male baboons have a collection of females (harem) with which he copulates with exclusively. No other males are allowed to copulate with the dominant male baboon's female harem. As such, the dominant male baboon does not have to travel long distances to find a mate. Hence, options (A) and (E) are incorrect.
With few exceptions, male primates do not help in rearing young. Females are primarily responsible for taking care of the offspring. As such, the dominant male baboon does not have to worry about collecting food for its offspring. Hence, options (B) and (D) are incorrect.
A dominant male baboon is more prone to injury. He must defend his harem against other males that want to replace him. As such, the cost to dominance is increased injury. The dominant male baboon must increase his caloric intake to build muscle mass and have the energy to be able to defend his harem.
Thus, the correct answer is option (c) he is more prone to injury and must care for his young.

Question 3

Choose the best answer for each question.
A red deer harem master typically dies earlier than other males because he is

A) likely to get expelled from the herd and cannot survive alone.
B) more prone to disease because he interacts with so many animals.
C) likely to starve to death.
D) apt to place himself between a predator and the herd to protect the herd.

Answer 3

Red deer males will seek out and attract females during mating season. One male (harem master) will typically attract multiple females, which he will defend in order to reproduce with. A male that can attract a large harem will have a greater likelihood of fathering many children. This increases the chance that his genetic material will be represented in the next generation, thus increasing his reproductive fitness.
(a)Red deer harem masters are more prone to an early death than other males. This is not because the harem master is more likely to be kicked out of the herd. For most of the year, male and female red deer form separate herds. All individuals work together to find food and protect each other. Hence, option (a) is incorrect.
(b)Harem masters are not more prone to disease due to increased interactions compared to other male deer. Since males and females form their own herds during most of the year, harem masters do not tend to have more interactions than other males. Hence, option (b) is incorrect.
(d)Mixing of female and male red deer typically occurs only during mating season. During the rest of the year, male and females can be found in separate herds. The red deer harem master is not any more likely to defend the herd than a less dominate male deer. The males take turns feeding and defending the herd. All male deer work cooperatively to defend themselves. Hence, option (d) is incorrect.
(c)Harem masters spend more time trying to copulate and defend his harem compared to other males during mating season. This results in less time available to feed. Male harem masters often lose a large percentage of their body weight during mating season. As such, it is more likely that harem masters will starve to death.
Thus, the correct answer is option (c) likely to starve to death.

Question 4

Match the type of communication in the key with its description. Answers may be used more than once.
Key:

A) chemical communication
B) auditory communication
C) visual communication
D) tactile communication
Aphids (insects) release an alarm pheromone when they sense they are in danger.

Question 5

Do you believe animals have emotionsWhy or why notIf not, what experiment( s) would convince you that animals do have emotions?

Question 6

Pet psychology, an emerging field, is based on the premise that pets have feelings and emotions. Would you spend $50-100 per hour to take your pet to a psychologist?

Question 7

If it can be shown that animals have emotions, should animal testing be allowed to continue?

Question 8

Scientists have found a biological basis for infanticide. In lions, for example, males who kill the offspring of other males when they take over a pride then induce females to come into estrus, so they can mate with them. This increases male fitness. Should a biological basis for infanticide be used as a defense in human court cases where, say, a stepfather kills a stepchild?

Question 9

Choose the best answer for each question.
In lovebirds, if carrying strips in the bill is controlled by a single dominant gene, then hybrids between peach-faced lovebirds and Fischer lovebirds would

A) carry strips in their bills.
B) carry strips in their rump feathers.
C) not carry strips.
D) carry strips in both their bills and rump feathers.
E) have decreased fitness.

Question 10

As discussed in section 33.4, some studies suggest that men prefer women with a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7. Women of different weights can have this ratio because it is based on bone structure, rather than weight. Nonetheless, women may misinterpret this information, which can contribute to the epidemic of eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia. How can we better educate people about the scientific information on mate choice and the dangers of eating disorders?

Question 11

Choose the best answer for each question.
Which of the following is not an example of a genetically based behavior?

A) Inland garter snakes do not eat slugs, while coastal populations do.
B) One species of lovebird carries nesting strips one at a time, while another carries several.
C) One species of warbler migrates, while another one does not.
D) Snails lay eggs in response to egg-laying hormone.
E) Wild foxes raised in captivity are not capable of hunting for food.

Question 12

Studies of human mate choice are generally complex, and often controversial. Should federal agencies fund these studiesWhy or why not?

Question 13

Choose the best answer for each question.
How would the following graph differ if begging behavior in laughing gulls was a fixed action pattern?

A) It would be a diagonal line with an upward incline.
B) It would be a diagonal line with a downward incline.
C) It would be a horizontal line.
D) It would be a vertical line.
E) None of these are correct.

Question 14

Choose the best answer for each question.
Using treats to train a dog to do a trick is an example of

A) imprinting.
B) tutoring.
C) vocalization.
D) operant conditioning.

Question 15

Choose the best answer for each question.
In white-crowned sparrows, social experience exhibits a very strong influence over the development of singing patterns. What observation led to this conclusion?

A) Birds learned to sing only when they were trained by other birds.
B) The window in which birds learn from other birds is wider than that in which birds learn from tape recordings.
C) Birds could learn different dialects only from other birds.
D) Birds that learned to sing from a tape recorder could change their song when they listened to another bird.

Question 16

Choose the best answer for each question.
Which reaction best provides physiological evidence that animals have emotions?

A) Adrenaline levels increase when a deer senses danger.
B) Dopamine levels in the brains of rats increase when they play.
C) Chimpanzees experience decreases in acetylcholine levels when they are content.
D) The blood pressure of wolves drops when they return to the pack.

Question 17

Choose the best answer for each question.
Which of the following best describes classical conditioning?

A) the gradual strengthening of stimulus-response connections that are seemingly unrelated
B) a type of associative learning in which there is no contingency between response and reinforcer
C) the learning behavior in which an organism follows the first moving object it encounters
D) the learning behavior in which an organism exhibits a fixed action pattern from the time of birth

Question 18

Choose the best answer for each question.
Bees that do a waggle dance are teaching other bees

A) how to dance.
B) where to find food.
C) how to find and use the sun for navigation.
D) how to use auditory communication.