Deck 2: The Integrative Study of Behavior

Question 1

I say that a white-crowned sparrow sings a distinctive dialect because its genes influenced how its song system was assembled, which in turn made dialect learning possible. You say that it sings the song because of the operation of the robust nucleus of the arcopallium, which sends signals to the bird's vocal control apparatus, the syrinx. Who is correct?

A) I am wrong because learning is environmentally determined, not determined by the bird's genes.
B) You are wrong because the bird's vocal apparatus is called the larynx, not the syrinx.
C) We both may be right because our two hypotheses offer two different proximate levels of analysis of dialect singing.
D) We both may be right because our two hypotheses offer two complementary levels of analysis, one proximate and the other ultimate.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Research results showed that in zebra finches, the sonograms of the songs of a father and his sons reveal a close match unless a son has been deafened early in life. These results best support which hypothesis?

A) The genetic differences hypothesis
B) The acoustic stimulus hypothesis
C) The environmental adaptation hypothesis
D) The recognition hypothesis

Answer 2

B

Question 3

White-crowned sparrows evolved from an ancestral species that possessed the capacity for song learning. This is an example of a(n)

A) developmental explanation.
B) physiological explanation.
C) adaptive value explanation.
D) explanation relating to evolutionary history.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

It is difficult for a sparrow to learn a dialect, which enables females to mate with only those males with good dialects so as to increase the song competence of their offspring.
This is an example of a(n)

A) developmental explanation.
B) physiological explanation.
C) adaptive value explanation.
D) explanation relating to evolutionary history.

Question 5

Males in different populations have different forms of certain genes that influence the development of the song system. This is an example of a(n)

A) developmental explanation.
B) physiological explanation.
C) adaptive value explanation.
D) explanation relating to evolutionary history.

Question 6

The ability to sing the local dialect enables a bird to communicate more effectively with neighboring males. This is an example of a(n)

A) developmental explanation.
B) physiological explanation.
C) adaptive value explanation.
D) explanation relating to evolutionary history.

Question 7

Males in different populations are exposed to different songs, an experience that influences the kind of song that the birds learn. This is an example of a(n)

A) developmental explanation.
B) physiological explanation.
C) adaptive value explanation.
D) explanation relating to evolutionary history.

Question 8

The differences among dialects are environmentally determined, not genetically controlled. This is an example of a(n)

A) developmental explanation.
B) physiological explanation.
C) adaptive value explanation.
D) explanation relating to evolutionary history.

Question 9

Males in different populations have song systems in their brains that operate slightly differently. This is an example of a(n)

A) developmental explanation.
B) physiological explanation.
C) adaptive value explanation.
D) explanation relating to evolutionary history.

Question 10

Young adult white-crowned sparrows are motivated to match their song as closely as possible to that of their neighbors. This is an example of a(n)

A) developmental explanation.
B) physiological explanation.
C) adaptive value explanation.
D) explanation relating to evolutionary history.

Question 11

Young white-crowned sparrows are remarkably good at remembering the sounds produced by adult white-crowned males singing around them. If the learning abilities of these birds evolved by Darwinian natural selection, specific conditions must have applied to the species in the past. Which of the following statements about those conditions is incorrect?

A) There must have been variation in the memory skills of individuals.
B) Any changes that took place in the past must have promoted greater population stability in this bird.
C) Better than average song "rememberers" must have been able to pass on their abilities to their offspring.
D) Better than average song "rememberers" must have had more surviving offspring on average than the typical sparrow at that time.

Question 12

In a study by Nowicki et al. (2002), the researchers compared brain development and song learning in two groups of nestling swamp sparrows: an experimental group that was given 30 percent less food, and a control group. Their results showed that the experimental group displayed lower HVC volume and lower song copy quality. What hypothesis was Nowicki et al. (2002) testing, and what is the proposed reasoning for their findings?

Question 13

Researchers produced three sonograms from male zebra finches: a father and two sons. One of the sons had been deafened early in life. The intact young male's song exactly matched that of his father; the deafened male produced a rudimentary sub-song. Why were these sonograms made? What aspect of the scientific process are they related to?

Question 14

Researchers produced three sonograms from male zebra finches: a father and two sons. One of the sons had been deafened early in life. The intact young male's song exactly matched that of his father; the deafened male produced a rudimentary sub-song. Outline the complete scientific process for which the sonograms are only one part.

Question 15

There are several hypothesized benefits to a bird that can sing the local dialect. Describe two hypotheses that explain the adaptive benefit of learning to sing from one's neighbor.

Question 16

In cooperatively breeding birds, songs provide information about the group as well as individual identity, whereas birds with smaller breeding groups (most often composed of only kin) have songs that provide group identity without individual distinction. Why?

Question 17

Describe the neurophysiological changes that occur when a young male bird is exposed to its own species' song for the first time.