Deck 6: Communication

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT true about the honeybee waggle dance?

A) It affects the behavior of recruits.
B) It is a visual signal.
C) It is a behavioral signal.
D) It is only performed by scouts.
E) It involves a pheromone signal.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

What evidence led Riley and colleagues (2005) to suggest that bees respond to the waggle dance rather than odor cues?

A) Recruits released away from the hive flew directly to the food source.
B) Recruits released away from the hive returned to it.
C) Recruits released away from the hive behaved similarly to those released at the hive.
D) All recruits flew downwind and started a zigzag search upwind for the food.
E) All recruits took much longer to fly to the food source than expected based on a straight-line route.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT true of the vervet monkey and tufted titmouse alarm call systems?

A) All individuals seek shelter when they hear an alarm call.
B) Variation in calls is associated with variation in the behavior of receivers.
C) Calls vary depending on the predator observed.
D) Their alarm calls are unique vocalizations.
E) Their alarm calls are a flexible signal that can be modified based on environmental conditions.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

You observe two different prey species reduce their total activity level after they smell the urine scent of the same predator. Which of the following can you conclude about this observation?

A) The urine contains a pheromone.
B) The urine is a general odorant.
C) The observation is an example of a bystander effect.
D) This is an example of odor mimicry.
E) This is an example of a communication network.

Question 5

How did Suzanne Gray and colleagues (2008) examine the evolution of signals in fish?

A) They manipulated fish color.
B) They examined visual contrast in different habitats.
C) They altered light levels to determine effect on behavior.
D) They examined correlations between visual and behavioral signals.
E) They measured reproductive success of females mating with different males.

Question 6

Auditory signals______________.

A) are produced by chemoreceptors
B) are unreliable indicators of environmental conditions
C) are inflexible
D) are detected by rod receptors in the ear
E) degrade and attenuate as they travel

Question 7

What prediction did Nichols and Goldizen (2006) test regarding auditory signals in satin bowerbirds?

A) Age influences signal production
B) Predation risk influences the signal
C) Competition influences the signal
D) Frequency-dependent selection influences the signal
E) Habitat structure influences the signal

Question 8

From what data did Nicholls and Goldizen (2006) conclude that habitat structure affected signal production in satin bowerbirds?

A) Populations in different habitats differed in their genotypes.
B) Populations in different habitats produced different signals.
C) Males and females preferred different habitats.
D) Individuals produced different signals depending on their location within a habitat.
E) Individuals modified their habitat before producing a signal.

Question 9

You observe variation in the auditory signal that males use to attract females. Which of the following would be true if the signal is an accurate indicator of male quality?

A) The highest-quality males have the most common form of the signal.
B) The highest-quality males have the most extreme form of the signal.
C) Male quality is unrelated to signal variation.
D) Only the highest-quality females prefer the highest-quality males.
E) Females will use multiple signals to identify the highest-quality males.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a condition that favors the evolution of signals that are accurate indicators of conditions?

A) Signal production is costly.
B) The fitness interests of signaler and receiver are the same.
C) Signal production is frequency-dependent.
D) The signal cannot be faked.
E) The signal is a function of body size, and large size is associated with quality.

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT associated with aposematic coloration?

A) Noxious chemicals or toxins
B) Visual signaling
C) Predation
D) Accurate indicator of conditions
E) Audience effects

Question 12

How did Saporito and colleagues (2007) conclude that the bright coloration of O. pumilio frogs functions as an aposematic signal?

A) Colorful models were attacked less often than cryptic models.
B) Models on a white background were attacked most often.
C) Cryptic models were never attacked.
D) Birds attacked colorful models before attacking cryptic models.
E) Birds became sick after attacking colorful models.

Question 13

Hoefler and colleagues (2009) concluded that male spider leg raise displays are an indicator of quality to females. What assumption underlies this conclusion?

A) Leg raise displays vary with age.
B) Female fitness is unrelated to female mate choice.
C) Female choice is density-dependent.
D) Leg raise displays are physiologically costly.
E) Females detect leg raise displays as a vibratory signal.

Question 14

What data allowed Abrahams, Robb, and Hare (2005) to conclude that opercular flare displays are an accurate indicator of male fighting condition?

A) Flare display rate was influenced by fish body size.
B) Flare display rate was influenced by the presence of a simulated intruder.
C) Flare display rate was related to water oxygen level.
D) Flare display rate was influenced by the presence of a female observer.
E) Females preferred those males that had the highest flare display rate.

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT associated with Batesian mimicry?

A) Predation
B) Cryptic coloration
C) Inaccurate signaling
D) Visual signals
E) A toxic model

Question 16

What experimental result allowed Kuchta, Krakauer, and Sinervo (2008) to conclude that Ensatina eschscholtzii xanthoptica is a Batesian mimic?

A) It was best able to avoid an attacking predator.
B) It was attacked more often than a toxic newt.
C) Predators became sick after consuming it.
D) Predators avoided it completely.
E) It was attacked less often than another subspecies.

Question 17

Which of the following is true about Batesian and aggressive mimicry?

A) A Batesian mimic is a prey species; an aggressive mimic is a predator.
B) A Bateisan mimic is always smaller than an aggressive mimic.
C) Batesian mimicry involves mating; aggressive mimicry involves territory defense.
D) Batesian mimicry involves females; aggressive mimicry involves males.
E) Both involve auditory signals

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT true about the sexual deception hypothesis and false alarm calls produced by topi?

A) Males produce false alarm calls to influence female behavior.
B) Only males produce false alarm calls.
C) The calls are most often produced when estrus females are nearby.
D) Males and females respond to false alarm calls.
E) False alarm calls enhance male reproductive success.

Question 19

Which of the following is always associated with the production of false alarm calls?

A) The calls are only produced by juveniles.
B) The calls are always produced by only one sex.
C) The calls only occur in the context of reproduction.
D) The calls involve modifications to sensory receptors.
E) The fitness benefits of the signaler and receiver differ.

Question 20

Which of the following was NOT predicted by Wheeler (2009) in his experiment examining false alarm calls in capuchin monkeys?

A) Only males will produce false alarm calls.
B) False alarm calls will be produced by subordinates rather than dominants.
C) Food distribution will affect false alarm call production.
D) Proximity to food will affect false alarm call production.
E) False alarm calls will affect the behavior of dominants.

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT associated with communication networks?

A) Eavesdroppers
B) Audience effects
C) Interference
D) Three or more individuals
E) Bystanders

Question 22

What observation allowed Schmidt and Ostfeld (2008) to conclude that squirrels eavesdrop on blue jay auditory signals?

A) Squirrels' feeding behavior differed when they heard blue jay versus cardinal vocalizations.
B) Squirrels' caching behavior differed when they heard blue jay versus cardinal vocalizations.
C) Squirrels' pilfering behavior differed when they heard blue jay versus cardinal vocalizations.
D) Squirrels' mating behavior differed when they heard blue jay versus cardinal vocalizations.
E) Squirrels' fighting behavior differed when they heard blue jay versus cardinal vocalizations.

Question 23

An audience effect involves ______________.

A) modifying a signal in response to environmental conditions
B) modifying behavior in response to the presence of a bystander
C) manipulating a rival by increasing the intensity of an auditory signal
D) selection on an auditory signal
E) altering the behavior of a predator by interacting with it

Question 24

If you found a new bird species that lived in dark forest habitats in the Amazon, which of the following would you predict to be the most likely way that males attract females?

A) A mating display in which males display a blue and green area on their head
B) A mating display in which males display a bright orange area on their wings
C) A pheromone that males emit to attract females
D) A loud mating song
E) A light tapping on a tree branch

Question 25

Define extended phenotype signal and give one example.

Question 26

Explain why extended phenotype signals are considered to be reliable indicators of conditions.

Question 27

Explain the difference between an audience effect and eavesdropping.

Question 28

What three conditions favor the evolution of signals as accurate indicators of conditions.

Question 29

Explain why inaccurate signals are relatively rare in the context of intraspecific interactions but much more common for interspecific interactions.

Question 30

In Scientific Process 6.2, over time, males in good condition reduced their display rate to females in poor condition. One hypothesis to explain this observation is that males assessed female condition over repeated interactions and reduced display rate as they determined that the female was in poor condition. Explain how a male can benefit by reducing display activity to a poor quality female.