Deck 3: Evolution and the Study of Animal Behavior

Question 1

The parent-offspring regression analysis can be used to determine which of the following?

A) The fitness of a trait
B) The heritability of a trait
C) Whether a trait is an adaptation
D) Whether a trait is frequency-dependent
E) The level of selection on a trait

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following studies would provide data to assess the heritability of a behavioral trait?

A) Determine the fitness of different trait values
B) Quantify the amount of variation in the trait in a population
C) Determine whether the mean trait value changes over time in a population
D) Conduct a parent-offspring correlation analysis of the trait
E) Determine whether the behavioral trait changes over time among individuals

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is a prediction of multilevel selection theory?

A) Selection on groups does not occur
B) Top-down selection is stronger than bottom-up selection
C) Directional selection is stronger than stabilizing selection
D) Selection on groups may sometimes be stronger than selection on individuals
E) Kin selection is stronger than disruptive selection

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is true?

A) Multilevel selection theory includes group selection
B) Cooperation cannot be explained by kin selection
C) Inclusive fitness means only the fittest survive
D) Multilevel selection is more common than individual selection
E) William Hamilton proposed multilevel selection theory

Question 5

A researcher examined the fitness of a trait in a population and plotted the data below. Which of the following is a valid conclusion that can be drawn from these data?

A) Trait value B is the optimal trait value
B) Fitness is frequency-dependent
C) Disruptive selection is acting on trait value C
D) Kin selection explains why the fitness of trait value A is lower than the fitness of trait value C
E) Trait value C will increase in the population

Question 6

Which of the following results allowed Sarah Pryke, Staffan Andersson and Michael Lawes (2001) to conclude that sexual dimorphism in red-collared widowbirds is the result of sexual selection by females?

A) A modification in male tail length changed female preference
B) Male tail coloration was related to their diet.
C) Males change color over their lifetime.
D) The reddest males were dominant to dull-colored males.
E) Most females mated with males with the longest-tails.

Question 7

Which of the following terms does NOT apply to Sarah Pryke, Staffan Andersson and Michael Lawes's (2001) study of red-collard widowbirds?

A) Sexual selection
B) Stabilizing selection
C) Tail length
D) Body coloration
E) Sexual dimorphism

Question 8

Which of the following is a prediction based solely on sexual selection theory?

A) Individuals will differ in reproductive success.
B) Only the fittest individuals survive.
C) All individuals have equal fitness.
D) The fitness of an individual fluctuates with changes in the environment.
E) Females have higher fitness than males.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT an outcome of natural selection?

A) The traits of an individual can affect its fitness.
B) Individuals in a population will differ in their traits.
C) For a heritable trait, offspring will tend to resemble their parents.
D) All individuals in a population have high fitness.
E) Allele frequencies can change each generation in a population.

Question 10

What data allowed Miles (2004) to conclude that there was strong directional selection on limb length in juvenile lizards?

A) Individuals varied in their locomotor performance
B) Larger individuals had the highest locomotor performance.
C) Individuals with high locomotor performance had the highest survivorship.
D) Lizard hind limb length was a heritable trait.
E) Locomotor performance was consistent for an individual over eight tests.

Question 11

Which of the following is a logical consequence of disruptive selection?

A) Intermediate trait values in a population will decline in frequency.
B) Frequency-dependent selection will be strong on traits.
C) Trait variation in the population will decline.
D) Traits will become less adaptive.
E) Sexual selection will be weak in the population.

Question 12

Which of the following would be an indirect measure of fitness?

A) The number of viable, fertile offspring
B) The number of matings
C) The amount of variation in the population
D) The heritability of a trait
E) The differential survival and reproduction of an individual

Question 13

Fruit bats require water and feed on ripened or fermenting fruit and vegetables. Suppose a male and a female fruit bat colonize a newly formed island with limited fruits, vegetables, and freshwater. As the population grows, which of the following best describes what could happen first?

A) When the resources are limited, the fruit bats will limit the number of offspring so that all bats survive.
B) The bats will find other food sources to use so that resources are not limited.
C) Not all individuals will be able to obtain enough resources to survive.
D) Smaller fruit bats will evolve in order to use fewer resources and ensure that more bats survive.
E) Larger fruit bats will evolve that can store more food physiologically.

Question 14

You observe two distinct behavioral strategies among flocks of house sparrows. In one strategy, individuals (producers) search for food patches. In the other strategy, individuals (scroungers) wait for producers to find food and then feed in the patches found by the producers. The relative frequency of these strategies differs in flocks, and you observe that the scroungers have high fitness (a high feeding rate) when they are rare in a flock and low fitness when they are common in a flock. This is an example of which of the following?

A) Directional selection
B) Disruptive selection
C) Stabilizing selection
D) Frequency-dependent selection
E) Co-evolution

Question 15

You have been conducting research on a population of gray squirrels on your campus. Red-tailed hawks on your campus are the main predator for these squirrels. In this population, you found that squirrels with longer legs can run faster and so are less likely to be eaten by hawks and that leg length has increased over time in this population. Which of the following statements best explains the evolution of longer legs in these squirrels?

A) All individuals must have long legs.
B) Each squirrel's legs become longer as they run more.
C) Squirrels with long legs have offspring with long legs.
D) Squirrels with short legs have offspring with long legs.
E) Natural selection cannot act on this population because they do not have a sufficiently long life span.

Question 16

The graph below shows how the fitness of a trait varies with the value of the trait (the X axis). This illustrates which mode of selection?

A) Direct
B) Indirect
C) Stabilizing
D) Disruptive
E) Destabilizing

Question 17

Describe the three conditions required for evolution by natural selection.

Question 18

Describe two methods commonly used to measure the heritability of a trait.

Question 19

Articulate five reasons why individuals in a population will display differences in their behavior.

Question 20

Describe the criteria used to determine whether a trait is an adaptation.

Question 21

Praw and Grant used an indirect measure of fitness (growth rate) to conclude that defending intermediate size territories was optimal. Describe a study on the same system that would provide a more direct measure of fitness?