Deck 13: Communication

Question 1

Which of the following is required for communication to occur?

A) There must be at least one signaler and one receiver.
B) The signaler and receiver must be in very close proximity to one another.
C) The signaler and receiver must be conspecifics.
D) Signals must be directed at a particular receiver.
E) Visual cues must be used in tandem with chemical, auditory, or vibrational cues.

Answer 1

There must be at least one signaler and one receiver.

Question 2

Which component of the honeybee waggle dance provides information about the distance to a resource?

A) number of pauses contained within the dance
B) angle at which the honeybee orients during the dance
C) length of the dance
D) amount of physical contact the dancer makes with other hive members
E) release of pheromones during the dance

Answer 2

length of the dance

Question 3

How does developmental temperature affect the "figure-eights" in the honeybee waggle dance?

A) Warmer temperatures increase the number of figure-eights.
B) Warmer temperatures decrease the number of figure-eights.
C) Warmer temperatures disrupt the pattern of the figure-eight.
D) Warmer temperatures have no effect on the figure-eight.
E) Warmer temperatures completely suppress this aspect of the waggle dance.

Answer 3

Warmer temperatures increase the number of figure-eights.

Question 4

The classical ethological approach to communication posits that:

A) signaling exchanges represent evolutionary arms races between signalers and receivers.
B) honest signaling cannot evolve in the context of animal communication.
C) both the signaler and the receiver benefit from information exchange and that there is little selection pressure favoring deceitful communication.
D) neither the signaler nor the receiver benefit from information exchange, thus leading to the elimination of communication altogether.
E) even if selection pressures favor dishonest communication, signalers and receivers will never engage in deceitful signaling.

Question 5

Leaf- cutter ants use __________ for long- range communication and use_________ for close- range communication.

A) visual displays; pheromones
B) stridulations; visual displays
C) visual displays; electrical impulses
D) pheromones; stridulations
E) pheromones; pheromones

Question 6

Which of the following statements concerning bird song is true?

A) Some birds can operate both sides of the syrinx independently throughout their song without one side being dominant.
B) Birds have several different vocal organs, which they use for different songs.
C) Neither side of the avian syrinx can dominate certain frequencies used in song production.
D) Respiratory muscles that supply air to the syrinx play no part in song output.
E) The avian syrinx has three compartments which can be used to emit different types of sound.

Question 7

Cooperative signaling should favor the evolution of:

A) conspiratorial whispers.
B) increased energetic investment in signal design.
C) exaggerated displays.
D) deceitful signaling tactics.
E) communication breakdown.

Question 8

According to the handicap principle, honest signaling can evolve if traits involved in communication are:

A) fairly easy to produce.
B) used for many forms of communication.
C) impossible to produce.
D) very costly to fake.
E) beneficial to the signaler.

Question 9

Which of the following best describes the relationship between the note length of bird songs and the degree of sexual size dimorphism?

A) Maximum note length increases as a function of increased sexual size dimorphism.
B) Maximum note length decreases as a function of increased sexual size dimorphism.
C) Maximum note length increases as a function of decreased sexual size dimorphism.
D) Maximum note length decreases as a function of decreased sexual size dimorphism.
E) Maximum note length has no relationship with sexual size dimorphism.

Question 10

Deceptive or dishonest signaling will provide the greatest benefit when:

A) cooperative signalers are rare compared to dishonest signalers.
B) dishonest signalers are rare compared to cooperative signalers.
C) individuals signal honestly half the time and dishonestly half the time.
D) dishonest signalers are common compared to cooperative signalers.
E) cooperative signalers and dishonest signalers are equally common.

Question 11

How does Zahavi's handicap principle apply to signaler-receiver dynamics? What are Zahavi's most critical assumptions? Have these assumptions been tested and, if so, how has the handicap principle held up to empirical scrutiny?

Question 12

As described in the chapter, animals may use many signaling modalities to communicate information to conspecifics; that is, signals may be visual, chemical, electrical, acoustic or vibratory. Imagine that you are studying signalerreceiver behavior in the context of aggressive disputes in a certain species of fish known to use visual, chemical, and acoustic cues during contests. Design a series of experiments that would allow you to tease apart the relative contribution of these different signaling modalities to the dynamics and outcome of aggressive contests in these fish.

Question 13

Obtain a copy of McGregor and Peake's (2000) article entitled "Communication Networks: Social Environments for Receiving and Signalling Behavior" (Acta Ethologica, vol. 2, pp. 71-81). In what ways is the communication network concept fundamentally different from traditional views that communication occurs between a signaler-receiver dyad? Can you think of any types of signaler-receiver interactions, aside from those covered in the article that might occur within a communication network?

Question 14

The vast majority of this chapter focused on intraspecific communication. Do you think communication occurs between individuals of different species? To assist in your quest to understand interspecific communication, consider a paper by Schuett and colleagues (1984), "Feeding Mimicry in the Rattlesnake Sistrurus Catenatus with Comments on the Evolution of the Rattle" (Animal Behavior, vol. 32, pp. 625-626) in which they describe a form of feeding mimicry in juvenile rattlesnakes called caudal luring (see also Reiserer & Schuett 2008). Do you think caudal luring qualifies as a form of communication based on the definitions provided in Principles of Animal Behavior and in the answer.

Question 15

Read the article by Muscedere and colleagues (2012) entitled "Serotonin Modulates Worker Responsiveness to Trail Pheromone in the Ant Pheidole dentate" (Journal of Comparative Physiology A, vol. 198, pp. 219-227). How did the authors determine that serotonin was an important regulator of cooperative foraging behavior in ants? Coupled with the information provided to you in the answer to Discussion Question 1 and in the Additional Readings section, generate at least two hypotheses related to how individual variation in the amount or timing of serotonin production can affect foraging success, individual fitness, and overall colony fitness in ants.

Question 16

Read the article by Fuller and colleagues (2010), "Teasing Apart the Many Effects of Lighting Environment on Opsin Expression and Foraging Preference in Bluefin Killifish" (American Naturalist, vol. 176, pp. 1-13). How did the authors' experiment allow them to disentangle the contributions of natural selection/genetics, developmental plasticity, and the immediate environment to color-based foraging preferences? Now, visit the Additional Readings section and peruse a few more papers by Rebecca Fuller's research group. Describe at least one proximate mechanism related to spectral sensitivity that might (1) vary among populations, and (2) explain variation in foraging preferences, mate choice preferences, or male coloration patterns. Discuss how this research on bluefin killifish touches upon, in significant ways, each of Tinbergen's four questions (see Chapter 1).