Deck 4: Behavioral Ecology

Question 1

Let's imagine that solitary male lesser spotted turkeys normally father two offspring. However, related turkeys may cooperate in attracting females. If one male fathers 10 offspring, but the other fathers none, what is the minimum level of relatedness necessary to offset the subordinates loss of reproductive opportunities?

A) 0.15
B) 0.26
C) 0.50
D) 0.76
E) 2.0

Answer 1

0.26

Question 2

George Williams' arguments against group selection related to

A) mutation, kin selection, immigration
B) immigration, eusociality, mutation
C) resource prediction, mutation, immigration
D) kin selection, resource prediction, eusociality
E) individual selection, polygamy, resource prediction

Answer 2

resource prediction, mutation, immigration

Question 3

Males of which species usually kill infants when they take over groups of females from other males?

A) naked mole rats.
B) lions
C) grouse.
D) elk.
E) elephant seals.

Answer 3

lions

Question 4

The total number of copies of genes passed on through reproductive output and through relatives is termed

A) kin selection
B) Hamilton's Rule
C) inclusive fitness
D) the coefficients of relatedness
E) individual selection

Question 5

The raising of alarm calls by sentries in Belding's ground squirrel is an example of

A) altruism.
B) kin selection.
C) eusociality.
D) inclusive fitness.
E) the caste system.

Question 6

Naked mole rats

A) do not readily share food.
B) are haplodiploid organisms.
C) have a caste system.
D) live in the prairies of North America.
E) have no predators.

Question 7

Most studies support the idea that as flock size of birds increase, scan duration for individual birds decreases

Question 8

In killer whales, what group size tends to be stable?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) 5

Question 9

Prey might group together in flocks of herds because of

A) the many eyes hypothesis.
B) the selfish herd hypothesis.
C) optimal foraging.
D) both a and b
E) both b and c

Question 10

Which conclusion can be drawn from the hawk/dove game?

A) Fighting strategy is independent of what others are doing.
B) ESS is usually 100% hawk, 100% dove or 100% bourgeois.
C) ESS is dependent on the value of the rewards.
D) The frequency of dove behavior increases as the payoff increases.
E) Dove-like strategies dominate in fights over females.

Question 11

In a contest where the reward for winning is +100, the cost of injury is -50, the cost of display is -20 and loses get 0, on average, who gets the largest payoff?

A) hawkes.
B) doves.
C) bourgeois

Question 12

In coastal western Canada, crows drop whelks so that they break on the rocky shore. Crows tend to select _________ whelks and drop them from about _________ high.

A) small; 1m
B) medium; 1m
C) large; 1m
D) medium; 5m
E) large; 5m

Question 13

A study by Eric Post and colleagues linking snowfall, wolf movement, elk death and tree growth showed

A) heavy snow makes wolves travel in smaller packs.
B) wolves in smaller packs kill more moose per day.
C) moose density affects the growth of fir trees.
D) moose density increases as wolf pack size increases.
E) All the above are true.

Question 14

Which of the following is true of males in mating systems of a single male and many females?

A) large body size, large canine size, large testis size
B) large body size, average canine size, small testis size
C) average body size, large canine size, large testis size
D) large body size, average canine size, large testis size
E) large body size, large canine size, average testis size

Question 15

Which is NOT a strategy to explain monogamous mating systems?

A) mate-guarding hypothesis
B) male assistance hypothesis
C) Fisher's principle
D) female-enforced monogamy hypothesis
E) All the above answers can explain monogamous mating systems.

Question 16

Which is an example of intrasexual selection, not intersexual selection?

A) peahens choose to mate with peacocks with more showy tail feathers.
B) male elephant seals fight other males to defend a harem of females.
C) male hanging flies present nuptial gifts to females, who choose their mates on gift quality.
D) female sticklebacks mate with males who shake it the hardest.
E) male bower birds with longer tails mate with more females because they are more attractive.

Question 17

What is an effect of polygyny on a population's genetic composition?

A) effective population size will be greater than actual populations size.
B) effective population size will be the same as the actual population size.
C) effective population size will be smaller than actual population size.
D) no effect; polygyny does not influence the effective population size relative to the actual population size.

Question 18

Which is NOT a strategy to explain polygynous mating systems?

A) resource based polygyny
B) harem based polygyny
C) communal courting
D) the male enforcement hypothesis

Question 19

Which mammalian taxa do not have harem mating structures?

A) horses and zebras
B) red deer
C) naked mole rats
D) elephant seals
E) elk.

Question 20

Behavioral ecology is the same as ethology.

Question 21

The ultimate reason that solitary grasshoppers morph into gregarious locusts is an increase in the chemical neurotransmitter serotonin.

Question 22

Territory marking is common in canids and felines.

Question 23

One of the main proponents of group selection was G. C. Williams.

Question 24

In a bird population in which all pairs lay two eggs and no mutations occur to increase clutch size, selfish individuals that laid more eggs could still immigrate from other areas.

Question 25

Vampire bats can die if they don't feed for three days.

Question 26

When crows drop whelks onto rocks in coastal Canada, the chance of whelks breaking increases as the number of drops increases.

Question 27

Polygyny and polygamy are the same.

Question 28

Honeybees are polyandrous.

Question 29

Match the term with the correct definition.

-altruism

A) the probability any two individuals share a copy of genes by descent.
B) the total number of copies of genes passed on via reproduction and via relatives.
C) selection that lowers one's fitness but enhances that of a relative.
D) the development of sterile castes in social insects.
E) behavior that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself.

Question 30

Match the term with the correct definition.

-coefficient of relatedness

A) the probability any two individuals share a copy of genes by descent.
B) the total number of copies of genes passed on via reproduction and via relatives.
C) selection that lowers one's fitness but enhances that of a relative.
D) the development of sterile castes in social insects.
E) behavior that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself.

Question 31

Match the term with the correct definition.

-inclusive fitness

A) the probability any two individuals share a copy of genes by descent.
B) the total number of copies of genes passed on via reproduction and via relatives.
C) selection that lowers one's fitness but enhances that of a relative.
D) the development of sterile castes in social insects.
E) behavior that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself.

Question 32

Match the term with the correct definition.

-kin selection

A) the probability any two individuals share a copy of genes by descent.
B) the total number of copies of genes passed on via reproduction and via relatives.
C) selection that lowers one's fitness but enhances that of a relative.
D) the development of sterile castes in social insects.
E) behavior that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself.

Question 33

Match the term with the correct definition.

-eusociality

A) the probability any two individuals share a copy of genes by descent.
B) the total number of copies of genes passed on via reproduction and via relatives.
C) selection that lowers one's fitness but enhances that of a relative.
D) the development of sterile castes in social insects.
E) behavior that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself.

Question 34

Match the average rewards to the first strategy in hawk/dove type game where the benefits of winning are +100, injury -100, losing = 0 and display = -10

-Hawk vs. Hawk

A) 40
B) 100
C) 0

Question 35

Match the average rewards to the first strategy in hawk/dove type game where the benefits of winning are +100, injury -100, losing = 0 and display = -10

-Hawk vs. Dove

A) 41
B) 101
C) 1

Question 36

Match the average rewards to the first strategy in hawk/dove type game where the benefits of winning are +100, injury -100, losing = 0 and display = -10

-Dove vs. Dove

A) 42
B) 102
C) 2

Question 37

Match up the species with their mating system.

-promiscuity

A) bonobos, mollusks, megapode birds
B) most birds, burying beetles
C) most mammals, bullfrogs, lark bunting, lions, elephant seals
D) spotted sandpiper, jacanas, pipefish, Galapagos hawk

Question 38

Match up the species with their mating system.

-polyandry

A) bonobos, mollusks, megapode birds
B) most birds, burying beetles
C) most mammals, bullfrogs, lark bunting, lions, elephant seals
D) spotted sandpiper, jacanas, pipefish, Galapagos hawk

Question 39

Match up the species with their mating system.

-monogamy

A) bonobos, mollusks, megapode birds
B) most birds, burying beetles
C) most mammals, bullfrogs, lark bunting, lions, elephant seals
D) spotted sandpiper, jacanas, pipefish, Galapagos hawk

Question 40

Match up the species with their mating system.

-polygyny

A) bonobos, mollusks, megapode birds
B) most birds, burying beetles
C) most mammals, bullfrogs, lark bunting, lions, elephant seals
D) spotted sandpiper, jacanas, pipefish, Galapagos hawk

Question 41

Match the following body size attributes with mating systems.

-polygynous

A) male and female similar in size
B) male much bigger than female
C) female much bigger than male

Question 42

Match the following body size attributes with mating systems.

-monogamous

A) male and female similar in size
B) male much bigger than female
C) female much bigger than male

Question 43

Match the following body size attributes with mating systems.

-polyandrous

A) male and female similar in size
B) male much bigger than female
C) female much bigger than male