Deck 43: Behavioral Ecology

Question 1

An example of territoriality is

A)barnacles attached to a boat bottom.
B)a cloud of moths attracted to a light.
C)a swarm of mosquitoes hovering around a sweaty person.
D)a red-winged blackbird singing to ward off other males and attract a female to the nest in his fencerow.
E)All of the choices are correct.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

An example of a pheromone in humans is

A)testosterone.
B)a chemical released by males that reduces premenstrual tension in women.
C)the mother's milk that transfers immunity to the infant.
D)saliva exchanged during kissing (as a sexual stimulant).

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which body system plays a role in influencing behavior?

A)nervous and endocrine
B)endocrine and urinary
C)muscular and neural
D)respiratory and urinary
E)None of these systems will influence behavior.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Scientists have discovered gene products,including the hormone ELH,that control all components of egg-laying behavior in Aplysia slugs.This discovery confirms that

A)the egg-laying behavior is innate or hardwired into the slug's brain.
B)the egg-laying behavior has absolutely no nervous system involvement.
C)genes can control endocrine gland secretions that control behavior.
D)this slug could avoid being eaten by garter snakes.
E)genes only influence physiology and structure but not behavior.

Question 5

An organism does not necessarily have to ensure that its own genes are passed to the next generation.The adaptation to the environment due to the reproductive success of an organism's relatives is

A)altruism.
B)kin selection.
C)natural selection.
D)direct selection.

Question 6

In order to train an individual through classical conditioning the researcher must

A)pair the presentation of two different stimuli together.
B)present the subject with one stimulus at a time.
C)use a reward to encourage a specific behavior.
D)use punishment to achieve a specific behavioral outcome.

Question 7

Scientific discoveries have provided evidence that the ______ systems are involved in behavior.

A)digestive and reproductive
B)excretory and circulatory
C)respiratory and digestive
D)endocrine and nervous

Question 8

The Jones family has a plan to encourage good behavior in their children.When a child completes daily chores,that child receives a gold star.The earning of fourteen gold stars allows the child to choose between a visit to the movie theatre or the park.This is an example of

A)imprinting.
B)operant conditioning.
C)insight learning.
D)classical conditioning.
E)polyanthrus.

Question 9

Which of the following statements about behavior is NOT true?

A)Innate behavior is usually inherited.
B)Innate behavior is triggered by a stimulus.
C)Fixed action patterns are sometimes subject to modification by learning.
D)Animals with simple nervous systems tend to respond to a stimulus with an innate behavior.
E)All behaviors can be explained as fixed action patterns.

Question 10

An increase in fitness due to competition among males and mate choice by females is a result of

A)social interaction.
B)sexual dimorphism.
C)sexual selection.
D)sociobiology.
E)courtship.

Question 11

The making of a short-term reproductive sacrifice in order to maximize future reproductive potential is

A)reciprocal altruism.
B)kin selection.
C)inclusive fitness.
D)territoriality.

Question 12

Dogs scent-mark by defecating and urinating in an area,while cats scent-mark by rubbing against objects.Both of these increase the animals level of fitness and are examples of

A)altruism.
B)sexual selection.
C)territoriality.
D)foraging.

Question 13

Ants following a trail to the sugar bowl in your kitchen are doing so because of

A)chance alone.
B)a dance done by an ant in the anthill.
C)operant conditioning.
D)an innate knowledge of where the sugar can be found.
E)a pheromone pathway laid down by previous ants.

Question 14

A very rapid kind of communication that works at a distance and in the dark is

A)chemical communication.
B)auditory communication.
C)tactile communication.
D)visual communication.

Question 15

The "hardwired" or inherited set response patterns that are described for a male cheetah spraying a pheromone to mark its territory,a bee performing a waggle-dance,or a cricket singing to sort out mates,are

A)symbol systems.
B)inherited systems that are evolutionarily adaptive.
C)the sociobiological roots of our language system.
D)altruistic adaptations to improve the general environment.
E)languages similar to human languages in variability and learning requirements.

Question 16

The type of learning that is associated with an organism solving a problem without any prior experiences with the situation is

A)operant conditioning.
B)imprinting.
C)associative learning.
D)insight learning.

Question 17

Adaptive behavior has probably been selected by evolutionary processes because it

A)makes the animal the smartest.
B)allows the animal to live the longest.
C)allows the animal to live in the widest variety of environments.
D)allows the animal to produce the largest number of viable offspring.
E)All of the choices are correct.

Question 18

Which description best explains the difference between orientation and migration.

A)Orientation by birds can be achieved by using the sun or stars in order to determine the direction they should be flying.Navigation is the ability of the birds to change their direction in response to environmental clues.
B)Orientation is the ability of the birds to change their direction in response to environmental clues.Navigation by birds can be achieved by using the sun or stars in order to determine the direction they should be flying.
C)Orientation by birds can be achieved by using the sun or stars in order to determine the speed they should be flying.Navigation is the ability of the birds to change their direction in response to social clues.
D)Orientation by birds can be achieved by using the sun or stars in order to determine the direction they should be flying.Navigation is the ability of the birds to change their direction in response to predator and prey abundance.
E)Orientation by birds can be achieved by using the Earth's magnetic field in order to determine the direction they should be flying.Navigation is the ability of the birds to change their direction in response to environmental clues.

Question 19

Hippopotamuses perform territorial displays that include mouth opening.This is _____ communication.

A)auditory
B)visual
C)chemical
D)tactile

Question 20

Learned behavior that causes a family of baby ducks to follow their mother is called

A)imprinting.
B)operant conditioning.
C)insight learning.
D)extinction.
E)motivation.

Question 21

Advantages to living in a social group for an animal includes all of the following EXCEPT

A)help in predator avoidance.
B)help raising young.
C)group food gathering.
D)spread of illness and parasites.

Question 22

Primate grooming and honeybee waggle-dancing share which of these forms of communication?

A)chemical communication
B)auditory communication
C)tactile communication
D)visual communication

Question 23

Altruism is very rare in societies where the individual's genes have a greater chance of being passed on by other individuals of the society.

Question 24

If a person is trying to use operant conditioning on their child they would need to

A)repeatedly encourage the child to perform a behavior and then reward the good behavior so the child associates the behavior with the reward.
B)repeatedly encourage the child to perform a behavior and then wait several days before rewarding the good behavior so the child associates the behavior with the reward.
C)wait until the child accidentally performs a behavior that is desirable and then reward the good behavior so the child associates the behavior with the reward.
D)never encourage a specific behavior from a child but randomly give them rewards.

Question 25

Altruism is

A)displaced aggressive behavior.
B)a means of ranking animals in a dominance hierarchy.
C)actions of an animal that immediately benefit others rather than itself.
D)belligerent behavior that helps an animal compete in its society.

Question 26

Altruistic behaviors between closely related animals

A)reduce fighting between species.
B)increase the inclusive fitness of the altruist.
C)increase the life-time reproductive success of the altruist.
D)force individuals to cooperate with one another and thereby increase mating and population growth.

Question 27

A female chooses a mate by

A)courtship display rituals.
B)selecting the more aggressive and vigorous males.
C)selecting traits that improve the chances of offspring survival.
D)All of the choices apply.

Question 28

The capacity to learn is inherited and allows the animal to change its behavioral patterns in response to changes in the environment.

Question 29

Which of the following cases is not an example of classical conditioning?

A)An advertiser using an attractive model to sell their line of clothing.
B)Giving a hunting dog an electric shock when it does not return to the owners side on command.
C)A baby crying when their diaper is wet and the parent picking them up.
D)All of the above are examples of classical conditioning.
E)None of the above are examples of classical conditioning.

Question 30

Many worker bees give their lives to save a bee hive from an attack by bears or other animals.In such cases,we now know that

A)this is a case of sexual selection.
B)each female worker is waiting to get her chance to reproduce.
C)this is a case of bees consciously understanding the need to preserve the nest for their individual benefit-they might survive if all work together.
D)These worker bees will have a reproductive benefit if the members of the hive survive.

Question 31

How will cheetahs use pheromones to increase their foraging success?

A)Cheetahs will scent mark their territory to warn other cheetahs to stay out.This will decrease their competition for food within their territory.
B)Cheetahs will scent mark their kills so they can find them again.This will increase their availability of food.
C)Cheetahs will scent mark their trails so that other cheetahs can follow them to optimal food sources.
D)Cheetahs do not use pheromones to increase their foraging success.

Question 32

The waggle dance of a bee indicates to other bees in the hive the direction of food.

Question 33

Fireflies use pheromones to communicate with each other at night because it increases the chance the receiver will get the message.

Question 34

Which form of communication is used by social insects to modify the behavior of the colony?

A)Chemical communication
B)Visual communication
C)Auditory communication
D)None of the choices are used by social insects.
E)All of the choices are used by social insects.

Question 35

________ communication occurs within an animal societal unit.

A)Chemical
B)Auditory
C)Visual
D)Tactile
E)All of the choices are correct.

Question 36

In African tribes polygamy,the practice of one man having several wives,is practiced.The advantage to the female is

A)more surviving children.
B)good food source.
C)help in child rearing.
D)All of the choices are advantages to the female.

Question 37

The genetics inherited by an individual will completely control their behavior.

Question 38

Which of the following communication methods would be most effective for a species that lives in the tropical rainforest and is active at night?

A)chemical
B)visual
C)tactile
D)auditory

Question 39

Besides humans,_____ have one of the most complex languages in the animal kingdom.

A)chimpanzees
B)crickets
C)bottlenose dolphins
D)kilpspringers

Question 40

Which of the following is a proximal cause that will stimulate birds to migrate?

A)Environmental stimuli such as changes in temperature.
B)The bird getting older.
C)An increase in the number of males within the population causing an increase in competition for mates.
D)A new predator moving into the environment that poses a threat to the survival of the population.
E)All of these are proximal causes that will influence birds to migrate.

Question 41

A male leopard nuzzles the female's neck to calm her and to stimulate her willingness to mate.This is an example of _____ communication.

A)chemical
B)visual
C)tactile
D)auditory

Question 42

Pavlov's well known experiment of a dog salivating at the sound of a bell ring is an example of

A)imprinting.
B)operant conditioning.
C)classical conditioning.
D)insight learning. Incorrect

Question 43

Auditory communication is the most effective form of communication in every environment inhabited by animals.

Question 44

Communication is an action by a sender that may influence the behavior of a receiver.

Question 45

During operant conditioning the stimulus-response connection is weakened by repeated punishment.

Question 46

The endocrine system produces hormones in the body and it can be manipulated to cause an individual to change their behavior.

Question 47

The similarity in the behavior of identical twins,even if separated at birth,is evidence that behavior is due to environmental influences.

Question 48

Which of the following is a disadvantage of maintaining a large territory?

A)There will be a large number of females that reside within the territory.
B)There will be a large diversity of food types within the territory.
C)There will be ample room for nesting sites.
D)It will be energetically expensive to control and defend the territory.
E)All of the choices are disadvantages of a large territory.