Question 1

​The North Atlantic population of right whales is severely at risk primarily due to fatal collisions with ships and ____.

Accepted Answer

The answer of ​The North Atlantic population of right whales...

Question 2

Which term describes an innate response to a simple and specific stimulus?

Accepted Answer

An instinct is a type of innate behavior, which is a response to a specific stimulus that is hardwired into an organism's DNA without the need for learning or experience.

Question 3

Genetic monogamy is ____.

Accepted Answer

Genetic monogamy, or strict fidelity to one mate, is rare in the animal kingdom. Many animals engage in extra-pair copulation or have multiple partners throughout their lifetime.

Question 4

​When an animal notices another group member beginning to flee, it will do likewise, and therefore the predator has more difficulty choosing an individual to pursue. This behavior is an example of ____.

Accepted Answer

The behavior described is the "confusion effect," where animals in a group begin to flee when one member does, causing confusion for the predator and making it more difficult for them to choose an individual to pursue.

Question 5

A newly hatched cuckoo bird is blind, but contact with an object beside it stimulates it to push the object out of the nest. Which term best describes this behavior?

Accepted Answer

This behavior is innate and a natural response that is programmed in the cuckoo's genes, which means it is an instinct. A newly hatched cuckoo pushes objects that touch it out of the nest because they mimic behavior that helps them take control of the host nest.

Question 6

In many species, females choose among males on the basis of their ability to provide necessary resources. Males often establish an exclusive area that includes resources that females require for reproduction. This is called a ____.

Accepted Answer

The exclusive area that includes resources required by females for reproduction is called a territory.

Question 7

Voles with a large number of oxytocin receptors in their brains are likely to be ____.

Accepted Answer

Voles with a large number of oxytocin receptors in their brains are likely to be monogamous. This is because oxytocin is involved in social bonding behaviors, and has been shown to increase pair bonding and parental care in monogamous voles.

Question 8

In all eusocial species, sterile workers assist fertile ____ with whom they share genes.

Accepted Answer

In eusocial species, sterile workers assist fertile relatives, particularly the queen or kings, with whom they share genes. This is known as kin selection and is a driving force behind the evolution of eusociality.

Question 9

In social insects like bees and termites, the nonreproducing members of the hive are always ____.

Accepted Answer

Social insects like bees and termites live in highly organized societies where nonreproducing members, such as the workers and soldiers, are closely related to each other. This kinship helps promote selflessness and cooperation within the colony.

Question 10

Which scenario illustrates sexual dimorphism?

Accepted Answer

Sexual dimorphism refers to differences in physical characteristics between males and females of the same species. Choice A describes a male having a different body form than a female, indicating sexual dimorphism. The other choices do not necessarily relate to physical differences between males and females.

Question 11

​In the eusocial naked mole-rat species, Heterocephalus glaber, who is responsible for reproducing?

Accepted Answer

In naked mole-rats, reproduction is conducted by a dominant breeding pair consisting of a single reproductive male (king) and one to three reproductive females (queens). The other colony members, which are mostly sterile workers, assist in caring for the young and maintaining the colony.

Question 12

In fruit flies, natural selection tends to maintain both the rover and sitter alleles of the foraging gene because ____.

Accepted Answer

Larvae of each foraging type (rover and sitter) are more likely to survive when their type is rare due to frequency-dependent selection. This form of natural selection maintains genetic variation within a population by giving a survival advantage to rare phenotypes, thus preventing any single allele from becoming fixed.

Question 13

Animals who cluster together and use each other as cover from predators exhibit ____ behavior.

Accepted Answer

Selfish herd behavior occurs when individual animals use others as cover from predators, putting others in danger in order to protect themselves.

Question 14

Which type of learning occurs during a genetically determined time period, early in life?

Accepted Answer

Imprinting is a type of learning that occurs during a genetically determined time period, usually early in life. It involves the rapid learning of a particular stimulus, resulting in a behavior that is difficult to modify. Examples of imprinting include geese following their mother immediately after hatching, and songbirds learning to sing by listening to the songs of their parents during a critical period in their development.

Question 15

What type of animals live in a multigenerational family group in which sterile workers carry out all tasks essential to the group's welfare, while other members of the group produce offspring?

Accepted Answer

The description matches eusocial animals, which live in multigenerational family groups with sterile workers carrying out all essential tasks and other members producing offspring. Selfish herd refers to a group of animals that stick together for individual protection, not for the benefit of the group as a whole, while dominance hierarchies refer to the ranking of individuals within a group based on power and status. Social animals generally refer to any species that lives in groups, while monogamous animals mate with only one partner for life.

Question 16

​Only two species of eusocial vertebrates have been discovered, both found in ____.

Accepted Answer

The two species of eusocial vertebrates discovered are the naked mole-rat and the Damaraland mole-rat, both of which are found in Africa.

Question 17

A honeybee's dance in its dark hive around a crowd of fellow workers conveys information about the location of food. This is an example of ____ communication.

Accepted Answer

The honeybee's dance involves physical movements that are felt by other bees, making it a form of tactile communication.

Question 18

Four of the five answers are major advantages of group living for predators. Select the exception.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Four of the five answers are major...

Question 19

​Young whooping cranes follow older birds to learn the route of their long seasonal migration. This is an example of what type of learned behavior?

Accepted Answer

The answer of ​Young whooping cranes follow older birds to...

Question 20

​With what type of learned behavior does an animal's involuntary response to a stimulus become associated with a stimulus that accompanies it?

Accepted Answer

This is referring to classical or Pavlovian conditioning, in which an animal learns to associate an involuntary response (such as salivation) with a stimulus that accompanies it (such as a ringing bell).

Quiz 39: Animal Behavior