Question 1

Monarch butterflies, dendrobatid frogs, and some social wasps are examples of animals that

Accepted Answer

Monarch butterflies, dendrobatid frogs, and some social wasps are all brightly colored, display aposematic coloration as a warning to predators, and possess significant toxins within their bodies.

Question 2

Animals with warning coloration often enhance their visual conspicuousness behaviorally by

Accepted Answer

Animals with warning coloration are often diurnal (active during the daytime) to ensure their bright colors are visible to potential predators, serving as a deterrent.

Question 3

Terrick and colleagues (1995) offered garter snakes (Thamnophis radix) fish presented on aposematically colored forceps or fish presented on nonaposematically colored forceps. The snakes were then injected with lithium chloride, which made them ill. The snakes that had been offered fish on aposematically colored forceps had a much longer-lasting aversion to fish than those that had been offered fish on the nonaposematically colored forceps. This suggests that the response of at least some predators to aposematic coloration may be

Accepted Answer

The experiment demonstrates that the snakes learned to associate the aposematically colored forceps with the negative experience of illness, leading to a longer-lasting aversion to fish presented in this manner. This indicates that the response to aposematic coloration can be learned rather than being purely innate, instantaneous, or based on the olfactory system.

Question 4

A palatable species that has adopted the warning characteristics of a noxious or harmful species is exhibiting

Accepted Answer

Batesian mimicry occurs when a harmless species evolves to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species to deter predators.

Question 5

Mimics practicing Batesian mimicry tend to fare better when

Accepted Answer

The answer of Mimics practicing Batesian mimicry tend to fare...

Question 6

Which of the following types of mimicry does NOT occur in nature?

Accepted Answer

Mimicry typically involves a harmless species imitating a harmful one to gain protection (Batesian mimicry) or two harmful species mimicking each other to enhance the learning process of predators (Müllerian mimicry). The concept of a harmful species imitating a harmless one does not offer an evolutionary advantage, making it a type of mimicry that does not occur in nature.

Question 7

Reimchen (1989) first described a system of Batesian mimicry involving the juvenile stage of a snail and the tubes of a polychaete worm, where, overall, white-spiral snails (rather than yellow or brown, and which are virtually indistinguishable from the tubes of a polychaete worm) suffered the lowest number of attacks and the reduction in attacks was greater on fronds with polychaete tubes (9.4%) than on fronds devoid of tubes (22.9%). This type of mimicry appears to offer a protective advantage to the snail because the

Accepted Answer

The protective advantage comes from the difficulty predators have in removing the polychaete tubes from the substrate, making the mimicking snails less likely to be attacked.

Question 8

Once a prey animal has been discovered and attack appears imminent, which of the following is likely to be of LEAST use?

Accepted Answer

Disruptive coloration is a form of camouflage that helps animals blend into their surroundings to avoid detection. Once a prey has been discovered and an attack is imminent, camouflage, including disruptive coloration, is of least use because the predator has already detected the prey.

Question 9

An individual with a false head

Accepted Answer

Individuals with a false head can indeed reinforce the illusion through their behavior, misdirect attacks from predators to a less vital part of their body (the false head), and typically have the false head positioned away from their true head, making it a safer target for potential attacks. This strategy is seen in various species as a form of defensive adaptation.

Question 10

The ability to break off a body part when attacked is called

Accepted Answer

Autotomy is the ability of an organism to deliberately detach a part of its body, usually as a defensive mechanism to escape from predators. This is observed in various species, including some lizards that can drop their tails.

Question 11

Dial and Fitzpatrick (1983) staged encounters between a feral cat and two species of lizard, for each of which autotomy was induced by the experimenters. In some instances, the cat attacked the autotomized tail rather than the lizard allowing the lizard to escape; in others, the cat ignored the tail and attacked and captured the lizard. The primary difference between the two situations appears to have been

Accepted Answer

The primary difference was the vigorous postautotomous movement in the tails of the lizards that escaped, which distracted the predators and allowed the lizards to escape.

Question 12

Burghardt and Greene (1988) monitored the recovery times following feigning death in newborn hognose snakes and found that the snakes took longer to recover than a control condition under which of the following conditions?

Accepted Answer

The snakes took longer to recover from feigning death in all the mentioned conditions, indicating that the presence and perceived threat of predators or humans, regardless of eye contact, affected their behavior.

Question 13

The peacock butterfly (Inachis io), when disturbed, flicks open its wings while emitting a hissing sound. The wing flicking serves to expose

Accepted Answer

The peacock butterfly exposes four large eyespots on its wings when disturbed, which can startle or deter predators by mimicking the eyes of larger animals.

Question 14

The assassin bug, the bombardier beetle, the skunk, and the Texas horned lizard are similar in that they all make use of _____ when confronted with a predator.

Accepted Answer

These animals use chemical repellents as a defense mechanism against predators. The assassin bug releases toxic substances, the bombardier beetle sprays boiling chemicals, the skunk emits a foul-smelling spray, and the Texas horned lizard can squirt blood from its eyes that contains a chemical deterrent.

Question 15

Harrassing displays by prey animals that involve repeated approaches to the predator, accompanied by visual (and possibly auditory) components, are more likely to be directed at a

Accepted Answer

Harrassing displays by prey animals are more likely to be directed at sit-and-wait predators. This is because sit-and-wait predators rely on the element of surprise to catch their prey. Once they have been detected and harassed, their chances of a successful hunt decrease significantly, making it a viable strategy for prey to deter them.

Question 16

Stotting, a behavioral display with many hypothesized functions, is most likely to be performed by

Accepted Answer

Stotting is a behavior most commonly observed in antelope, where they spring into the air with all four legs stiff, often seen as a way to signal to predators that they are healthy and not worth pursuing.

Question 17

Antipredator tools such as alarm signals or improved predator detection are of benefit

Accepted Answer

Mixed species groups can benefit from antipredator tools as they can share alarm signals and improve predator detection collectively, enhancing the survival of all members.

Question 18

A tendency for predators to aggregate in areas where prey are abundant, and the presence of parasitoids and pathogens in large social groups may serve to weaken the antipredator benefit of

Accepted Answer

The dilution effect refers to the decreased risk of predation to any single individual as a result of being in a larger group. However, when predators aggregate in areas where prey are abundant, or when parasitoids and pathogens spread more easily in large groups, the benefits of being in a large group (such as the dilution effect) can be weakened. This is because the increased presence of predators or the spread of disease can offset the reduced risk of predation per individual.

Question 19

The antipredator mechanism referred to as the "selfish herd" (Hamilton, 1971) emphasizes that

Accepted Answer

The "selfish herd" theory suggests that individuals in a group act in their own self-interest to reduce their predation risk, often by positioning themselves in a way that minimizes their own exposure to predators, rather than coordinating as a group.

Question 20

Sometimes prey directly attack predators, a strategy that typically involves visual and vocal displays, as well as swoops, runs, and direct hits on the predator. This technique is referred to as

Accepted Answer

The answer of Sometimes prey directly attack predators, a strategy...

Quiz 13: Antipredator Behavior