Deck 15: Sociality

Question 1

Benefits of sociality include all of the following EXCEPT

A) Reduced disease transmission rates.
B) Reduced predation risk.
C) Enhanced resource defense.
D) Decreased costs of thermoregulation.
E) Reduced search time for food.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What evidence did Chapman and Chapman (2000) use to conclude that competition limits group size in the primates they studied?

A) They found a positive correlation between group size and the density of food trees.
B) They observed a decline in group size with a natural decline in food availability.
C) They observed an increase in group size with the experimental addition of food.
D) They observed an increase in fitness of individuals with a decline in group size.
E) They observed an increase in group size with an experimental reduction in competitors.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What hypothesis explains higher disease transmission rates in female compared to male guppies?

A) Females spend more time in habitats that harbor diseases.
B) Males have a superior immune system.
C) Females have lower levels of genetic variation.
D) Females are larger than males.
E) Females associate in tighter schools.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT true about crayfish dominance hierarchies?

A) Higher-ranking individuals have greater access to food.
B) Aggression levels are lower after the hierarchy is established.
C) Protandry determines ranking within the hierarchy.
D) Hierarchies form in the absence of food.
E) Aggression is high before hierarchy formation.

Question 5

The studies of minnows and vulture both showed a benefit of group living in terms of reduced search time to find food. What cost of group living was also present in each study?

A) Increased attraction to predators
B) Increased aggression
C) Increased disease transmission
D) Increased competition
E) Increased cannibalism

Question 6

Which of the following can you conclude from Beauchamp's study of flock sizes on islands and mainlands?

A) The costs of group living are higher on mainlands
B) The net benefit of group living is higher on mainlands
C) The benefits of group living increase with flock size
D) The benefits of group living are identical on islands and mainlands

Question 7

Which of the following is a prediction of the social heterosis hypothesis?

A) Individuals in a colony differ in their task efficiency.
B) Individuals in a colony frequently switch tasks
C) High fitness colonies consist of individuals that specialize on different tasks.
D) Each colony specializes on a different task to enhance colony fitness

Question 8

The comparative study of rodents showed which of the following?

A) The common ancestor lived in dense forest habitat
B) Habitat type was associated with sociality
C) Body size was associated with sociality
D) Species living underground were always social

Question 9

The comparative study in African antelope showed which of the following?

A) Small-bodied species always hid from predators
B) Large-bodied species always lived in large groups
C) Body size and average group size were positively correlated
D) Large-bodied species tended to browse on woody vegetation and hide from predators

Question 10

What change in behavior would you expect after experimentally administering a standard dose of oxytocin to female dogs?

A) Increased affiliative behavior
B) Increased aggression
C) Increased sexual behavior
D) Increased dominance behavior
E) Increased foraging behavior

Question 11

In the zebra finch study conducted by Goodson et al. (2009), mesotocin-infused females but not males preferred to associate with the larger group in the test chamber. What costs of associating with large groups might exist more for males than females that explain male behavior.

Question 12

Explain how habitat type was associated with degree of sociality in histricognath rodents and African antelopes.