Question 1

You observe scrub jays hiding food and notice that one particular individual only pretends to hide food. Your experiments associate the presence of other individuals with the frequency of pretending to cache food. A colleague shows you animals of the same species that do not perform this pretend caching. How does this information affect your conclusions about this behavior?
A) It suggests that this behavior might be learned.
B) It prevents you from making conclusions.
C) It suggests that your experimental design is flawed.
D) It does not change your initial conclusions.

Accepted Answer

The presence of animals from the same species that do not perform pretend caching suggests that this behavior might be learned rather than innate, as it would not be present in all individuals of the species.

Question 2

Scientists have tried raising endangered whooping cranes in captivity by using sandhill cranes as foster parents. This strategy is no longer used because ________.
A) the fostered whooping cranes' critical period was variable such that different chicks imprinted on different "mothers"
B) sandhill crane parents rejected their fostered whooping crane chicks soon after incubation
C) none of the fostered whooping cranes formed a mating pair-bond with another whooping crane
D) sandhill crane parents did not properly incubate whooping crane eggs

Accepted Answer

The fostered whooping cranes did not form mating pair-bonds with other whooping cranes, which is crucial for the species' reproduction and survival.

Question 3

You discover a rare new bird species, but you are unable to observe its mating behavior. You see that the male is large and ornamental compared with the female. On this basis, you can probably conclude that the species is ________.
A) polygamous
B) monogamous
C) polyandrous
D) agonistic

Accepted Answer

Typically, male birds with large ornamental features are an indication of competition between males for mates. Polygamous species have one male mating with multiple females, so large ornamental males would increase their chances of mating with more females. In contrast, monogamous species have one male mating with one female, and polyandrous species have one female mating with multiple males, so there is less competition between males and therefore less selection for ornamental features. Agonistic species are those that exhibit aggressive behavior, but this does not necessarily relate to ornamental features or mating behavior.

Question 4

Although many chimpanzees live in environments containing oil palm nuts, members of only a few populations use stones to crack open the nuts. The likely explanation is that ________.
A) the behavioral difference is caused by genetic differences between populations
B) members of different populations have different nutritional requirements
C) the cultural tradition of using stones to crack nuts has arisen in only some populations
D) members of different populations differ in learning ability

Accepted Answer

The use of stones to crack open oil palm nuts is a learned cultural behavior, not a genetic or nutritional difference, and it appears to have arisen only in certain populations.

Question 5

A region of the canary forebrain shrinks during the nonbreeding season and enlarges when breeding season begins. This change is probably associated with the annual ________.
A) addition of new syllables to a canary's song repertoire
B) crystallization of subsong into adult songs
C) renewal of mating and nest-building behaviors
D) elimination of the memorized template for songs sung the previous year

Accepted Answer

The enlargement of the canary forebrain during the breeding season is likely associated with the addition of new syllables to their song repertoire, as song learning and production are crucial for attracting mates and territorial defense during this time.

Question 6

Listed are several examples of types of animal behavior. Choose the letter of the correct term (A-E) that matches each example in the following questions.
A. operant conditioning
B. classical conditioning
C. innate behavior
D. imprinting
E. altruistic behavior
-A human baby performs a sucking behavior perfectly when it is put in the presence of the nipple of its mother's breast.
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D

Accepted Answer

The answer of Listed are several examples of types of...

Question 7

White-crowned sparrows can only learn the "crystallized" song for their species by ________.
A) listening to adult sparrow songs during a sensitive period as a fledgling, followed by a practice period until the juvenile matches its melody to its memorized fledgling song
B) listening to the song of its own species during a critical period so that it will imprint to its own species song and not the songs of other songbird species
C) performing the crystallized song as adults when they become sexually mature, as the song is programmed into the innate behavior for the species
D) observing and practicing after receiving social confirmation from other adults at a critical period during their first episode of courtship behavior

Accepted Answer

White-crowned sparrows learn the "crystallized" song for their species by listening to adult sparrow songs during a sensitive period as a fledgling, followed by a practice period until the juvenile matches its melody to its memorized fledgling song. This process is known as song crystallization.

Question 8

Fred and Joe, two unrelated, mature male gorillas, encounter one another. Fred is courting a female. Fred grunts as Joe comes near. As Joe continues to advance, Fred begins drumming (pounding his chest) and bares his teeth. Joe then rolls on the ground on his back, gets up, and quickly leaves. This behavioral pattern is repeated several times during the mating season. Choose the most specific behavior described by this example.
A) agonistic behavior
B) territorial behavior
C) learned behavior
D) fixed action pattern

Accepted Answer

The behavior described is an example of agonistic behavior, which is the interaction between individuals, usually of the same species, that involves threats, displays, or actual combat to establish dominance or determine access to resources. In this case, Fred is exhibiting aggressive behavior towards Joe to protect his mating partner and establish his dominance. Joe's submissive behavior, rolling on his back and leaving, indicates that he recognizes Fred's dominance.

Question 9

Every morning at the same time, John went into the den to feed his new tropical fish. After a few weeks, he noticed that the fish swam to the top of the tank when he entered the room. This is an example of ________.
A) cognition
B) imprinting
C) classical conditioning
D) operant conditioning

Accepted Answer

This is an example of classical conditioning, where the fish have associated the sound or sight of John entering the room with the presence of food, causing them to swim to the top of the tank in anticipation.

Question 10

Listed are several examples of types of animal behavior. Choose the letter of the correct term (A-E) that matches each example in the following questions.
A. operant conditioning
B. classical conditioning
C. innate behavior
D. imprinting
E. altruistic behavior
-A cat runs to its food dish when it hears the sound of a can opener.
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) E

Accepted Answer

The answer of Listed are several examples of types of...

Question 11

You have captured a number of rats from a wild population and quickly surmise with tests that they are very good at avoiding food with poisons. What would best explain this observation?
A) Rats are probably just intelligent enough to avoid poison.
B) Rats may experience a large variety of toxins in their environment and learn to avoid them.
C) Rats are taught by their parents to test small bits of food first and then return later if the food seems safe.
D) Rats may be able to tolerate large amounts of poison.

Accepted Answer

Rats may encounter a variety of toxins in their environment and may learn to avoid them through natural selection. Those individuals with a genetic predisposition to avoid toxins are more likely to survive and pass on their genes.

Question 12

Female spotted sandpipers aggressively court males and, after mating and egg laying, leave the clutch of young for the male to incubate. This sequence may be repeated several times with different males until no available males remain, forcing the female to incubate her last clutch. Which of the following terms best describes this behavior?
A) monogamy
B) polygyny
C) polyandry
D) promiscuity

Accepted Answer

Polyandry is the practice of a female mating with multiple males and leaving them to incubate and care for the offspring. This behavior is seen in female spotted sandpipers, who mate with multiple males and leave them to incubate the eggs while they search for other mates.

Question 13

Which of the following is true of innate behaviors? Innate behaviors ________.
A) are only weakly influenced by genes
B) occur in invertebrates and some vertebrates but not mammals
C) are limited to invertebrate animals
D) are expressed in most individuals in a population

Accepted Answer

Innate behaviors are expressed in most individuals in a population and are not significantly influenced by environmental factors.

Question 14

Learning has the most influence on behavior when ________.
A) making mistakes does not result in death
B) animals reproduce asexually
C) animals have enormous cognitive ability
D) making mistakes results in death

Accepted Answer

When making mistakes does not result in death, individuals are more likely to learn from their mistakes and modify their future behavior accordingly. If the consequences of making mistakes are too severe, then the individual may not have the opportunity to learn and adapt.

Question 15

Listed are several examples of types of animal behavior. Choose the letter of the correct term (A-E) that matches each example in the following questions.
A. operant conditioning
B. classical conditioning
C. innate behavior
D. imprinting
E. altruistic behavior
-A mother goat can recognize its own kid by smell.
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D

Accepted Answer

The answer of Listed are several examples of types of...

Question 16

Some dogs love attention, and Frodo the beagle learns that if he barks, he gets attention. Which of the following might you use to describe this behavior?
A) The dog is displaying an instinctive fixed action pattern.
B) The dog is trying to protect its territory.
C) The dog has been classically conditioned.
D) The dog's behavior is a result of operant conditioning.

Accepted Answer

Frodo's behavior of barking to get attention is a clear example of operant conditioning, where the behavior is shaped by the consequences or rewards that follow it. In this case, barking leads to attention, which reinforces the behavior and increases the likelihood of it repeating in the future.

Question 17

You observe scrub jays hiding food and notice that one particular individual only pretends to hide food. What kind of experiment could you perform to test whether this behavior was random or in response to another signal?
A) Observe more of these behaviors in the wild and try to determine if the behavior is random.
B) Hypothesize a set of signals that could produce this behavior and try to match the behaviors with the signals.
C) Attempt to reproduce the behavior in captivity by using bird models and a computer simulation.
D) Isolate the individual birds in a laboratory and repeat the observations.

Accepted Answer

Hypothesizing a set of signals that could produce the observed behavior and trying to match the behaviors with the signals would allow for controlled testing of whether the behavior is in response to a specific signal or random. This approach would provide evidence for the existence of a specific signal that triggers this behavior, rather than simply observing more of this behavior or isolating individuals in a laboratory.

Question 18

You observe a species of bird that, upon hatching, has contact with its parents only while being fed. You also never hear the parents sing during the feeding process. What would you propose about song learning in this species of bird?
A) Song learning in this species is most likely learned.
B) The period of imprinting is likely later in the bird's life.
C) The males will learn song when they congregate with other males of their species during the winter.
D) Song learning in this species is most likely innate.

Accepted Answer

The fact that the parents do not sing during feeding and only have contact with the hatchling during this time suggests that song learning is not through parental tutoring or imitation. Additionally, the absence of any information regarding the bird's exposure to conspecifics or other environmental stimuli leads us to believe that the bird's song is likely innate.

Question 19

Listed are several examples of types of animal behavior. Choose the letter of the correct term (A-E) that matches each example in the following questions.
A. operant conditioning
B. classical conditioning
C. innate behavior
D. imprinting
E. altruistic behavior
-Through trial and error, a rat learns to run a maze without mistakes to receive a food reward.
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D

Accepted Answer

The answer of Listed are several examples of types of...

Question 20

One way to understand how early environment influences behaviors in similar species is through the "cross-fostering" experimental technique. Suppose that the curly-whiskered mud rat differs from the bald mud rat in several ways, including being much more aggressive. How would you set up a cross-fostering experiment to determine if environment plays a role in the curly-whiskered mud rat's aggression?
A) You would cross curly-whiskered mud rats and bald mud rats and hand-rear the offspring to see if any grew up to be aggressive.
B) You would place newborn curly-whiskered mud rats with bald mud rat parents and place newborn bald mud rats with curly-whiskered mud rat parents. Finally, let some mud rats of both species be raised by their own species. Then you would compare the outcomes.
C) You would remove the offspring of curly-whiskered mud rats and bald mud rats from their parents, raise them in the same environment but without parents, and then compare the outcomes.
D) You would replace normal newborn mud rats with deformed newborn mud rats to see if it triggered an altruistic response.

Accepted Answer

To determine if environment plays a role in the curly-whiskered mud rat's aggression, the cross-fostering experiment should involve placing newborn curly-whiskered mud rats with bald mud rat parents and placing newborn bald mud rats with curly-whiskered mud rat parents. Finally, let some mud rats of both species be raised by their own species. Then the outcomes can be compared to determine the role of environment in the curly-whiskered mud rat's aggression. Option A does not involve cross-fostering and only looks at offspring of both species; option C eliminates any parental influence, making it difficult to isolate environmental factors from genetic ones; and option D is not relevant to the question at hand.

Quiz 51: Animal Behavior

Scientists have tried raising endangered whooping cranes in captivity by using sandhill cranes as foster parents. This strategy is no longer used because ________.

You discover a rare new bird species, but you are unable to observe its mating behavior. You see that the male is large and ornamental compared with the female. On this basis, you can probably conclude that the species is ________.

Although many chimpanzees live in environments containing oil palm nuts, members of only a few populations use stones to crack open the nuts. The likely explanation is that ________.

A region of the canary forebrain shrinks during the nonbreeding season and enlarges when breeding season begins. This change is probably associated with the annual ________.

White-crowned sparrows can only learn the "crystallized" song for their species by ________.

Every morning at the same time, John went into the den to feed his new tropical fish. After a few weeks, he noticed that the fish swam to the top of the tank when he entered the room. This is an example of ________.

You have captured a number of rats from a wild population and quickly surmise with tests that they are very good at avoiding food with poisons. What would best explain this observation?

Which of the following is true of innate behaviors? Innate behaviors ________.

Learning has the most influence on behavior when ________.

Some dogs love attention, and Frodo the beagle learns that if he barks, he gets attention. Which of the following might you use to describe this behavior?

You observe scrub jays hiding food and notice that one particular individual only pretends to hide food. What kind of experiment could you perform to test whether this behavior was random or in response to another signal?

You observe a species of bird that, upon hatching, has contact with its parents only while being fed. You also never hear the parents sing during the feeding process. What would you propose about song learning in this species of bird?