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)All of the above would be excellent experiments.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Hypothesizing a set of signals that could produce this behavior and trying to match the behaviors with the signals would be the best experiment to test whether the behavior is in response to another signal. This would involve testing different stimuli to see if they elicit the behavior, which would provide evidence for a specific signal being responsible for the behavior. Option A is not ideal as it would only provide more observational data but not test for a specific signal. Option C would not necessarily address whether the behavior is in response to a signal, but rather test whether the behavior can be replicated in captivity. Option D is not necessarily true, as only option B directly addresses the question of whether the behavior is in response to a signal.

You Observe Scrub Jays Hiding Food and Notice That One