Question 1

Intrasexual selection leads to:

Accepted Answer

Intrasexual selection involves competition between members of the same sex for access to mates. This often results in the evolution of structures or behaviors that allow males to compete with each other, such as antlers or fighting ability. Nesting activities and parental care are examples of intersexual selection, where individuals compete for access to mates based on their ability to provide resources or care. Bright plumages are also an example of intersexual selection, where males use visual cues to attract females.

Question 2

The following question addresses the three mating systems of animals.Select the choice that correctly describes each system.One male mating with one female is ___________;one male mating with more than one female is _________;one female mating with more than one male is __________.

Accepted Answer

Monogamy refers to one male mating with one female, while polygyny refers to one male mating with multiple females. Polyandry refers to one female mating with multiple males. Therefore, choice B correctly matches each mating system with its respective description.

Question 3

Animals defend their territory,which is called territoriality.Territoriality means an animal defends:

Accepted Answer

Territoriality refers to the defense of a portion of the animal's home range, rather than the entire range. The defended portion is typically the area containing important resources such as food, mates or shelter.

Question 4

Which of the following scientists studied bees and their communications?

Accepted Answer

Von Frisch is the scientist who studied bees and their communications, specifically their dance language.

Question 5

A type of selection that favors altruism directed toward relatives is called:

Accepted Answer

Kin selection refers to the evolutionary selection of traits that are beneficial to the survival and reproduction of an individual's relatives, even at a cost to the individual's own survival and reproduction. This type of selection is often seen in social species where individuals are more likely to behave altruistically towards their relatives in order to increase the survival and reproductive success of their kin. Sexual selection, group selection, and mate selection do not specifically refer to the selection of traits that are beneficial to an individual's relatives.

Question 6

A type of learning in which there is a decrease in the response to a repeated stimulus is:

Accepted Answer

Habituation is the type of learning where there is a decrease in response to a repeated stimulus. Operant conditioning involves learning through consequences of behavior, imprinting is a type of learning where animals learn to form strong attachments to a specific individual or object early in life, and conditioning refers to the process of learning associations between stimuli and responses.

Question 7

Having information and responding in a manner that suggests thinking is an area of animal behavior called:

Accepted Answer

Cognitive behavior refers to the mental processes and abilities involved in obtaining, processing, and using information to guide behavior. It involves thinking, learning, problem-solving, decision-making, and other higher-level mental processes, which are not simply innate or genetically determined but are shaped by experience and environmental factors.

Question 8

Elevated levels of testosterone in male birds cause them to sing during the breeding season.The elevated hormone is considered a(n)______ cause of this behavior.

Accepted Answer

The elevated level of testosterone is a proximate cause, as it directly affects the bird's behavior of singing during the breeding season. It does not address the ultimate reason for why birds sing during the breeding season.

Question 9

During the mating season,male stickleback fish will respond to clay models with red bellies.The red belly:

Accepted Answer

A sign stimulus is a feature of the environment that triggers a specific behavior or response. In this case, the red belly of a female stickleback is a sign stimulus that triggers a response in male stickleback fish during mating season.

Question 10

Which is not correct about genetic effects on behavior?

Accepted Answer

Fraternal twins are not as useful for studying genetic effects on behavior as identical twins, since they only share about 50% of their genes. Identical twins share the same genes and are therefore a better model system for studying genetic influences on behavior.

Question 11

Animals navigate by using two senses.One is called map sense and the other is called compass sense.Map sense is ____________;compass sense is ____________.

Accepted Answer

Map sense involves the learned ability to adjust a bearing depending on the animal's location, while compass sense is an innate ability to move in a particular direction.

Question 12

The simplest type of learning is called _____ learning.

Accepted Answer

Nonassociative learning is the simplest form of learning and involves the response of an organism to a single stimulus in its environment. It does not involve the pairing of multiple stimuli or a response with a consequence, which are characteristic of associative and operant learning. Classical conditioning is a type of associative learning and involves the pairing of two stimuli to elicit a response, while operant conditioning involves the pairing of a behavior with a reward or punishment to modify its frequency.

Question 13

Young birds see objects flying overhead and respond by crouching down into the nest and remaining still.Over time,some objects become familiar and the young birds do not crouch down.This type of learning is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Habituation is the process of becoming familiar with a stimulus and decreasing or ceasing to respond to it. In this scenario, the young birds are becoming familiar with certain objects flying overhead and no longer responding by crouching down.

Question 14

Which of the following scientists studied ducklings and their reaction to him after hatching from their eggs?

Accepted Answer

Konrad Lorenz studied animal behavior and is known for his work in imprinting, which he discovered by studying ducklings and their reaction to him after hatching from their eggs.

Question 15

The appearance of an egg outside of a goose's nest is called:

Accepted Answer

The appearance of an egg outside of a goose's nest acts as a sign stimulus, triggering the goose's fixed action pattern of retrieving and gathering the egg.

Question 16

Optimal foraging theory predicts:

Accepted Answer

Optimal foraging theory suggests that animals will select food items that maximize their net energy intake per unit of foraging time. This means that animals will choose food items that give them the most energy for the least amount of effort. The theory takes into account factors such as the distance to the food source, the competition for food, and the nutritional content of the food. Therefore, option D is the correct choice.

Question 17

This behavioral ecologist pioneered study of seagull nesting behavior.

Accepted Answer

Niko Tinbergen is known for his pioneering work in the field of behavioral ecology, particularly his study of animal behavior in their natural habitats. He was one of the first to study the nesting behavior of seagulls, particularly the role of their egg-spotting behavior in protecting their eggs from predators. Lorenz studied animal behavior, but his research focused more on imprinting and the development of social behavior. Wilson is a famous biologist, but his work is more focused on sociobiology and biogeography. von Frisch is famous for his study of bee communication and the waggle dance.

Question 18

If a scientist is conducting an observation on animal behavior,for example,how an animal's senses provide a physiological basis for that behavior,she would be asking about the:

Accepted Answer

Proximate causation refers to the immediate cause or mechanism behind a behavior, while ultimate causation looks at the evolutionary reason why a behavior has developed. In this case, the scientist is investigating the physiological basis for the animal's behavior, which is a proximate cause. Stereotyped causation and ethological causation are not commonly used terms in the field of behavioral science.

Question 19

A goose attempts to retrieve an egg that is removed from the nest.This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

This behavior is an example of a fixed action pattern, which is a sequence of innate and highly stereotyped behaviors that are triggered by a specific sign stimulus. In this case, the sign stimulus is the sight of the egg outside of the nest, which triggers the goose's instinctive behavior to retrieve it. Imprinting is a learning process that occurs early in life and involves forming a strong attachment to the first moving object that is seen, while kin selection is a type of natural selection that favors behaviors that increase the fitness of relatives.

Question 20

Habituation and sensitization are simple forms of learning in which there is NOT an association between:

Accepted Answer

Habituation and sensitization involve a change in the responsiveness to a stimulus over time, but do not involve the formation of an association between the stimulus and the response.

Quiz 37: Behavior and the Environment