Question 1

Which of the following statements about Werner and Hall's experiments with bluegill sunfish is false?

Accepted Answer

Werner and Hall's experiments focused on the foraging behavior and energy optimization of bluegill sunfish, not on their need to gather essential minerals.

Question 2

A bird is trained to feed from the south end of a circular cage. The bird is then placed in a light-controlled room and is phase-advanced by 6 hours. If the bird is returned to the circular cage at noon, where will it search for food?

Accepted Answer

When the bird is phase-advanced by 6 hours, its internal clock advances by 6 hours as well. This means that its feeding behavior will also shift by 6 hours.

If the bird is returned to the cage at noon, it will still try to feed in the direction that corresponds to its internal time of 6:00 pm (which is 180 degrees away from noon). Therefore, the bird will search for food in the direction that is 90 degrees clockwise from south, which is east.

Question 3

An animal is displaced such that the sun rises earlier and is lower in the sky than it would be at the animal's home position. In which direction will the animal move in order to home?

Accepted Answer

The animal has moved to a location where the sun rises earlier and is lower in the sky, which means it has moved to a location that is both west and south of its home position. Therefore, the animal must move in the opposite direction, which is northeast, in order to home.

Question 4

Animals that are active at night are said to be

Accepted Answer

Nocturnal animals are active at night, while diurnal animals are active during the day. Free-running refers to an animal's biological rhythm being synchronized to an external time cue, while circumspect means cautious or wary. Free-ranging refers to animals that are not confined to a particular area.

Question 5

Chimps appear to eat the pith of Vernonia amygdalina plants

Accepted Answer

Studies suggest that chimpanzees consume the pith of Vernonia amygdalina plants for its antiparasite properties. The plant contains compounds that have been shown to effectively treat intestinal worms in humans, and research has documented chimpanzees eating the pith of the plant during times of high parasite infections. The other options (A, C, and D) are not supported by the evidence.

Question 6

Biologists studying pigeons discovered that their experimental subjects were determining direction from the position of the sun by

Accepted Answer

Disrupting the pigeons' circadian clocks would interfere with their ability to use the sun's position for navigation, as their internal clocks help them determine the time of day and thus the sun's position relative to their location.

Question 7

In which of the following animals would you expect the retinas to be composed almost entirely of rods?

Accepted Answer

Fruit bats are nocturnal animals and rely heavily on vision in low-light conditions, which is facilitated by a retina composed mostly of rods.

Question 8

Which of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following statements is true?
...

Question 9

The ability of honeybees to return to the hive after traveling long distances in search of food is based on a navigational capacity called

Accepted Answer

The navigational capacity that allows honeybees to return to the hive after traveling long distances in search of food is called homing. This is a remarkable ability of bees, thanks to their ability to use environmental cues such as the sun's position, polarized light, and features of the landscape to navigate. Honeybees are able to communicate the location of food sources to other bees using a dance language and return to the hive with remarkable accuracy.

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

Polaris, the North Star, appears fixed in the sky because it is located nearly at the north celestial pole, while the constellations appear to move due to Earth's rotation.

Question 11

A bird is trained to feed from the southeast end of a circular cage. At sunrise, a mirror is used to shift the sun 45° to the right of its real position. At which location in the cage will the bird attempt to feed?

Accepted Answer

The bird is trained to feed from the southeast end of the cage, which is halfway between the east and south directions. When the sun is shifted 45° to the right, it will appear to the bird as if it is coming from the south instead of the southeast. Therefore, the bird will attempt to feed from the south end of the cage.

Question 12

Orienting by landmarks is also known as

Accepted Answer

Orienting by landmarks is also known as piloting, which involves using familiar landmarks to navigate.

Question 13

In which of the following animals would you expect circannual rhythms to be most pronounced?

Accepted Answer

Circannual rhythms refer to biological rhythms that occur once a year. Among the given choices, bears are known for their hibernation during winter, which is an annual cycle. Therefore, we would expect circannual rhythms to be most pronounced in bears.

Question 14

Which of the following has provided the strongest evidence to date that pigeons use magnetic cues for orientation?

Accepted Answer

The attachment of small magnets disrupting pigeons' homing behavior provides direct evidence that magnetic cues are used for orientation, as it shows that altering the magnetic field affects their navigation.

Question 15

Which of the following requires an animal to "know" the latitude and longitude of its current position and its intended destination?

Accepted Answer

Bicoordinate navigation is a type of navigation that involves the use of latitude and longitude to pinpoint the current position and the intended destination. This requires animals to have a sense of spatial orientation and the ability to navigate based on specific coordinates.

Question 16

Experimental evidence suggests that the ability to detect _______ allows pigeons to home even on overcast days.

Accepted Answer

Experimental evidence has shown that pigeons use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate and home, and that they are able to detect the magnetic field using specialized magnetic-sensitive cells in their beaks. This ability allows them to home even on overcast days when the sun's position or other visual cues may not be available.

Question 17

According to the study by Werner and Hall, a bluegill's rule of thumb for optimal foraging is to

Accepted Answer

The study by Werner and Hall found that bluegill's rule of thumb for optimal foraging is to focus on larger prey items when food is abundant. This is because larger prey items provide more energy per unit of handling time, and therefore are a more efficient use of the bluegill's time and energy.

Question 18

Which of the following statements about piloting is false?

Accepted Answer

Piloting can be used for both short and long-distance migrations, making statement B false.

Question 19

Daily activity cycles are one type of

Accepted Answer

Daily activity cycles refer to behaviors or physiological functions that occur in a 24-hour cycle, which is characteristic of circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are distinct from circannual rhythms, which have a yearly cycle, and from photoperiods, which refer to the duration of exposure to light in a day. Critical periods refer to specific developmental windows during which certain experiences or stimuli have the most significant impact on an organism. Crepuscular rhythms refer to activity cycles that occur at dawn and dusk.

Question 20

If an animal with a circadian clock of about 25 hours is kept in the dark without environmental time cues, it will

Accepted Answer

Without environmental cues, the animal's internal clock will run on its natural period of 25 hours, causing it to become active one hour later each day.

Quiz 53: Animal Behavior

Which of the following statements about Werner and Hall's experiments with bluegill sunfish is false?

A bird is trained to feed from the south end of a circular cage. The bird is then placed in a light-controlled room and is phase-advanced by 6 hours. If the bird is returned to the circular cage at noon, where will it search for food?

An animal is displaced such that the sun rises earlier and is lower in the sky than it would be at the animal's home position. In which direction will the animal move in order to home?

Animals that are active at night are said to be

Chimps appear to eat the pith of Vernonia amygdalina plants

Biologists studying pigeons discovered that their experimental subjects were determining direction from the position of the sun by

In which of the following animals would you expect the retinas to be composed almost entirely of rods?

Which of the following statements is true?

The ability of honeybees to return to the hive after traveling long distances in search of food is based on a navigational capacity called

Which of the following statements is true?

A bird is trained to feed from the southeast end of a circular cage. At sunrise, a mirror is used to shift the sun 45° to the right of its real position. At which location in the cage will the bird attempt to feed?

Orienting by landmarks is also known as

In which of the following animals would you expect circannual rhythms to be most pronounced?

Which of the following has provided the strongest evidence to date that pigeons use magnetic cues for orientation?

Which of the following requires an animal to "know" the latitude and longitude of its current position and its intended destination?

Experimental evidence suggests that the ability to detect _______ allows pigeons to home even on overcast days.

According to the study by Werner and Hall, a bluegill's rule of thumb for optimal foraging is to

Which of the following statements about piloting is false?

Daily activity cycles are one type of

If an animal with a circadian clock of about 25 hours is kept in the dark without environmental time cues, it will