Bio Chapter 9

______________________ is an action or signal on the part of one organism that alters the behavior of another organism.

Communication

Human babies quickly and easily develop a fear of snakes, yet they don't easily develop a fear of guns. Why?

During most of the history of human evolution, snakes were dangerous to humans and guns didn't exist.

Which of the following is a goose MOST LIKELY to retrieve first if found just outside her nest?

a model egg that is larger than any other object near the nest

The Belding's ground squirrel giving off an alarm signal in the figure would most commonly be:

an older female in the colony in which she was born.

Incest avoidance evolved in humans:

because breeding among close relatives leads to a higher proportion of offspring with genetic defects and, consequently, reduced fitness.

Among Natterjack toads in northern Europe, males produce booming calls to attract females. Females desire large males and the size of the male determines the volume of the call. Why is the Natterjack's call considered an "honest signal"?

because the call of a large Natterjack male cannot be faked by a smaller Natterjack male

Monogamy, a relatively rare system outside of the birds, evolves when:

both males and females have high and equal parental investment.

In black widow spider mating, the male ___________________________ and the female ___________________________.

breaks off his sexual organ inside the female; kills and eats the male

Which of the following best illustrates an instinctive behavior in cats?

hunting and killing

Although beneficial, group living also has many costs. Which of the follow is NOT a cost to an individual of living in a group?

increased opportunity for reciprocal altruism

Behaviors that do not require environmental input for their development are called:

instincts.

Most apparent acts of altruism in the animal kingdom have proved, on closer inspection, to be not truly altruistic. Instead, they have evolved as a consequence of either _____________________ or _____________________.

kin selection; reciprocal altruism

Polygamy and monogamy are two types of:

mating systems.

The sex with the greater energetic investment in reproduction will be ___________________ when it comes to mating.

more discriminating

Exclusive male parental care is much more prevalent in fish than in mammals because:

most fish reproduce by external fertilization while most mammals do not.

In a polygynous mating system:

multiple females tend to mate with the same male.

In a random study of 1,000 wills, it was shown that ___________________ received the smallest share of a deceased's estate.

non-relatives

Molecules released by an individual into the environment that trigger behavioral responses in other individuals are called:

pheromones.

In a species such as elephant seals, in which males are significantly larger than females, the most likely mating system is:

polygyny.

Behaviors that are learned easily and by all (or nearly all) individuals in a species are called:

prepared learning.

Mate guarding is a reproductive tactic that functions to:

reduce paternity uncertainty.

Kin selection is defined as:

selection for a behavior that lowers an individual's own chances of survival or reproduction, but raises those of a relative.

If two alleles exist at the same gene locus in a population, one for a selfish behavior and one for a selfless behavior, regardless of the initial frequencies, over time:

the selfish behavior allele will increase its percentage in the population to near fixation.

Assume that you carry an allele, R, that causes you to help individuals to whom you are not related. This help increases their fitness and decreases yours. The frequency of allele R may still increase in the population:

if individuals you help are likely to return the favor and help you at some point in the future.

An honest signal:

is a signal, given when both the signaler and responder have the same interests, that cannot be faked.

A comparison of the graphs in the figure shows that:

males maximize reproductive success by mating with as many females as possible.

When the sexes of a species differ in size or appearance, it is called:

sexual dimorphism.

In polygynous mating systems:

there is usually greater variation in reproductive success among males than among females.

Why is this goose in the figure rolling a beer can back to her nest?

She's exhibiting a fixed action pattern that directs her to retrieve any item that even vaguely resembles an egg.

When scientists displace an adult female Belding's ground squirrel to a new group for an experiment, she still risks her life alarm-calling although she is not saving any of her kin. Why does this behavior still persist now that it is harmful to her fitness?

The ground squirrel is acting on instinct and still calls because she possesses no instincts suited to this evolutionarily novel situation.

Which of the following has/have had strong effects on the evolution of mating systems in animals?

a male's certainty of paternity the amount of care required by the young

In birds, after fertilization but prior to emergence of the chicks, the development of the fertilized egg is:

external.

When a goose spots an egg outside of its nest, the goose gets out of the nest and rolls the egg back. Once started, a goose continues the egg-retrieval movement all the way back to the nest, even if the egg is taken away during the process. This is called:

fixed action pattern.

Which of the following is NOT a topic in animal behavior?

A. communication B. cooperation and sociality C. courtship and mate choice D. behavioral control of body temperature E. All of the above are topics in animal behavior.

The fixed action pattern found in geese, in which they will retrieve a model egg the size of a basketball preferentially to retrieving their own egg, was able to evolve because:

Both a) and b) were necessary for the particular behavior to evolve.

Gestational diabetes is thought to be the consequence of:

conflict between the mother and the fetus with respect to how much food the fetus should be given.

Because it is possible for a female to mate with multiple males, any of whom could be the father, male mammals and birds will always:

have some degree of paternity uncertainty.

When a male fish defends his nest:

he increases the percentage of eggs in the nest that he will fertilize.

The waggle dance is:

used for food location in honeybees.

Before exposure to the fear of snakes, a captive monkey:

will reach over a plastic snake for food.

Vampire bats:

will sometimes regurgitate blood into the mouth of an unrelated individual that is close to starving.

Which of the following is NOT a correct statement about fixed action patterns?

Fixed action patterns are an example of prepared learning.