Animal Behavior Test 1

intelligent design theory

the argument that biological features are too complex to have evolved by a natural processes, such as natural selection, and that therefore an intelligent designer, such as a god, is required to account for the existence of these complex features

Hamilton's rule

the argument the W.D. Hamilton that altruism can spread through a population where rB>C (with r being the coefficient of relatedness between the altruist and the individual helped, B being the fitness benefit received y the helped individual, and C being the cost of altruism in terms of the direct fitness lost by the altruist due to its actions)

sensory exploitation

the evolution of signals that happen to activate established sensory systems or signal receivers in ways that elicit responses favorable to the signal sinder

indirect fitness

the genes contributed by an individual indirectly by helping non-descendant kin, in effect creating relatives that would not have existed without the help of the individual

direct fitness

the genes contributed by an individual via personal reproduction to the bodies of surviving offspring

coefficient of relatedness

the probability that an allele present in one individual will be present in a close relative; the proposition of the total genotype of one individual present in the other, as a result of shared ancestry

"The activity of N2RB gene declines in older mice and causes a decline in learning ability." Some have suggested that this is beneficial because it means older mice cannot forage as efficiently as they once did, which frees up resources for the next generation. This hypothesis is based on group selection because: A. the trait of interest is said to cause individuals to sacrifice some reproductive opportunities in order to help another generation of mice to grow and reproduce individuals with this gene have already reproduced B. the trait of interest is said to have features that reduce the reproductive success of some individuals C. the trait of interest is said to cause individuals to sacrifice some reproductive opportunities in order to help another generation of mice to grow and reproduce D. it deals with two populations, older and younger mice, rather than one species as a whole

A

Bob gives up a chance to marry and have a family on order to work in a distant country. Had he married, he would have had two surviving offspring. He sends money back to his sister, who as a result produces five surviving offspring instead of the two she would have had without Bob's assistance. 5. What was the cost (in units of inclusive fitness) of his altruism to Bob? A. 1 B. 1.5 C. 2 D. 3

A

Bob gives up a chance to marry and have a family on order to work in a distant country. Had he married, he would have had two surviving offspring. He sends money back to his sister, who as a result produces five surviving offspring instead of the two she would have had without Bob's assistance. 7. Bob's decision was: A. maladaptive B. adaptationist C. Adaptable D. adaptive

A

Cedar waxwings (a bird) vary in the intensity of the orange coloration of their wing tips. Females preferentially mate with males which have brighter wing tips. All males begin the breeding season with wing tips which are equally bright but, later, males which eat more red berries develop brighter colored wing tips. Is natural selection acting directly on the brightness of wing tips in cedar waxwings? A. No B. Yes

A

Kin selection theory is most useful in helping explain: A. altruism exhibited by some hunting lions toward others B. reciprocity that occurs by hunting in groups of lions C. cooperative hunting by members of a lion pride D. the exploitation of some helpful lions by others in their pride

A

Some well-known researchers have claimed that group selection theory is required if we are to explain why people have the capacity to behave generously, nicely, and morally to other members of their group whereas the selfish side of human behavior has been caused by natural selection. What is wrong with this claim? A. these researchers are confusing the every-day meaning of selfish with the evolutionary meaning; if generous behavior is adaptive, then it is also selfish in evolutionary terms. B. Group selection favors selfish behaviors for the group while natural selection can lead to the evolution of generous behavior toward one's relatives C. Group selection is simply illogical and therefore cannot be the driving force behind any human behavior, no matter how useful the behavior would be for the group as a whole D. Group selection actually favors behaviors that promotes the survival of the entire species, not just the group to which a particular person belongs

A

Which of the following predictions might Stålhandske have felt was likely to be correct, given her presumption that males might be making their nuptial gifts look like eggs sacs? Select all that apply. A. Natural silk-covered prey should be comparable in light reflectance to silken egg sacs B. Females ought to be highly prepared to grab hold then offered back as if they were a nuptial gift. C. The time for a female to accept a nuptial gift should be less for prey covered in silk that has been experimentally colored brown instead of white.

A and B

Which of the following two statements are clearly Darwinian puzzles? A. Female lions often nurse offspring that are not their own. B. Salmon can smell a few molecules of chemicals in the stream in which they were born. C. If you add two or three eggs to the nests of some birds, the adult birds rear them successfully along with the young from eggs they laid. D. Adult birds scream when caught by a predator because of the pain. E. Bats can catch moths in complete darkness.

A and C

A species of aquatic snail reproduces by cloning. Within this population small snails are eaten more often by fish. The maximum full size of a snail can reach is genetically controlled. Is natural selection actin on shell size of this snail species? A. No B. Yes

A. No

In the purple-crowned fairy wren (a bird), individuals may help raise the offspring of non-relatives, an act which seems to lower the fitness of the helper. Jamieson (1991) suggested that natural selection could not eliminate this tendency to help raise the offspring of other birds without also removing the tendency of helpers to care for their own offspring at a later date. Which hypothesis does this describe? A. reciprocity hypothesis B. by-product hypothesis C. cooperation hypothesis D. altruism hypothesis

B

Inclusive fitness refers to: A. Genes contributed by an individual indirectly by helping non-descendant kin B. Total sum of an individual's direct and indirect fitness C. Amount of an individual's genotype that is present in another as a result of shared ancestry D. Reproductive/genetic success of an individual determined by the number of its offspring that live to reproduce

B

Natural selection always increases the ability of a species to survive. A. True B. False

B

Pepper moths vary in color from pale gray to nearly black. Moths which are lighter in color blend in with the bark color of trees and are less likely to be eaten by birds. Surviving moths pass the alleles for lighter coloration onto their offspring. Is natural selection acting on coloration in pepper moths? A. No B. Yes

B

Bob gives up a chance to marry and have a family on order to work in a distant country. Had he married, he would have had two surviving offspring. He sends money back to his sister, who as a result produces five surviving offspring instead of the two she would have had without Bob's assistance. 4. What was the cost (in units of direct fitness) of his altruism to Bob? Hint: Think about this in terms of relatedness. If Bob were to clone himself, he would have 1 unit of direct fitness because his coefficient of relatedness to his clone would be 1.0. Think about the coefficient of relatedness between Bob and his sons/daughters would be. A. 3 B. 2 C. 1 D. 1.5

C

Workers in honey bees and other eusocial insects are considered Darwinian puzzles because A. queens with a larger worker force produce more reproductive sons and daughters than those with a small worker force B. the self-sacrificing workers do not live as long as the queens of the same species of eusocial insects C. these workers are largely sterile and so should be eliminated over time by natural selection D. Darwin felt that the self-sacrificing behavior of these insects could not be explained by the theory of group selection

C

The coefficient of relatedness between a grandmother and her grandson is: A. 0.5 B. 0.75 C. 0.25 D. 0.125

C

A spider researcher, Pia Stålhandske, knew that males of Pisaura mirabilis offer their mates a nuptial gift, a prey item such as cricket, whose acceptance by the female is critical for male mating success. Males wrap their generally dark-colored food gifts in white silk. Stålhandske wondered if the males wrapped their gifts in order to make them look like the white, silk-covered egg sacs that mated females make and protect by holding them in their jaws until spiderlings hatch. What principle was Stålhandske using to explore this species' courtship behavior? A. deceptive signaler hypothesis B. honest signal hypothesis C. social-bonding hypothesis D. sensory exploitation hypothesis

D

Bob gives up a chance to marry and have a family on order to work in a distant country. Had he married, he would have had two surviving offspring. He sends money back to his sister, who as a result produces five surviving offspring instead of the two she would have had without Bob's assistance. What was the benefit (in units of inclusive fitness) of his altruism to Bob? A. 3 B. 1.5 C. 0.5 D. 0.75

D

If an adaptation is the product of natural selection the trait will: A. help preserve the species as a whole against the risk of extinction B. maximize the survival chances of family members within the species C. enhance the survival of the fittest individuals in the species D. raise the reproductive success of individuals more than any other alternative that has appeared in the species over evolutionary time E. provide a net reproductive gain for individuals that possess the attribute

D

theory of descent with modification

Darwin's argument that over evolutionary history, changes accumulate gradually in ancestral species, altering them more and more as these ancestral species evolve into more recent forms derived from their predecessors

reciprocal altruism

a helpful action is repaid at a later date by the recipient of assistance

fitness

a measure of the genes contributed to the next generation by an individual, often stated in terms of the number of surviving offspring produced by the individual

adapatationist

a behavioral biologist who develops and tests hypotheses on the possible adaptive value of a particular trait

adaptation

a characteristic that confers higher inclusive fitness to individuals that any other existing alternative exhibited by other individuals within the population, a trait that has spread or is spreading or is being maintained in a population as a result of natural selection or indirect selection

prisoner's dilemma

a game theory construct in which the fitness payoffs to individuals are set such that mutual cooperation between the players generates a lower return than defection, which occurs when one individual accepts assistance from the other but does not return the favor

behavioral strategies

a genetically distinctive set of behavioral decision-making rules exhibited by individuals

cooperation

a mutually helpful action that may have immediate benefits for both parties or postponed benefits for one of the cooperators

honest signal

a signal that conveys accurate information about some aspect of the signaler's quality, such as its fighting ability or value as a potential mate

Darwinian puzzle

a trait that appears to reduce the fitness of individuals that possess it, traits of this sort attract the attention of evolutionary biologists

Why do lions hunt together? Provide a one sentence explanation in terms of the cooperation hypothesis.

all members gain due to combined forces

facultative altruism

altruism that the helper can employ at its discretion

phylogeny

an evolutionary genealogy of the relationships between a number of species or clusters of species that can be used to develop hypotheses on the evolutionary history of a given trait

by-product hypothesis

an explanation for a maladaptive or nonadaptive attribute that is said to occur as a by-product of a proximate mechanism that has some other adaptive consequence for individuals

haploid

having only one copy of each gene in the genotype, as for example in the sperm and eggs of diploid organisms

diploid

having two copies of each gene in one's genotyle

obligate altruism

helpers are locked into providing assistance to others

eusocial

refers to species in which colonies contain specialized non-reproducing castes that work for the reproductive members of the group

group selection

the process that occurs when groups differ in their collective attributes and the differences affect the survival chances of the group

natural selection

the process that occurs when individuals differ in their traits and he differences are correlated with differences in reproductive success, can produce evolutionary change when these differences are inherited

indirect selection

the process that occurs when individuals differ in ways that affect their parental care or helping behavior, and thus the survival of their own offspring or the survival of non-descendant kin

Why do lions hunt together? Provide a one sentence explanation in terms of the reciprocity hypothesis.

they helped so they will get help later

Why do lions hunt together? Provide a one sentence explanation in terms of the altruism hypothesis.

they take the risk to reduce their fitness to help others raise their fitness

Why do lions hunt together? Provide a one sentence explanation in terms of the selfish exploitation hypothesis.

to lower the efforts of others