Natural History Self test 1,2,3 and Quiz 1

Female Photuris fireflies sequester their toxins from male Photinus fireflies.

T

In winter evergreen ferns curl their leaves to avoid desiccation (by reducing the surface area) Select one: True False

T

Mallards (ducks) are able to see behind their heads and in front of them at the same time. Select one: True False

T

Migration is studied by banding birds. Before they are banded, songbirds are captured in mist nets. Select one: True False

T

Giant Swallowtail caterpillars have a great secondary defence. This is: Select one: a. sticking out a bright red osmetarium from their head (to look like a snake) b. rolling over and playing dead c. producing loud hissing sounds by blowing air out the spiracles d. looking like bird droppings e. twisting their head down to show two huge spots that make them look like a larger animal

a

Large masseters indicate that an animal eats: Select one: a. tough plant tissues b. nectar c. animal flesh d. small organic material carried by moving water e. berries and other fruit

a

Monarch butterfly caterpillars are not good to eat because they contain cardiac glycosides (terpenoids). They get these by eating milkweed leaves. The way they acquire the toxins is known as: Select one: a. ingestion b. osmosis c. autotomy d. sequestering e. partying

d

Which of these is NOT an example of how an animal stays cooler on a hot day: Select one: a. a Turkey Vulture excreting on its legs b. a Tiger Beetle raising itself higher off sand by stilting its legs c. a dragonfly shunting more blood into its abdomen d. an Arctic Fox keeping its mouth closed to retain moisture e. a Mourning Dove allowing its body temperature to rise to a hyperthermic level

d

You can tell an Orb Weaver Spider web from a Sheet Web Spider web because: Select one: a. Sheet Web Spider webs are white while Orb Weaver Webs are brown b. Sheet Web Spiders do not make webs c. Sheet Web Spider webs are brown while Orb Weaver Webs are white d. Sheet Web Spider webs look "messy" with vertical knock-down strands and a cone in the middle of the web under which the spider sits while Orb Weaver webs are beautiful vertical structures with complex strand patterns e. Orb Weaver Spiders do not make webs

d

if you see a caterpillar covered in yellow and red spines, you would suspect that it: Select one: a. is about to transform into a moth or butterfly b. is using disruptive colouration for camouflage c. is background matching d. has a strong chemical defence e. is going out on a date

d

Which of these is NOT true concerning Batesian mimicry: Select one: a. Monarch and Viceroy butterflies are an example of Batesian Mimicry b. One of the lookalikes is harmless (is safe to eat) c. One of the lookalikes has a strong defence (is not good to eat) d. the lookalikes usually have a bright or bold appearance, one easily learned by a predator e. Mimics are more common than models

e

Porcupines can shoot their quills with some accuracy up to three metres from their body.

F

Porcupines have quills coated with antibiotics and can shoot them up to 1 metre. Select one: True False

F

Skunks are black and white because this colour pattern makes them better camouflaged for night activity.

F

Snails and slugs use sharp mandibles for ingesting plant material Select one: True False

F

The Hyoid Process is an important adaptation for the internal processing (digestion) of plant tissues Select one: True False

F

The best colour for animals living in cold, northern regions is black

F

The majority of songbirds migrate during the day because food is more plentiful then. Select one: True False

F

Black Fly larvae attain food by using labral brushes to filter-feed in flowing water Select one: True False

T

Female Photuris fireflies sequester their toxins from male Photinus fireflies. Select one: True False

T

Giant Swallowtail caterpillars use masquerade as their first defence. Select one: True False

T

Snakes spend winter deep in the ground, beneath the frost line, in hibernacula Select one: True False

T

Spider webs capture flying insects and thus act as flight intercept traps. Select one: True False

T

The tapetum lucidum is an adaptation for seeing at night. Select one: True False

T

Virginia Opossums play dead when frightened: Select one: True False

T

A Polar Bear is very large and rotund (round). This shape conforms to: Select one: a. Bergmann's Rule b. Allen's Rule c. Gloger's Rule d. counter-current heat exchanging rule e. Batesian's Rule

a

A moth sits camouflaged on a tree trunk. When disturbed, it opens its wings and two large eyespots appear. These: Select one: a. startle the predator b. camouflage the moth (by looking like holes in leaves) c. make the moth look like a much larger animal to deter the animal from eating it d. make the moth look as if it is sick and not edible e. all of the above

a

An insect eats a plant and continues to stay in its juvenile state and cannot change into an adult. It likely ate: Select one: a. balsam fir b. milkweeds c. St. John's-wort d. clovers e. asters

a

Animals in northern areas tend to be paler than animals farther south. This principle is known as: Select one: a. Gloger's Rule b. The Rule of Latitude c. Batesian's Rule d. Bergmann's Rule e. Allen's Rule

a

Bright colours worn by insects that are poisonous are known as: Select one: a. aposematic colouration b. Mullerian Mimicry colouration c. Batesian Mimicry colouration d. Cryptic Colouration e. None of the above

a

Chipping Sparrows have a black line through the eye and a white stripe above it. These marks are called: Select one: a. disruptive patterns b. startle patterns c. accessories for going out on a date d. bicolouration e. background matching

a

If an insect eats Balsam Fir, it never matures into the adult stage because it ingests a lot of this chemical defence: Select one: a. phytojuvenile hormone b. tannin c. phytoecdysone d. calcium oxalate crystals e. phytotoxins

a

Moose go to beaver ponds and shallow lakes in summer to: Select one: a. acquire sodium from aquatic plants b. cool down c. escape biting flies d. escape predators e. none of these choices

a

The most common cryoprotectant used by animals is: Select one: a. glycerol b. sugars such as glucose c. sorbitol and other alcohols d. dormancy e. Lagavulin or other Islay single malt scotches (MMMMMM!)

a

This is NOT TRUE concerning animal strategies for surviving subzero temperatures: Select one: a. American Toads burying themselves in the bottom of ponds before they freeze over b. Yellow Warblers migrating to warm, southern areas c. Spring Peepers and Wood Frogs allowing some of the intercellular (between cells) water inside their body to turn to ice d. Bats in hibernacula maintaining a relatively high heart rate but lowering their body temperature e. Black Bears lowering their heart rate to 8 beats per minute while maintaining a high body temperature

a

This is an example of torpor: Select one: a. a Black-capped Chickadee lowers its body temperature by 12 deg C and enters a deep sleep b. a Five-lined Skink loses its tail and grows a new one c. a Blister Beetle plays dead d. a duck keeps its foot from freezing by shunting blood through a special net e. none of the above

a

What is NOT TRUE concerning migration: Select one: a. birds are the only animals that migrate b. hummingbirds migrate during the day c. stars and the moon can be used as navigational aids during migration d. Red Knots are the new world champion migrants for both distance and endurance (non-stop flight) e. hawks and vultures migrate during the daytime by thermal hopping

a

When Underwing Moths open their wings, this happens: Select one: a. bright patterns appear that might startle a predator b. orange horns pop out that look like a snake's tongue c. a bad odour is released that makes the predator ill d. a hot burning spray is shot out that blinds the attacker e. fake eyes appear that make the moths look like larger animals, which startle the attacker

a

When frightened, a Killdeer "freezes" and allows this adaptation to help protect it: Select one: a. breast bands for disruptive colouration b. earth tones and blotchy patterns for background matching c. vertical stripes for background matching d. huge eyespots to look "larger than life" e. none of the above

a

A Polar Bear is very large and rotund (round). This shape conforms to: Select one: a. Batesian's Rule b. Bergmann's Rule c. counter-current heat exchanging rule d. Allen's Rule e. Gloger's Rule

b

American Bitterns have streaks down their breast because the stripes: Select one: a. are a type of masquerade b. allow a bittern to hide in cattail marshes c. make the bittern look larger (taller) than it really is d. make bitterns blend into a forest with vertical tree trunks e. are disruptive patterns for camouflage

b

Analogous to the mandibles of a caterpillar are: Select one: a. the stylet of an Aphid b. the incisors of a rodent c. the cheek teeth of mammals d. the proboscis of a butterfly e. the gizzard of a turkey

b

Inchworm caterpillars looks like twigs. This defence is known as: Select one: a. coincident disruptive colouration b. masquerade c. none of these choices are correct d. background matching e. cryptic colouration

b

Moose solve the winter mobility problem by: Select one: a. having huge hollow hooves that spread open to provide more surface area b. having really long legs, 2 metres tall at the shoulder, and a special leg rotation at the shoulder c. walking in single file d. migrating to areas that have no snow e. all of the above

b

Mullerian Mimicry is when: Select one: a. an animal hides inside a structure that looks like something inedible, such as a ball of spit b. a number of animals, non-related and all armed with some defence, look like each other c. an animal has its body modified to look like a non-edible item such as a thorn or a dead leaf d. a number of animals, some poisonous and others not, all look alike e. an animal bears an uncanny resemblance to Frans Muller

b

Mullerian Mimicry is when: Select one: a. an animal hides inside a structure that looks like something inedible, such as a ball of spit b. a number of animals, non-related and all armed with some defence, look like each other c. an animal has its body modified to look like a non-edible item such as a thorn or a dead leaf d. a number of animals, some poisonous and others not, all share the same appearance e. an animal bears an uncanny resemblance to Frans Muller

b

Weasels tend to kill their prey by using their canine teeth to: Select one: a. bite the neck of its prey so that it suffocates b. bite into the back of the prey's cranium and pierce its brain c. slash the prey so that it bleeds and gets weakened and goes into shock d. decapitate the prey (bite its head off) e. grab the prey by the back of its neck and then shake it until its neck breaks

b

What is NOT TRUE concerning plant cold hardiness Select one: a. the brilliant show of fall colours is due to the disappearance of green chlorophyll in the leaves before they fall off the deciduous trees b. plants that are cold hardy add antifreeze into the cells of their tissues to lower their freezing point c. the first stage of becoming cold hardy involves the photoperiod d. it is the plant equivalent of freeze tolerance in animals e. some trees can survive temperatures as low as minus 80 degrees Celsius

b

Which of these statements concerning herbivory is NOT TRUE: Select one: a. snails and slugs are among the only animals to produce enzymes for digesting cellulose b. a caecum is a part of the stomach that has a colony of bacteria living in it c. moose digest their food with the help of bacteria in their rumen d. caterpillars do not produce enzymes to digest cellulose so they eat about ten times their body weight every day e. beavers and hares eat their droppings on the first pass through their body

b

Animals in northern areas tend to be paler than animals farther south. This principle is known as: Select one: a. Allen's Rule b. The Rule of Latitude c. Gloger's Rule d. Bergmann's Rule e. Batesian's Rule

c

Autotomy is the ability to shed a body part and regrow it. This is a defence of: Select one: a. Red Efts b. Porcupines c. Five-lined Skinks d. Bombardier Beetes e. Snapping Turtles

c

If an insect ate a plant loaded with phytoecdysone, it would: Select one: a. have a bitter experience and stop eating the plant b. have its ability to digest plants reduced making it starve c. moult too often and and transform into its adult stage too early and die prematurely a deadly good answer d. develop a sensitivity to ultraviolet light and experience sores on its outer body e. never grow into its adult stage (stay juvenile forever)

c

In preparation for winter, Beavers do this: Select one: a. hibernate b. move out of the water and live in lodges (dens) on land for the winter c. add lots of mud to the outside of their lodge for insulation d. grow hair over their feet to keep them warm e. all of the above

c

Mixed Function Oxidases are: Select one: a. important enzymes produced by snails to digest cellulose b. special toxins produced by spiders c. enzymes that counteract plant toxins making them safe to eat d. the chemicals Moose get when they eat mud in ponds and in roadside ditches in spring e. None of the above

c

Owls have a large blind spot behind their head and can turn their heads: Select one: a. 360 degrees b. 60 degrees c. 270 degrees d. 180 degrees e. 100 degrees

c

Plants become cold hardy by this process: Select one: a. freeze tolerance b. freeze avoidance c. acclimation d. dormancy e. none of the above

c

Terpenoids serve this purpose: Select one: a. Startle predators b. they disrupt an animal's ability to digest a plant by interacting with enzymes and proteins c. they taste bitter and thus serve to deter an animal from eating a plant d. they are structural elements that make it hard for an animal to digest a plant e. make an animal hard to see

c

The subnivean space allows: Select one: a. deer and moose to hear better b. snakes to detect danger better by their olfactory sense c. small mammals to better survive cold temperatures in winter d. allows moose to stay warmer e. Captain Kirk to go where no man has gone before

c

The subnivean space is important to: Select one: a. snakes for detecting danger and/or prey b. small birds on cold nights c. small mammals such as meadow voles in winter d. certain caterpillars for startling predators e. certain beetles for the manufacturing of chemical defences

c

Thorns are: Select one: a. modified leaves b. epidermal structures c. modified branches d. structural elements that are digestibility reducers e. very uncomfortable underwear

c

When several unrelated animals all possess a powerful defence and all look alike, the principle is known as: Select one: a. Batesian Mimicry b. Analogous Mimicry c. Mullerian Mimicry d. Similar Mimicry e. Aposematic Colouration

c

When small birds find an owl, they often do this: Select one: a. freeze and use disruptive patterns to hide b. fly away in a large flock to confuse the predator c. give alarm calls and form a mob that harasses the owl d. become cryptic and use background matching to hide e. none of the above

c

Which answer is NOT TRUE concerning the eyesight of hawks: Select one: a. cones are the most common photosensitive receptors in the eyes of hawks b. the eyes magnify an object about two to three times ( 2 - 3 X) its usual size c. hawk eyes are placed on the sides of their head for better binocular vision (more overlap of the fields of view) d. small retinal pits called fovea are crammed full of cones to provide sharper vision in certain directions e. hawk eyes are large to allow more light to enter the eye for sharper vision

c

Which of these statements is NOT TRUE concerning American Bitterns: Select one: a. Bitterns live in cattail marshes where vertical lines dominate the habitat. b. When frightened, Bitterns use cryptic behaviour to help them hide. c. Bittern eyes are situated in the middle of their faces so that they can see all around them without moving their heads d. When frightened, Bitterns point their bills up in the air so that their bodies form a vertical line e. Bitterns have stripes on their breasts that background match in their habitat

c

An analogous structure: Select one: a. is a plant chemical defence b. is an animal chemical defence c. is a plant physical defence d. has the same function as another structure on a different animal but arises from a different part of the body e. is very painful and may require surgery

d

Chipmunks and Raccoons escape cold temperatures by: Select one: a. going below the frost line b. shivering c. entering deep hibernation d. undergoing periods of torpor and/or lethargy e. all of the above

d

Flocking in birds offers this benefit: Select one: a. birds never get lonely b. birds do not get lost c. flocks are able to find food more easily d. a flock provides more eyes to watch for danger and lessens the odds of being caught for each bird in the flock e. All of the above

d

Gulls, ducks, and geese can stand on ice without freezing their feet because of this adaptation: Select one: a. in the fall a thick layer of down and contour feathers covers the feet, keeping them warmer in winter b. more blood is pumped into those extremities to raise their internal temperature c. a thick layer of white fat develops under the skin in the feet for insulation d. a counter-current heat exchanger known as the rete mirable is activated in winter e. all of the above

d

Gulls, ducks, and geese can stand on ice without freezing their feet because of this adaptation: Select one: a. in the fall covering the feet with a thick layer of down and contour feathers b. pumping more blood into their extremities to raise their internal temperature c. developing a thick layer of white fat under the skin of the feet for insulation d. activating a counter-current heat exchanger known as the rete mirable e. all of the above

d

This structure is analogous to a bird's gizzard: Select one: a. caecum b. small intestines c. rumen d. mammalian cheek teeth e. all of the above

d

When Hog-nosed Snakes are frightened, they do this: Select one: a. remain cryptic to let their stripes background match b. loudly squeal like a pig (hog) to startle the attacker c. spit out harmless saliva like a viper does (mimicry) d. play dead e. wave their blue tails to distract predators

d

A harmless moth looks just like a harmless beetle. This is an example of: Select one: a. Batesian Mimicry b. Mullerian Mimicry c. Aggressive Mimicry d. Background matching e. none of the above

e

Black-capped Chickadees conserve energy on cold nights by: Select one: a. shivering b. fluffing up their feathers to trap more air c. sleeping in sheltered sites (under snow-covered branches or inside cavities in trees) d. entering torpor e. all of the above

e

Insects that swim at the surface of ponds often have this defence: Select one: a. countershading b. aposematic colouration c. masquerade d. disruptive colouration e. bicolouration

e

Which of these animals is NOT freeze-tolerant: Select one: a. Gray Tree Frog b. hatchling Painted Turtle c. Spring Peeper d. Chorus Frog e. all of the above are freeze tolerant

e

Which statement concerning the hearing of owls is NOT TRUE: Select one: a. an owl's ear openings are not symmetrically placed on the sides of the head b. owls can find prey at night by hearing alone c. an owl's head is wide to allow for horizontal separation of sound arriving at the ears d. the feathers on an the owl's face help it hear better e. an owl's raptorial bill is large to help deflect sound to the facial disks

e