FW 311 Final Study Guide

Consider the migratory behavior of two species: Rough-legged Hawk and Dark-eyed Junco. 1. The species most likely to migrate at night is the _______. 2. Explain why migrating at night is advantageous ecologically for this species. 3. Explain why migrating during the day is advantageous ecologically for the other species.

1) Dark-eyed Junco 2) Migrating at night is advantageous for this species because there is a lower risk of predation by species like the Rough-legged Hawk which would be more diurnal and active during the day. It is also cooler and more humid at night which is better for powered flight and water balance 3) Migration during the day is advantageous for the Rough-legged Hawk because warmer temperatures aid in creating rising thermals for soaring

The two eggs below are laid by two different species. For the sake of this question, let's assume that female body size of both species is the same. Using what you can see in the photos, tell me three specific differences about the females, chicks or nests of these two species.

1) The nest of the white egg would be hidden in a dark place such as a burrow or tree cavity. 2) The female who laid the blue egg would have potentially been very healthy as it is hypothesized and would signal to males that she's healthy. 3) The chick of the blue egg would likely be superprecocial due to its large size as it would be more developed when it hatches allowing it to care for itself.

When the ambient temperature drops below the lower critical temperature for the semipalmated sandpiper, list 3 adaptations the bird can use to warm up? When I write "list", that is all you need to do, you do not need explain any detail, but you must be specific about the adaptation.

1) They can seek favorable microclimates 2) They can adjust their posture to minimize surface area such as fluffing their feathers, tucking their bill into their feathers or retracting their head and legs 3) Shivering

List 2 adaptations owls have for detecting and capturing prey using only sound.

1) They have facial disks where the feathers on the outside deflect or amplify sounds to the ear openings and the feathers in the center passes sound to the ear canal 2) They have wide skulls so their ear openings are farther apart to discriminate sounds on the horizontal plane

Name three ways a bird's eye's differs compared to mammals.

1) They have larger eyes 2) They have a third eyelid (nictitating membrane) 3) They have ossicles that surround the iris

List the 4 steps involved in song learning for oscine passerines.

1) critical learning period 2) silent period 3) subsong period 4) song crystallization

Name two anatomical structures that vary among bird groups and influence the relative complexity of their songs.

1) syringeal muscles 2) trachea

Explain how at least 4 of these feather colors are produced on this Mandarin Duck.

A - produced by carotenoids B - produced by the coherent scattering of light through barbs D - produced by melanin E - produced by layers of melanin granules that absorb or reflect light as various perspectives

Indicate which is a function of a call or song.

Begging for food - call Establishing and defending territory - song Predator warning - call Maintaining contact on a territory - call Displaying social or physiological status - song

Match the description with the territory type.

Common for colonial nesters - nesting territory Common in species where males aggregate in leks - display territory Includes foraging areas and roosting sites - winter territory Nest site defended, but some areas away from nest may be shared by neighbors - mating and nesting Type of territory where all activities associated with breeding occurs - all purpose

The metabolic requirements of flight are linearly related to flight speed.

False

90% of bird species are genetically monogamous.

False

Archaeopteryx is the direct ancestor to modern birds.

False

Under what conditions would flocking behavior benefit an individual bird, and under what conditions would flocking become disadvantageous?

Flocking behavior might benefit an individual if there are predators in the area as it would reduce the chances of being predated on and allow for more efficient foraging for that individual. Flocking would become disadvantageous if the number of individuals grow too large for the flock and members have to compete with each other for food.

The Common Murre is a seabird that nests in dense colonies on cliff edges and dives to forage for small fish and marine invertebrates. The Common Murre has the highest wing loading of any bird, and its wings also have a high aspect ratio. Explain how the wing loading and aspect ratios of Common Murres effect how they move to and from breeding colonies within the marine environment.

High wind loading allows the seabird to dive for fish while the high aspect ratio allows the bird to soar when moving to and from colonies over the ocean

Answer the following questions regarding fuels for migration.

Highest caloric density - fat Produces the most metabolic water per gram - protein Relied on most heavily by birds to fuel migration - fat

Do you think the mottled egg in this nest was laid by a 1) conspecific brood parasite, 2) generalist obligate interspecific brood parasite, or 3) specialist obligate interspecific brood parasite? Explain your reasoning.

I think the egg was laid by a generalist obligate interspecific brood parasite because it looks like it may be possible that it couldn't evolve to the specialized egg color which could be due to the fact that it lays in the nests of many different species.

Match the type of migration with its characteristic.

Individuals breeding at more northerly locations also winter in more southerly sites - leap-frog Associated with regular and predictable movement between breeding and wintering sites - obligate Characterized by irregular movements in response to winter food shortages - irruptive Population moves breeding areas in response to changes in food abundance and distribution - nomadic Ranges are predictable but migration distance may vary from year to year - facultative

Name one extant clade of modern birds that originated in the Cretaceous.

Neoaves Anseriformes Galliformes Palaeognathae

Match the reproductive structure with its function.

Magnum - albumen deposited Ovary - follicles are stored Ithsmus - shell membrane deposited Uterus - calcerous shell deposited

Explain how the structure of the syrinx allows birds to produce two notes at once.

Muscle control is independent on either side of the syrinx which allows the labia to vibrate at different rates producing two different sounds at once only possible in birds where the syrinx is located directly at the intersection of the trachea and the two bronchi, giving it a branch structure.

We know birds that migrate at night use stars to help orient themselves. The only star that maintains a fixed position in the night sky (in the northern hemisphere) is the north star. Do birds require being able to see the north star to navigate? Explain the experiment ornithologists carried out to answer that question.

No they do not require being able to see the north star to navigate. To test this, ornithologists put birds in emlen funnels in planetariums and controlled what stars the birds were able to see. They took away the north star and found that the birds were still able to know north so they then moved around the constellations around the north star and found that the birds no longer knew where north was. This led them to believe birds relied on the constellations around the north star so they took away portions of the constellations and found that they still knew where north was. The results showed that the birds used the constellations around the north star to orient themselves as well as partial constellations.

Which brain structure would you expect to be larger in birds with the best problem-solving abilities (including tool use)?

Pallial region

Match the structure on the right with it's function relative to sustained, powered flight on the left.

Prevents chest compression on the downstroke of the wing, - coracoid Attachment site for pectoralis muscles - carina The lateral projection portion of the rib bone that helps connect adjacent ribs, increasing the structural integrity of the body cavity - uncinate process the fusion of vertebrate and pelvic bones that provides support for the lower skeleton - synsacrum Terminal bone on the vertebral column where the tail feathers attach - pygostyle muscle responsible for the upstroke in wing motion - supracoracoideus

Male and female Great Bowerbirds look similar, yet this species has a polygynous breeding system and females are extremely choosy about who they mate with. Explain why sexual dimorphism does not occur in great bowerbirds and many bower species in general.

Sexual dimorphism would not occur because females are not assessing the males on secondary sexual characteristics. For bowerbirds, females assess males on the quality of bowers the males construct. Bowers are highly complex arenas which male bowerbirds construct to attract mates. These bowers are highly decorated with objects collected from the surrounding area (and often follow a color scheme specific to the individual). It takes significant time and energy to construct an ornate bower, and thus, females use bower complexity as a proxy for male quality. Bower quality reflects a male's intelligence, social dominance, and access to resources.

Match the behavior/structure with its function related to flight.

Swiveling primaries on the upstroke - Reduce drag Airfoil structure of the wing - Produce lift Fanning and dropping tail - Create stalling Increasing wing camber - Produce lift Very high angle of attack - Create stalling Raising alula - Produce lift Pushing primaries down and forward - Produce thrust Increasing wingspan - Produce lift

Indicate which skeletal features are present in reptiles, Archaeopteryx, and/or modern birds.

Teeth in sockets - Reptiles, Archaeopteryx Sclerotic ring - Reptiles, Archaeopteryx, Birds Furcula - Archaeopteryx, Birds Pygostyle - Birds Uncinate process - Birds

Explain why larger body size helps the spectacled eider to survive colder temperatures than the sandpiper, which subsequently allows it to winter farther north.

The larger body size of the spectacled eider allows it to survive colder temperatures as its surface area to volume ratio would be lower resulting in a slower rate at which it loses heat and requires less energy to maintain homeothermy.

Consider a socially monogamous songbird that defends an all-purpose breeding territory in the forest. Indicate how the birds territory size would change (larger, smaller, can't tell) based on the information provided.

The number of male competitors in the area doubles - smaller Food resources become extremely abundant - smaller Food resources intermediate, number of male competitors is reduced - larger Number of females available for mating increases - can't tell

A study found that populations of White-crowned Sparrows living in the forest had lower-frequency songs compared to populations of the same species that lived near a city. What are some explanations for why this pattern might exist?

The populations living in the forest could have a different song frequency compared to those living near a city due to difference in habitat types. Those living in the forest might have lower frequency songs because their songs are able to travel further in a forest. Those living near a city would have more urban noise in their environment which might require them to have a higher frequency song to combat the additional noises around them.

Why is the Theropod theory of the origin of birds currently the most widely accepted theory?

The relatively recent discovery of Cretaceous-era fossils gives overwhelming evidence linking Theropod dinosaurs to modern birds.

How do the slotted primaries of the Turkey Vulture help it to maintain flight?

The slotted primaries of the Turkey Vulture allow for air to move between them which decreases turbulence and drag and generates more lift for each individual primary.

Of the three theories about the evolution of avian flight, which theory is most supported by evidence? Explain why this theory has more support than the other theories.

The wing assisted inclined running theory is most supported by evidence because it explains how birds arm motions and structure were adapted as they needed to run up a surface to, for example, hunt for food and safely descend from that surface. Experiments were conducted by observing birds of various ages attempt to scale various levels of inclines in which the mechanisms to obtain powered flight were observed as the birds ran up the inclines.

Through the process of ritualization, social displays and signals evolve from non-signal postures or intention movements. What does this mean? Give an example of a ritualized behavior.

This means that the displays have evolved from the initial posture being associated with some kind of action. An example of a ritualized behavior are those that come from preening such as preen dorsal. While these ritualized behaviors might appear similar to their original functional behavior, they now primarily assist with social communication. These evolved social displays/signals are typically more exaggerated, precise, and stylized than the original movements they developed from.

Name one behavior birds use to maintain their feathers.

To maintain their feathers, birds will molt old, worn feathers

Males provide parental care in a higher proportion of bird species compared to mammal species.

True

What is the best explanation for why birds evolved to excrete uric acid?

Uric acid is an adaptation for laying eggs in terrestrial environments—it takes up less space and can be stored away from the developing embryo within the egg.

Suppose you are a regular birder at an overwintering site for waterfowl, and you take very good notes on the species present and the behaviors you observe. Looking back at your notes over the years, you see that you first observe a restless behavior in the Cackling Geese around the same date every year (specifically, the geese begin vocalizing and flying in circles as a flock, only to settle back on the pond after a few minutes.)

What is the term for the behavior you observed? - zugunruhe Which environmental cue is most likely to regulate the onset of this behavior, which occurs on the same date every year? - photoperiod

Let's say you are doing a displacement experiment in order to determine the navigation abilities of Sanderlings. On their southward migration to their wintering grounds near San Diego, California (red star), you catch a group of Sanderlings (adults and juveniles) in Corvallis, Oregon (blue star). You drive them to St. Paul, Minnesota (yellow star), put GPS tags on them, and then release them. The black arrows below (A and B) show the migratory paths of two groups of Sanderlings.

Which group is using orientation? - b Which group is using true navigation? - a Which group is likely comprised of adults? - a Which group is likely comprised of juveniles? - b

The Semipalmated Sandpiper (30 g; on the left) and Spectacled Eider (1500 g; on the right) both breed on the arctic tundra in the summer.

Who has a higher basal metabolic rate? - Eider Who has a higher mass-specific metabolic rate? - Sandpiper Who has a higher Lower Critical Temperature (LCT)? - Sandpiper Which species would be more likely to rely on torpor in winter? - Sandpiper

Suppose you are an avid birder planning a "Big Year" -- that is, you decide take a year off work to travel the world to try to see as many bird species as possible. Your strategy is to visit one biogeographic realm at a time.

You decide to first visit the realm with 30% of the world's total unique bird species and the most endemic families. - Neotropical The year is almost over and you need to maximize your efficiency. Where would you go if you wanted to see the greatest diversity of bird species possible per unit area? - Indomalayan If you wanted to see more species in Procellariformes, where should you go? - Oceanic You have time to visit either the Afrotropics or the Palearctic, but not both. What is one family that you would see in the Palearctic that you could not see in the Afrotropics? - Prunellidae You already left the Nearctic realm, and you realized you never saw any birds in the Parulidae family! In which other realm might you see birds in this family? - Neotropical

For 4 of the feathers below, indicate 1) the name of the feather, 2) its function(s).

a) bristle feather - aids in capturing insects and protecting eyes b) contour feather - protection from environment c) adult down - insulation d) remiges - allows for flight in the primary and secondaries e) rectrices - aids in flight at the tail

Eye size and placement on a bird's head can tell you something how a bird sees as well as something about how it makes a living. Answer the questions about the pair of birds shown below.

a. which species has the best forward binocular vision along the axis of their bill? - a b. which species forages primarily using vision? - a c. which species has the greatest overall field of view? - b d. which species captures mobile prey on the wing? - a

Explain how phenological mismatch could occur for an Arctic-breeding bird that begins spring migration at the same time every year (based on photoperiod cues).

global warming will result in a shift in resource availability (e.g., plants germinating earlier) relative to the arrival of avian migrants using photoperiod cues (which will always occur around the same date). Peak food abundance will no longer match up with peak breeding, resulting in insufficient food available for nestlings and reduced nest success.

Which adaptations below can help a bird survive better in hot, dry environments (select all the answers that apply):

hyperthermia salt gland gular fluttering preformed water in food

Indicate which mating system is associated with each item.

most common mating system in birds - social monogamy males are considerably larger than females - polygyny females more brightly colored than males - polyandry high reproductive skew for males - polygyny extra-pair copulations important secondary breeding tactic - social monogamy number of mates proportional to the quality of territory a male defends - resource defense no sexual dimorphism - genetic monogamy Sex role reversal - polyandry male reproductive success limited by availability of females - all mating systems