Animal Behavior: Key Concepts and Exam Review

Posted on Dec 5, 2024 in Biology

Exam 1

MC Answers

  • TRUE: Certain complex animal behaviors may be controlled by a single gene.
  • TRUE: One form of empirical study involves making field observations of animal behavior.
  • TRUE: A conceptual approach to a problem involves taking older ideas and methods and combining them in new ways to make advances.
  • TRUE: Cliff swallows nesting in large colonies, raised by foster parents in small colonies, later showed a preference for large colonies.
  • FALSE: In large coalitions of male lions, members are usually not related to each other.
  • FALSE: Vertebrate animals are capable of individual learning, but invertebrate animals are not.
  • Artificial selection by humans is best known in domestic pigeons and dog breeds.
  • The Trpc2 gene controls olfactory behavior in mice. Mice with an inactivated Trpc2 gene (knockout mouse) attempt to mate with other males in their cages.
  • Eusociality occurs in honey bees, ants, termites, and naked mole rats.
  • Phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a species.
  • Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of naked mole rats: exhibit polygamy where one male mates with several females.
  • In shorebirds called ruffs, males are of two types: independence and satellites. One characteristic of a satellite male is that they have lighter-colored plumage compared to the independents.
  • Coalitions have been studied most extensively in primates.
  • The endocrine system functions for relatively long-term control of growth and metabolism, using hormones as chemical messengers.
  • Which of the following best expresses the mechanism of endocrine system action: Target organs possess receptors on their cells that pick up hormones from the blood.
  • Consider male mouse embryos that were surrounded by female embryos in the uterus. Later in life, these so-called 2F males are less sexually active than 2M males.
  • In spring, as day length increases, the testosterone levels of male birds also increase. In most birds, this increase causes hoarding behavior, nest-building, and greater defensive territory.
  • Dendrites are cellular extensions of the neuron that receive a nerve impulse.
  • What is the releaser (sign stimulus) for the instinctual food-begging behavior of Herring Gull chicks? The red dot on the parent’s bill.
  • The hippocampus is a region of the cerebrum important to learning spatial relationships.
  • An extinction curve measures how long it takes for an animal to forget what it has learned.
  • What would be an ultimate explanation for why many birds migrate south in the fall? In past generations, birds with migratory behaviors survived at a higher rate and left more offspring.
  • Alleles are defined as alternative forms of a gene; they can be dominant or recessive.
  • Cliff swallows are North American birds that are primarily insect eaters, colonial nesters, and the famous swallows of Capistrano, California.
  • Which of the following endocrine glands, located on top of the kidneys, secretes stress hormones? Adrenal
  • In gene knockout experiments (most common in mice), a gene an animal possesses is inactivated by inserting a foreign piece of DNA.
  • Which premise of Darwin’s theory of natural selection is incorrectly stated below? Individuals with advantageous traits have a decreased chance of producing offspring.

Short Answers

  • Ethology is the study of animal behavior using the scientific method.
  • Modern synthesis, AKA neo-Darwinism, is a combination of Darwin’s and Mendel’s works on evolution with genes.
  • Derived characteristics are traits evolved recently that previous generations did not have. The trait was removed in time from the ancestor.
  • Proximate analysis of behavior asks HOW does this behavior occur (example involves neurobiology).
  • Supernormal stimulus is an exaggerated version of a stimulus for which there is already a behavioral response.
  • Instinctual behavior is a behavior that is naturally known by an animal, usually for survival purposes.
  • Xenophobia is a fear of outsiders and others.
  • A benefit to humans of lactase persistence is that lactose is a good source of calcium and other nutritious benefits.
  • Empirical approaches are used to answer questions about nature. The two methods are by observation and by controlled experiment. Compare the benefits and drawbacks of each method.
    • Observation is good because there is no interference by the researcher; you see completely. However, you have no control over the experiment. Controlled experiments are good because all variables can be manipulated carefully. However, you don’t always see natural behaviors.