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Answers to End-of-Chapter Questions – Brooker et al ARIS site
Chapter 55
Test Yourself Questions
1. Behavioral ecology is the study of
a. how organisms interact with their environment.
b. courtship behavior.
c. how an individual’s behavior affects reproductive success.
d. how an individual’s behavior affects survival.
e. both c and d.
Answer: e. Behavioral ecology is the study of how behavior affects the Darwinian fitness of individuals;
thus, it is the study of how behavior affects reproductive success and survival.
2. Geotaxis is a response to the force of gravity. Fruit flies placed in a vial will move to the top of the
vial. This is an example of _______ geotaxis.
a. positive
b. neutral
c. innate
d. negative
e. learned
Answer: d. Since the flies are moving opposite the direction of the force of gravity, their movement is
considered negative geotaxis.
3. Certain behaviors seem to have very little environmental influence. Such behaviors are the same in
all individuals regardless of the environment. These are referred to as ________ behaviors.
a. genetic
b. instinctual
c. innate
d. all of the above
e. b and c only
Answer: e. The terms used to describe behaviors that are genetically programmed are innate and
instinctual.
4. Patrick has decided to teach his new puppy a few new tricks. Each time the puppy responds
correctly to Patrick’s command, the puppy is given a treat. This is an example of
a. habituation.
b. classic conditioning.
c. operant conditioning.
d. imprinting.
e. orientation.
Answer: c. Because the puppy is rewarded for proper behavior, this type of learning is considered
operant.
5. An animal using landmarks to move from one area to another is exhibiting
a. navigation.
b. classic conditioning.
c. migration.
d. piloting.
e. orientation.
Answer: d. Animals are use piloting when they use landmarks to find their way when migrating.
Navigation and orientation involve the ability to follow a compass point.
6. For group living to evolve, the benefits of living in a group must be greater than the cost of group
living. Which of the following is an example of the benefit of living in a group?
a. reduced spread of disease and/or parasites
b. increased food availability
c. reduced competition for mates
d. decreased risk of predation
e. all of the above
Answer: d. Only decreased risk of predation is a benefit of group living. Increased spread of disease,
decreased food availability, and increased competition for mates are all potential costs of group living.
7. The modification of behavior based on prior experience is called
a. fixed action pattern.
b. learning.
c. navigation.
d. adjustment behavior.
e. innate.
Answer: b. Adjusting behavior according to prior experience is learning.
8. When an individual behaves in a way that reduces its own fitness but increases the fitness of others,
the organism is exhibiting
a. kin selection.
b. group selection.
c. altruism.
d. selfishness.
e. ignorance.
Answer: c. Altruism is behavior that benefits others at a cost to oneself.
9. Hamilton’s theory of kin selection suggests that altruism could evolve in a population if the altruistic
behavior of one individual increased the reproductive behavior of
a. all members of the group.
b. only the females of the group.
c. relatives.
d. non-relatives.
e. the youngest individuals of the group.
Answer: c. Since relatives share common genes, behaviors that promote the reproductive success of a
relative would increase the intrinsic fitness of the altruistic individual.
10. When each female in the population mates with several males, but each male mates with only one
female, the mating system is referred to as
a. polygamy.
b. polyandry.
c. polygyny.
d. monogamy.
e. harem mating.
Answer: b. The term polyandry means multiple males. In the case of polyandry, females mate with
several males, but males will mate with only one female.
Conceptual Questions
1. Define ethology.
Answer: The scientific study of animal behavior that focuses on the specific genetic and physiological
mechanisms of behavior.
2. Define a fixed action pattern.
Answer: An innate pattern of behavior that, once initiated, will continue until completion.
3. Describe the distinguishing features of the different mating systems.
Answer: In monogamy, each individual mates exclusively with one partner for one at least one breeding
cycle. In polygamy, individuals mate with more than one individual during a breeding cycle. There are
two types of polygamy. In polygyny, one male mates with more than one female, and in polyandry,
females mate with more than one male.
Experimental Questions
1. What observations were important for the development of Niko Tinbergen’s hypothesis explaining
how digger wasps located their nests?
Answer: Tinbergen observed the activity of digger wasps as they prepared to leave the nest. Each time,
the wasp hovered and flew around the nest for a period of time before leaving. Tinbergen suggested
that during this time, the wasp was making a mental map of the nest site. He hypothesized that the
wasp was using characteristics of the nest site, particularly landmarks, to help relocate it.
2. How did Tinbergen test the hypothesis that the wasps were using landmarks to relocate the nest?
What were the results?
Answer: Tinbergen placed pinecones around the nest of the wasps. When the wasps left the nest,
Tinbergen removed the pinecones from the nest site and set them up in the same pattern a distance
away, constructing a sham nest. For each trial, the wasps would go directly to the sham nest that had
the pinecones around it. This indicated to Tinbergen that the wasps identified the nest based on the
pinecone landmarks.
3. Did the Tinbergen experiment rule out any other cue the wasps may have been using besides the
pine cones?
Answer: No. Tinbergen also conducted an experiment to determine if the wasps were responding to the
visual cue of the pinecone or the chemical cue of the pinecone scent. The results of this experiment
indicated that the wasp responded to the visual cue of the pinecone and not its scent.
Collaborative Questions
1. Discuss the two main types of associative learning and give an example of each.
Answer:
1. In classical conditioning, an involuntary response is associated positively or negatively with a stimulus
that did not originally elicit the response. This type of learning is very common in the animal kingdom.
For example, many animals learn to associate humans and food, and seek out humans in anticipation of
gaining food.
2. In operant conditioning, an animal’s response is reinforced by a reward or punishment. This type of
learning is often called trial-and-error learning. For example, an animal learns to avoid stinging insects
due to the consequence of being stung.
2. Discuss several ways in which organisms communicate with each other.
Answer:
a. Chemical. Chemical communication is often used among animals to mark territory or food sources, or
to attract mates.
b. Sound. This method of communication has a long range. It is a very good method of communication
for between members of the same species, especially members of the opposite sex.
c. Visual. In courtship, animals use a vast number of visual signals to identify and select potential mates.
One drawback is that by the time visual communication has been established, the two organisms will be
in close proximity to each other and conflict could occur.
d. Tactile. Many individuals of the same species communicate through direct contact with each other.
Tactile information is often used by insects, for example, to convey information about food.