Chapter 51: Animal Behavior

Which of the following is required for a behavioral trait to evolve by natural selection? A) the behavior is determined entirely by genes B) The behavior is the same in all individuals in the population C) An individual's reproductive success depends in part on how the behavior is performed. D) The behavior is not genetically inherited.

Which of the following questions asks about proximate causes of behavior? A) How does the behavior aid survival and reproduction? B) What is the behavior's evolutionary history? C) How variable is this behavior for the species? D) How does the animal's experience during growth and development influence its response to stimulus?

Which of the following statements about migration is not concerned with ultimate causes of this behavior? A) Many animals use magnetic fields to orient themselves during migration. B) migration allows animals to use favorable breeding and feeling areas that are geographically separate. C) migration is often physically extremely demanding D) risk of nest predation is often lower further north for migratory birds in the arctic.

Every time your dog goes to lie down in her bed, she makes three circles. If you interrupt her, she will start over and do it again. This is an example of

Which of the following statements about learning and cognition is true? A) Learning that develops over long periods only occurs in humans and certain marine mammals. In other groups learning can only happen over minutes or hours. B) Cognition is limited to vertebrates C) Problem solving is the cognitive activity of coming up with ways to go from one state to another. D) Problem solving has only been demonstrated for primates and certain marine animals.

Although many chimpanzees live in environments containing oil palm nuts, members of only a few populations use stones to crack open the nuts. The likely explanation is that

You observe a species of bird that, upon hatching, has contact with its parents only while being fed. You also never hear the parents sing during the feeding process. What would you propose about song learning in this species of bird?

Female spotted sandpipers aggressively court males and, after mating, leave the clutch of young for the male to incubate. This sequence may be repeated several times with different males until no available males remain, forcing the female to incubate her last clutch. Which of the following terms best describes this behavior?

How do altruistic behaviors arise through natural selection?

What probably explains why coastal and inland garter snakes react differently to banana slug prey?

Male squirrels leave the area where they were born while females stay in the area. What is the most likely reason for the evolution of this behavior?

Which of the following statements about evolution of behavior is correct? A) Natural selection will favor behavior that enhances survival reproduction B) An animal may show behavior that minimizes reproductive fitness C) If a behavior is less than optimal it will eventually become optimal through natural selection D) Innate behaviors cannot be altered by natural selection

A Male Stickleback fish will attack other male sticklebacks that invade its nothing area. It will only attack male fish, which display the red belly characteristic of the species. Why has natural selection favored this behavior?

One way to understand how early environment influences behaviors in similar species is through the "cross fostering" experimental technique. Suppose that the curly-whiskered Mud rat differs from the bald mud rat in several ways, including being much more aggressive. How would you set up a "cross fostering" experiment to determine if environment plays a role in the curly whiskered mud rat's aggression?