Ch. 1 + 2

Question 1

umwelt

Answer 1

the world as it is perceived by a particular organism

Question 2

Jakob von Uexkull

Answer 2

1864-1944
Estonian biologist
worked on physiological and sensory aspects of behavior
functional circle

Question 3

proximate levels of analysis

Answer 3

development
mechanism

Question 4

ultimate level of analysis

Answer 4

evolutionary history
adaptive function

Question 5

development

Answer 5

proximate analysis: how genetic-developmental mechanisms influence the assembly of an animal and its internal components

Question 6

mechanism

Answer 6

proximate analysis: how neuronal-hormonal mechanisms that develop during an animal’s lifetime control what it can do behaviorally

Question 7

evolutionary history

Answer 7

ultimate analysis: evolutionary history of a behavioral trait as affected by descent with modification from ancestral species

Question 8

adaptive function

Answer 8

ultimate analysis: the adaptive value of a behavioral trait as affected by the process of evolution by natural selection

Question 9

song-learning in birds - hypotheses of developmental mechanisms

Answer 9

genetic differences
acoustic stimulus
social interaction

• non-mutually exclusive
  proximate

Question 10

genetic differences hypothesis

Answer 10

genes only affect song dialects over large geographic scales

Question 11

acoustic stimulus hypothesis

Answer 11

affects song learning since birds don’t learn songs if they are isolated

Question 12

social stimulus hypothesis

Answer 12

who and when birds hear songs - affects their learning because young birds learned and mimicked recordings

Question 13

findings of song-learning experiments:

Answer 13

birds must hear to learn
birds need exposure to the right song at the right time
need to see the teacher, not just hear

Question 14

mechanisms of song production and learning

Answer 14

vocal apparatus - syrinx between lungs and larynx
specialized brain

Question 15

bird song is controlled by

Answer 15

discrete, interconnected brain regions

Question 16

neural pathway for song production

Answer 16

motor pathway - HVC & RA
HVC is bigger in song-learning birds and in males

Question 17

neural pathway for song learning and plasticity

Answer 17

anterior forebrain pathway - LMAN

Question 18

song learning in birds is most likely an _____ condition

Answer 18

ancestral

Question 19

mammals and birds may have similarities in song-learning mechanisms b/c

Answer 19

convergent neural circuits

Question 20

human vs avian vocal learning

Answer 20

both affected by acoustical and social environments - we can apply knowledge from bird song learning to human speech

Question 21

physiological costs of song learning

Answer 21

time, energy, special neural mechanisms

Question 22

ultimate hypotheses for song/dialect learning

Answer 22

environmental adaptation
recognition
info-sharing
sexual selection
local adaptation

• non-mutually exclusive

Question 23

environmental adaptation hypothesis

Answer 23

birds adapt their songs to their local environments, based on background noise level, acoustics, etc.

Question 24

recognition hypothesis

Answer 24

similar song types convey social cohesion, different song types convey unique and individual markers

Question 25

information-sharing hypothesis

Answer 25

cooperative birds have a larger repertoire size of songs, especially for alarm and contact calls

Question 26

sexual selection hypothesis

Answer 26

male-female interaction increases # songs male-male competition determines which song they sing

Question 27

local adaptation hypothesis

Answer 27

females prefer local mates (they often have better fitness - are more resistant to local germs) - can find them using song dialects

Question 28

adaptation

Answer 28

trait associated with successful survival and reproduction, upon which nat. sel. acts

Question 29

hypothesis

Answer 29

explanation based on limited evidence

Question 30

alternative hypotheses

Answer 30

only one of a series of competing hypotheses could apply to a given behavior

Question 31

non-mutually exclusive hypotheses

Answer 31

multiple hypotheses could apply to a given behavior

Question 32

adaptive value

Answer 32

a characteristic's contribution to fitness

Question 33

fitness proxies

Answer 33

indicator/correlate of reproductive success

Question 34

alternative hypotheses of male infanticide

Answer 34

1. aberrant maladaptive response caused by overcrowding group selection allows it to persist 2. adaptive response that increases fitness by nat. sel.

Question 35

correct hypothesis of male infanticide

Answer 35

enhances reproduction females resume ovulating after other males' young is killed associated with male changeover in groups similar to how step parents are more likely to kill their stepchildren

Question 36

observational approach to studying behavior is inherently

Answer 36

correlational - can't determine cause

Question 37

experimental approach to studying behavior

Answer 37

can establish cause and effect controls are needed

Question 38

comparative approach to studying behavior looks at

Answer 38

evolutionary history, phylogenies

Question 39

phylogenies are based on

Answer 39

anatomy, physiology, behavior, and most important, molecular data

Question 40

adaptive value of behaviors is revealed by the

Answer 40

cost-benefit approach

Question 41

White-crowned sparrows evolved from an ancestral species that possessed the capacity for song learning. This illustrates:

Answer 41

evolutionary history explanation

Question 42

Researchers produced three sonograms from male zebra finches: a father and two sons. One of the sons had been deafened early in life. The intact young male’s song exactly matched that of his father; the deafened male produced a rudimentary sub-song.

Answer 42

This experiment was designed to test the acoustic stimuli hypothesis, and found that acoustic stimuli is crucial for song learning