Behavioral Ecology & Mating Systems Overview

Flashcards covering key concepts in behavioral ecology and mating systems.

1. According to Bateman’s Principle, why is male reproductive success typically limited by access to mates?

a) Males invest more energy in parental care

b) Females have higher gamete production rates

c) Males can increase offspring number with more mates, while females cannot

d) Males have shorter lifespans

C

2. The Polygyny Threshold Model predicts that females may choose polygyny when:

a) Resource quality on a male’s territory outweighs costs of sharing

b) Male-male competition is absent

c) Females are genetically monogamous

d) Offspring survival is guaranteed

A

In "chase-away" sexual selection, exaggerated male traits evolve to:

a) Overcome female resistance to mating

b) Enhance offspring survival

c) Reduce sperm competition

d) Mimic predator cues

A

Haplodiploidy in Hymenoptera (ants/bees) increases worker sterility because:

a) Workers are genetically identical

b) Sisters share 75% relatedness (r=0.75), favoring helping over breeding

c) Males are diploid

d) Queens produce only male offspring

B

5. Parent-offspring conflict arises because:

a) Offspring demand more resources than parents are selected to provide

b) Parents favor unrelated offspring

c) Siblings are equally related to each parent

d) Offspring lack kin recognition

A

6. In cooperative breeding, "helpers-at-the-nest" often gain indirect fitness benefits by:

a) Raising siblings (r=0.5) instead of their own offspring

b) Inheriting territories immediately

c) Reducing predation risk through group size

d) Avoiding all parental care

A

7. Which trait is NOT required for eusociality?

a) Reproductive division of labor

b) Cooperative brood care

c) All individuals being genetically identical

d) Overlapping generations

C

8. The "subsocial route" to eusociality involves:

a) Extended parental care leading to offspring staying as helpers

b) Random aggregation of non-relatives

c) Parasitic takeovers of nests

d) Loss of worker sterility

A

9. Darwin’s dilemma about sterile insect castes was resolved by:

a) Kin selection (inclusive fitness theory)

b) Group selection

c) Sexual selection

d) Neutral drift

A

10. The Aplin et al. (2015) bird study demonstrated cultural transmission through:

a) Conformity to local foraging traditions

b) Genetic adaptation to puzzle-boxes

c) Random exploration without social learning

d) Innate song dialects

A

11. Gene-culture coevolution is best illustrated by:

a) Lactose tolerance evolving with dairy farming

b) Universal mate preferences

c) Fixed behavioral syndromes

d) Haplodiploidy in bees

A

12. Critiques of sociobiology include that it:

a) Risked justifying racism/sexism via genetic determinism

b) Ignored all cultural variability

c) Was only applicable to insects

d) Overemphasized learned behaviors

A

13. In producer-scrounger dynamics, the equilibrium is maintained by:

a) Frequency-dependent selection (rare tactics have higher payoffs)

b) Genetic fixation of roles

c) Random chance

d) Absence of social learning

A

14. "Fast" vs. "slow" behavioral syndromes refer to:

a) Consistent individual differences in aggression/exploration

b) Metabolic rates

c) Lifespan variation

d) Migratory strategies

A

15. Conditional mating strategies (e.g., sneaker males) arise when:

a) Competitive ability varies with context/resource access

b) All males have equal fitness

c) Females prefer monogamy

d) Sperm competition is absent

A

16. Niche construction theory posits that:

a) Organisms modify environments, creating new selective pressures

b) Niches are static over time

c) Only humans alter ecosystems

d) Cultural evolution is irrelevant

A

17. White-crowned sparrow song dialects change over time due to:

a) Cultural drift and selective pressures

b) Genetic mutations alone

c) Innate developmental programs

d) Random environmental noise

A

18. The "hotshot hypothesis" explains lek formation by:

a) Females preferring dominant males, attracting others to cluster nearby

b) Random male aggregation

c) Resource defense by females

d) Sibling cooperation

A

19. A key objection to applying behavioral ecology to humans is:

a) Confusing adaptive function with conscious intent

b) Overestimating genetic determinism

c) Ignoring all evolutionary theory

d) Focusing only on primates

A

20. Evolutionary psychology differs from HBE by focusing on:

a) Evolved psychological mechanisms, not current fitness outcomes

b) Cultural transmission alone

c) Group-level selection

d) Non-adaptive traits

A

1. Which of the following is NOT a requirement for evolution by natural selection?

a) Individuals vary in traits

b) Traits are acquired during an organism’s lifetime (Lamarckian inheritance)

c) Some variation is heritable

d) Survival/reproduction is non-random

B

2. Why are some beetles spotless, according to natural selection?

a) To avoid predation (individual fitness benefit)

b) To ensure species survival (group selection)

c) To blend into social groups

d) Because spots are genetically unstable

A

3. The term "heritability" refers to:

a) The total genetic diversity in a population

b) The proportion of trait variation due to genetic differences

c) The mutation rate of a gene

d) The fitness advantage of a trait

B

4. The Marginal Value Theorem predicts that an animal should leave a patch when:

a) All food is exhausted

b) The instantaneous rate of energy gain drops below the average habitat rate

c) Predators are detected nearby

d) Group members depart

B

5. In the prey choice model, a predator should always consume prey type A if:

a) Prey A is larger than prey B

b) EA/hA > EB/hB (higher energy/handling time ratio)

c) Prey A is more abundant

d) Prey B is toxic

B

6. Risk-sensitive foraging predicts that animals will:

a) Choose variable food sources when below energy requirements (risk-prone)

b) Always prefer constant food sources

c) Ignore patch quality

d) Forage alone to reduce competition

A

7. Aposematism (warning coloration) evolves because:

a) Predators learn to associate bright colors with unprofitability

b) It increases camouflage

c) It mimics environmental patterns

d) It reduces intraspecific competition

A

8. Polymorphism in prey populations counters predator:

a) Group hunting strategies

b) Search image formation

c) Territoriality

d) Migratory behavior

B

9. Pursuit-deterrence signals (e.g., tail-flagging in deer) are effective when:

a) Chases are costly for predators but not too costly

b) Predators are indifferent to prey behavior

c) Prey are solitary

d) Signals are identical across species

A

10. Which is NOT a benefit of group living against predation?

a) Dilution effect

b) Increased conspicuousness to predators

c) Enhanced vigilance

d) Confusion effect

B

11. The "dilution effect" in groups means:

a) Individual predation risk decreases as group size increases

b) Resources are equally shared

c) Dominant individuals monopolize safety

d) Predators target larger groups preferentially

A

12. In an ideal free distribution, individuals distribute themselves based on:

a) Resource profitability, with equal fitness across habitats

b) Genetic relatedness

c) Predator density

d) Random chance

A

13. An Evolutionarily Stable Strategy (ESS) is:

a) A strategy that cannot be outcompeted when common in a population

b) A behavior that maximizes group fitness

c) A fixed action pattern with no variation

d) A learned behavior passed culturally

A

14. The "life-dinner principle" suggests that selection is stronger on prey than predators because:

a) Prey lose their lives, while predators only lose a meal

b) Predators have shorter generation times

c) Prey are always faster

d) Predators are more intelligent

A

15. Optimality models assume behaviors evolve to maximize:

a) Fitness (e.g., energy gain, survival, reproduction)

b) Group cohesion

c) Genetic diversity

d) Predator avoidance only

A

16. The comparative method tests hypotheses by:

a) Correlating traits across species with different ecologies

b) Observing individual learning

c) Manipulating genes in a lab

d) Tracking predator-prey interactions in real time

A

17. Weaver finches in savannahs (vs. forests) are more likely to:

a) Be polygynous with colonial nests

b) Have cryptic solitary nests

c) Be monomorphic in plumage

d) Feed on insects exclusively

A

18. Phylogenetically independent contrasts control for:

a) Shared evolutionary history among species

b) Environmental variability

c) Individual learning

d) Mutation rates

A

19. A lizard wagging its tail to signal pursuit-deterrence is an example of:

a) Optimal design for predator communication

b) Group selection

c) Batesian mimicry

d) Exploitative competition

A

20. In a despotic distribution, dominant individuals:

a) Monopolize high-quality habitats, reducing subordinates’ fitness

b) Share resources equally

c) Follow ideal free principles

d) Avoid competition

A

True or False: Kin selection explains altruism via indirect fitness benefits

True

True or False: The "polygyny threshold model" assumes females always prefer

monogamy.

False

True or False: Crypsis and masquerade are functionally identical anti-predator

strategies.

False

True or False: Optimality models ignore trade-offs between costs and benefits.

False

True or False: Müllerian mimicry involves harmless species mimicking toxic ones

False ; it refers to a situation where two or more unpalatable species evolve to resemble each other, benefiting from shared avoidance by predators.

Which question is MOST likely to be asked by a behavioural ecologist?

a) how does a butterfly naviagate from canada to mexico

b) what physiological mechanisms causes butterflies to start migrating

c) how do butterflies find warm locations to winter

d) do butterflies that migrate have a high fitness than butterflies that dont

D

what is a behavioural ecologist least likely to hypo about bird song

a) it helps territory defense and mate attraction

b) its optimally designed to reach distant listeners

c) its evolved bc it increases survival of species

d) it increases the singers repro sucess

C

What does the selecting in evolution by natural selection?

environment

Evolution by natural selection is most likely to increase the frequency of traits that:

increases survival and reproduction

Golden eagles can feed on cottontail rabbits (the “French fries”), which are quite small, or jackrabbits (the “hamburgers”), which provide six times more energy than cottontails. Both types of prey take about the same time to capture, kill, and eat, but it takes twice as long to find a jackrabbit compared to finding a cottontail.

Question 5: If an eagle sees a cottontail, it should:

keep searching

What proportion of each prey type would an eagle have in its diet, if its diet fit the predictions of the prey choice model perfectly?

no cotton tails only jackrabbits

Suppose you find that starving eagles take a different proportion of prey

different currency applies to a starving eagle

If it takes the animal 20 minutes to travel between patches, the optimal time it should spend in each patch is:

10-30mins

what are the constraints of the patch model

travel time, gain curve

This anti-predator strategy avoids detection by the predator

polymorphism (two or more clearly different morphs; alternative phenotypes)

Living in groups exposes caterpillars to predators, but that’s advantageous for caterpillars that are

aposematic (unprofitable features – warning colouration)

Variation in the appearance of different individuals is greatest in cases of:

crypsis (camouflage and blend in; polymorphism stuff)

Comparative studies use phylogenetically independent contrasts to reduce the effects of

phylogeny

Sandpipers standing at the edge of the flock are more at risk from predation by a ground predator, like a cat than those standing near the center of the flock.

cover

Sandpipers flying in a flock are closer to each other after a falcon (a flying predator) has passed by than they were before the falcon arrived.

cover

 The likelihood of any individual sandpiper being killed by a falcon decreases as flock size increases

dilution

Suppose males can increase their song rate (this tells us it’s not an index), but only if they are provided with more food or given extra time to forage. Based on that added piece of evidence, song rate is best described as a:

handicap (or a conditional signal)

Suppose an experimenter artificially increased the song rate of low song rate males and found they were attacked more frequently by high song rate males as a result. This information alone suggests that song rate alone is a

status signal

Eighteen fish in a large tank are offered 0.25 g food pellets at three widely separated dispensers that each drops the pellets into the tank at the following rates:

Dispenser A: 3 pellets/min
Dispenser B: 6 pellets/min
Dispenser C: 9 pellets/min

Question 6: According to the ideal free distribution, how many fish should be at each dispenser?

3 fish, 6 fish, and 9 fish

According to the same model, if the gain rate for a fish at dispenser A is 0.25 g/min, what is the gain rate for fish in another dispenser?

0.25 g/min

Which of the following is an assumption of the ideal free distribution?

individuals can go where they choose

Which piece of evidence about larger groups compared to smaller groups is the most important for showing that foraging in groups is an adaptation for capturing prey?

a) they are more likely to have leaders and followers

b) collectively they capture more prey

c) each indiv captures more prey

d) prey are captured sooner

C

During their attempts to mate with females, male horn beetles use horns on their head to knock each other off branches (physically – horns are providing physical force). These are best described as:

weapons

Frog-eating bats forage by listening for frog calls. The frog calls are:

cue

As sequential assessment proceeds, animals are likely to use:

more costly behaviours

The songs of birds that live in grasslands are generally faster and buzzier than the songs of forest birds, because, compared to forests, grasslands have:

more costly behaviours

What’s required to produce most physical signals that’s not required to produce most acoustic signals?

reflectance

Many bird songs start with a few slow, simple low-pitched notes called alerting components, which are followed by many fast distinctive high-pitched notes. Researchers think that alerting components are adaptive because compared to the rest of the song, they are better for:

transmission

Western bluebirds sons stay at home and help their parents to raise their younger brothers and sisters

local resoruce enhancement

Question 2: Researchers tested whether hens mated more dominant roosters produced more male chicks than the hens made it to subordinate roosters. Dominance is slightly heritable.

conditional sex allocation

Explaining exaggerated traits in males, chase-away sexual selection differs from other models of sexual selection mainly because it is

females dont prefer males with those traits

For most invertebrates, the coefficient of relatedness between half siblings

r = 0.25

A shorebird that breeds in the arctic where the breeding seasons is short mating system

polyandry

Small rodents in which each female has its own range and food is scarce mating system

monogamy

The seabird that nests on islands that are many miles from the nearest food sources mating system

monogamy

A species of deer in which females travel widely in groups and come into estrus every fall mating system

female defense polygyny

Which curve represents benefit of care from the parents’ point of view?

B

Offspring give a begging display to get care from parents at what region?

between the optimal for the parent and offspring – around 10 days

Males of a particular species of tropical songbird do not hold territories but gather in sunlit openings in the rainforest to display to females, which come to mate with a male and then leave to lay eggs and raise the young on their own.

Question 11: Which of the following results for mating bias would you expect?

one male to get all the matings with the six females

Males of a particular species of tropical songbird do not hold territories but gather in sunlit openings in the rainforest to display to females, which come to mate with a male and then leave to lay eggs and raise the young on their own.Suppose females of this species prefer to mate with males that have longer tails. What's the most likely explanation for this pattern, for this situation?

indirect benefits

Help is directed to particular individuals through phenotype matching

kin selection

This form of cooperation might work through interchanges and markets

reciprocity

Probably the main explanation for group living in animals

mutualism