Practice test
Advanced Animal Behaviour – Practice Question Bank
Section A: Multiple Choice
(1 mark each)
1. According to Trivers’ (1974) parent–offspring conflict model, an offspring will demand parental care until:
A. The benefit to itself is greater than the cost to its parents.
B. The benefit to itself is greater than half the cost to its siblings.
C. The cost to itself equals the cost to siblings.
D. The benefit to siblings is equal to the benefit to itself.
Answer: B
2. Which hypothesis predicts that begging intensity reflects current hunger and leads to more even food distribution among siblings?
A. Signal-of-quality
B. Signal-of-need
C. Honest signalling
D. Brood reduction
Answer: B
3. In the barn swallow gape-colour experiment, painting the gape red tested:
A. Signal-of-need hypothesis
B. Signal-of-quality hypothesis
C. Parent–offspring conflict
D. Brood parasitism mimicry
Answer: B
4. Which of the following is an example of facultative siblicide?
A. Nazca booby
B. Blue-footed booby
C. Cuckoo chick ejecting eggs
D. Grey warbler nest desertion
Answer: B
5. In common cuckoos, precise egg mimicry is most likely to evolve when:
A. Hosts have poor rejection ability
B. Hosts have high rejection ability
C. Parental care is biparental
D. Siblings are full siblings
Answer: B
6. In sexual selection theory, anisogamy refers to:
A. Equal gamete size between sexes
B. Unequal gamete size between sexes
C. Differences in parental care
D. Differences in mate choice behaviour
Answer: B
7. The mate-assistance hypothesis predicts monogamy is favoured when:
A. Females are clumped together
B. Male parental care increases offspring survival
C. Extra-pair copulations are common
D. Sperm competition is high
Answer: B
8. Which mating system is characterised by no stable pair bonds and both sexes mating multiply?
A. Monogamy
B. Polygyny
C. Polygynandry
D. Promiscuity
Answer: D
9. Sexual conflict that results in male traits harming female fitness, followed by female counter-adaptations, is called:
A. Parent–offspring conflict
C. Honest signalling
D. Polyandry
Answer: B
10. The “Three Rs” in animal ethics refer to:
A. Replacement, Reduction, Refinement
B. Replacement, Replication, Refinement
C. Respect, Reduction, Replacement
D. Respect, Responsibility, Refinement
Answer: A
Section B: Short Answer
(2–4 marks each)
11. Define parental investment and explain the trade-off between current and future reproduction.
Answer: Parental investment is any effort by a parent that increases the survival of offspring at the cost of the parent’s ability to invest in other offspring or future reproduction. The trade-off is that resources used now reduce the parent’s capacity for future reproduction.
12. Differentiate between the signal-of-need and signal-of-quality hypotheses. Provide one ecological condition that favours each.
Answer:
Signal-of-need: Begging intensity reflects hunger; favoured when food is abundant.
Signal-of-quality: Displays reflect intrinsic condition; favoured when resources are scarce.
13. Give one example each of:
a) Egg attendance without feeding
b) Provisioning in insects
c) Mouth brooding in fish
Answer:
a) Female shield bugs guarding eggs
b) Burying beetles feeding larvae
c) Male cichlid carrying eggs in buccal cavity
14. Explain the difference between obligate and facultative siblicide with examples.
Answer:
Obligate: Always occurs regardless of conditions (Nazca booby).
Facultative: Occurs under resource scarcity (Blue-footed booby).
15. Outline two philosophical frameworks in animal ethics and how they differ.
Answer:
Utilitarianism: Balances costs and benefits to maximise overall welfare.
Deontology: Focuses on duties and rights, regardless of outcomes.
Section C: Application/Data Interpretation
(4–6 marks each)
16. In the barn swallow gape-colour experiment, equal pre-treatment feeding but increased feeding to red-painted chicks after treatment supports which hypothesis? Explain why.
Answer: Supports the signal-of-quality hypothesis because the chick’s gape colour was changed without affecting hunger, and parents still fed the chicks that looked healthier or higher quality.
17. A smooth soft-shelled turtle lays 20 small eggs in the wild but 10 large eggs in captivity with higher hatching success. Explain using parent–offspring conflict theory.
Answer: Offspring benefit from larger eggs, but mothers maximise fitness by producing more eggs with smaller investment per egg; natural size reflects the maternal optimum.
18. In a water-strider population, males have long grasping legs and females have elongated abdominal spines. Explain how this is evidence of sexually antagonistic coevolution.
Answer: 18. In water striders, males have long grasping legs to hold onto females during mating, while females have long abdominal spines to stop unwanted mating. These traits show sexually antagonistic coevolution because each sex has adapted in response to the other’s changes.
19. A dairy cow in NZ faces an HLI of 72 with moderate humidity and no wind. What behavioural signs might indicate high heat stress if rest deprivation is minimal, and how would you test shade priority experimentally?
Answer: A dairy cow in New Zealand with a Heat Load Index of 72, moderate humidity, and no wind may show heat stress by spending more time in shade. To test how much the cow values shade, you could put a small barrier in front of the shaded area and see if it will cross it when it is not rest deprived.
20. Climate projections show increasing cold stress events in a dairy region. How would you use a shelter vs rest trade-off test to identify when to provide extra shelter?
Answer: In areas where cold stress is becoming more common, you can use a shelter versus rest test to decide when to give cows extra shelter. This means offering a choice between shelter and resting, under different cold, wind, and wet conditions, and seeing when cows give up rest to use shelter.
Section D: Essay-Style
(8–10 marks each)
21. Compare and contrast the evolutionary drivers and ecological conditions that favour monogamy, polygyny, and polyandry, using specific examples from lecture.
Answer:
Monogamy is favoured when mates are hard to find or when both parents are needed for offspring survival. For example, California mice in cold climates have higher litter survival (30% → 80%) when fathers help. Polygyny occurs when males can defend resources or groups of females, as in pseudoscorpions (resource-defence) or sage grouse (lek). Polyandry happens when male care is the limiting resource, causing females to compete, as in northern jacanas and seahorses. These systems are shaped by how resources, mates, and care are distributed.
22. Discuss the role of sexually antagonistic coevolution in shaping both morphological and behavioural traits, illustrating with at least three taxa from the lecture (e.g., dung flies, water striders, penduline tits).
Sexually antagonistic coevolution (SAC) is an arms race between sexes over reproduction. In dung flies, males use genital spines to remove rival sperm but injure females, who counter by shaking them off. In water striders, males have grasping legs while females have abdominal spines to resist mating. In penduline tits, females bury eggs to delay male desertion, while males desert sooner if eggs are visible. SAC drives both morphological and behavioural changes.
23. Explain how integrating environmental measurements, behavioural priorities, and motivational state allows researchers to infer subjective experiences in animals. Use examples from heat and cold stress trade-off studies.
Environmental measures like the Heat Load Index or cold stress values quantify physical conditions but not discomfort. Behavioural trade-offs, such as choosing shade over rest, show what animals value under stress. Motivation also matters: cattle sacrifice rest for shade under high heat plus 24-hour rest deprivation, and they seek shelter sooner in cold when rest-deprived. Combining environmental data, behaviour, and motivation reveals when animals are likely uncomfortable.
24. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of using the signal-of-need and signal-of-quality frameworks for understanding parent–offspring communication, including potential confounds and experimental controls.
Signal-of-need and signal-of-quality both explain how parents decide which offspring to feed. Need signals reflect hunger; quality signals show condition. Both can be true at once, making them hard to separate. Factors like food supply or predator risk can confuse results. Good experimental design controls hunger, uses sham handling controls, and randomises chick positions to reveal which signal is operating.
25. Discuss the ethical considerations in animal behaviour research, comparing Western utilitarian/deontological perspectives with Kaupapa Māori relational ethics, and explain how these influence research design and practice.
Utilitarianism weighs harm against benefit and may allow harm if justified. Deontology values animal rights and forbids certain actions regardless of outcome. Kaupapa Māori ethics focus on relationships, respect, and tikanga, often including cultural practices like karakia. These perspectives influence species choice, handling methods, use of the Three Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement), and community engagement in animal research.
Advanced Animal Behaviour – Practice Question Bank
Section A: Multiple Choice
(1 mark each)
1. According to Trivers’ (1974) parent–offspring conflict model, an offspring will demand parental care until:
The benefit to itself is greater than half the cost to its siblings.
2. Which hypothesis predicts that begging intensity reflects current hunger and leads to more even food distribution among siblings?
B. Signal-of-need
3. In the barn swallow gape-colour experiment, painting the gape red tested:
B. Signal-of-quality hypothesis
4. Which of the following is an example of facultative siblicide?
B. Blue-footed booby
5. In common cuckoos, precise egg mimicry is most likely to evolve when:
B. Hosts have high rejection ability
6. In sexual selection theory, anisogamy refers to:
B. Unequal gamete size between sexes
7. The mate-assistance hypothesis predicts monogamy is favoured when:
B. Male parental care increases offspring survival
Answer: B
8. Which mating system is characterised by no stable pair bonds and both sexes mating multiply?
D. Promiscuity
Answer: D
9. Sexual conflict that results in male traits harming female fitness, followed by female counter-adaptations, is called:
B. Sexually antagonistic coevolution
Answer: B
10. The “Three Rs” in animal ethics refer to:
A. Replacement, Reduction, Refinement
Answer: A