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?
a. Polygyny
b. Polyandry
c. Promiscuity
d. Certainty of paternity

What do proximate explanations of behavior focus on? a. how displays and other types of behavior have changed through time, or evolved b. the 'adaptive significance' of a behavior c. genetic, neurological, and hormonal mechanisms of behavior d. appropriate experimental methods when studying behavior

According to Hamilton's rule,

a. Natural selection does not favor altruistic behavior that causes the death of the altruist.

b. Natural selection favors altruistic acts when the resulting benefit to the recipient, corrected for relatedness, exceeds the cost to the altruist.

c. Natural selection is more likely to favor altruistic behavior that benefits an offspring than altruistic behavior that benefits a sibling.

d. The effects of kin selection are larger than the effects of direct natural selection on individuals.

Although many chimpanzee populations live in environments containing oil palm nuts, members of only a few populations use stones to crack open the nuts. The most likely explanation for this behavioral difference between populations is that

a. Members of different populations differ in manual dexterity.

b. Members of different populations have different nutritional requirements.

c. Members of different populations differ in learning ability.

d. The use of stones to crack nuts has arisen and spread through social learning in only some populations.

What do ultimate explanations of behavior focus on?

Pheasants do not feed their chicks. Immediately after hatching, a pheasant chick starts pecking at seeds and insects on the ground. How might a behavioral ecologist explain the ultimate cause of this behavior?

a. Pecking is an innate behavior

b. Pheasants learned to peck, and their offspring inherited this behavior

c. Pecking by newly hatched chicks is the result of trial-and-error learning

d. Pecking is a result of imprinting during a sensitive period.

A behavior is considered adaptive if it increases an individual's fitness. How is fitness measured? Select True or False for each statement.

T/F Strength

T/F Body size

T/F Speed

T/F Number of viable offspring

A region of the canary forebrain shrinks during the nonbreeding season and enlarges when breeding season begins. This change is probably associated with the annual

a. Addition of new syllables to a canary's song repertoire

b. Crystallization of subsong into adult songs

c. Sensitive period in which canary parents imprint on new offspring

d. Elimination of the memorized template for songs sung the previous year

A male redwing blackbird will chase predatory birds away from his breeding territory during nesting season. Which hypothesis best explains his behavior?

a. He is acting for the good of the species. He may die, but other birds of his species will be saved.

b. He knows this will increase his fitness, so he chases away the predator.

c. He carries a gene that causes fathers to protect their offspring, which increases inclusive fitness.

d. He has imprinted on the offspring in his nest, so he knows that they are his.