Name__________Luis Aguirre 800396580______ Using all the resources available to you, answer the following questions:

Biology 4324 FINAL

1). What are the three ways we discussed that animals avoid predators? Can you think of an additional predator avoidance behavior? How does it work? Why does it work? (Ch 11; 10 pts) Blending into the environment, being quiet, and choosing safe habitats Another predator avoidance behavior could be schooling in fish. Fish stay together for social reasons and form large groups called schools. Schools avoid predation by diluting the chance of individual capture and through better predator detection. 2). Imagine you are studying a group of amphibian species that vary in their habitats, some living in dense murky water, and others living in very clear ponds. What kind of communication problems exist in each environment? What sorts of differences in communication systems would you expect to see across species? (Ch 12; 10 pts) In a murky environment there are visibility issues that inhibit proper interaction between individuals. In a clear pond communication can be inhibited because predators can more clearly visualize prey. In murky water those amphibians may rely more on vocal communication to overcome low visibility. In a clear pond those amphibians may be living closer to avoid predation and/or may rely on chemical communication to avoid predation 3). How has research on birdsong provided insight into both proximate and ultimate questions regarding communication? (Ch 12; 10 pts) I think research on birdsong has provided an insight into the proximate questions regarding communication because it shows that the immediate reason for a bird to sing is to attract a female. Experiments (like the ones we saw on class) show that a female birds copulation grows longer after hearing a males song. For this behavior to have occurred there needed to be a need for communication, a need for males to try to win over a female, and this is where ultimate reasons regarding communication comes in, from a need and a reason to communicate with others. 4). Consider Mller and Erritzes work on immune defense and migration behavior (pg. 450). Can you make any predictions regarding how a migrating species might fare against local parasites (in both its habitats) as compared to a resident species? What is the logic underlying your hypothesis? (Ch 13; 10 pts) Migrating species will probably have a hard time facing local parasites. They will get sick more readily than local species and many will die. Because they are not from the area their bodies (immune system) are not ready to defend against a parasite it has not encountered before. As interaction with said parasite increases, the immune response from the migrating species will become stronger, making it resistant to the parasite.

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Name__________Luis Aguirre 800396580______

Biology 4324 FINAL

5). If stress-related hormones such as cortisol often inhibit learning and/or memory, how might that compound the difficulties subordinate fish face in trying to raise their rank in hierarchies? (Ch 14; 10 pts) A subordinate fish might be more susceptible to stress because of its rank. If stress-related hormones often inhibit learning and/or memory some of the difficulties that fish will face in trying to raise its rank in hierarchies are learning good hiding spots to avoid predation will become harder Learning better hunting moves will also become harder Stress has metabolic costs that compete with other functions All of these interfere with a fishs growth, making it harder for the fish to get bigger, thus reducing its chances to raise its rank 6). What is the difference between aging and senescence? (Ch 16; 10 pts) Aging is getting chronologically older. Senescence is loss of an ability as aging occurs, especially cognitive. 7). How would you construct an experiment to examine whether boldness or/or shyness are heritable traits? (Ch 17; 10 pts) Boldness usually refers to the ability of an individual to take risks no matter what the situation is. Shyness usually refers to the reluctance/inability to take risks regardless of the situation. I think a good way of examining if these behaviors are hereditable is to set up a breeding program. Selecting individuals that clearly show these two characteristics in behavior and mating them with each other (boldness and shyness are breed separately). If these behaviors are hereditable there must be a statistical correlation between the individuals selected in breeding and in the behaviors studied. A DNA test could be made to see is there is a gene that relates to each behavior within the populations that were breed. 8). Describe Chapter 15 on Play in our book using Niko Tinbergen's four questions: (20 pts) Function How does the behavior affect the animal's chances of survival and reproduction? Why does the animal respond that way instead of some other way? Play affects the animals chances of survival by helping it to get used to the environment it lives on and by helping it develop motor skills that the animal will need in the future. I think the animal responds that way in a form of interaction with its peers, as a form of social interaction and insticnt Causation What are the stimuli that elicit the response, and how has it been modified by recent learning? Living in a social environment makes animals interact with each other. Forming bonds with their peers elicits the response to play. Learning changes many behaviors in an animal, and learning 2|Page

Name__________Luis Aguirre 800396580______

Biology 4324 FINAL

different actions through play can affect an animals response to different stimuli, but play does not change very much, it is used to interact with peers. Development How does the behavior change with age, and what early experiences are necessary for the behavior to be displayed? As an animal grows (if it lives in a social environment) it still has to interact with other individuals and play is still a good way to interact with other individuals and/or to teach infants other skills. For play to be displayed an animal just needs another individual to be present. Evolutionary history How does the behavior compare with similar behavior in related species, and how might it have begun through the process of phylogeny? I think play is an instinct within some animals to interact with the environment and to discover how things function and how things are. I think it developed as a way to explore and learn and became so efficient that the behavior stayed within the animals that had enough brain cognitive function.

PAPER on illness: Describe how feeding and social behaviors can predict which animals are at risk of becoming ill? (10 pts) Feeding behaviors and social behaviors are two types of measures that can be used to predict which animals are at risk of getting ill. Feeding behaviors can predict this by creating a system based on feeding frequency, intake and duration. A healthy animal spends more time feeding than a sick one. Animals in good shape, health wise, will spend more energy to get up and eat than a sick one that wont even try to get up. Social behaviors can predict this by creating a system based on competiveness. The strongest individual will get food while the others will get weaker, thus becoming susceptible to diseases. The paper mentioned that there are animals that can adapt to these social behaviors making them able to surpass these problems and survive without getting sick.

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