Behavior Practice Exam Flashcards

When building a nest, a female Fisher's lovebird cuts long strips of vegetation and carries them to the nest site one at a time in her beak. The female peach-faced lovebird cuts short strips and carries them to the nest tucked under back feathers. Hybrid female offspring cut intermediate-sized strips and attempt to tuck them under back feathers before carrying them in their beak. What does this demonstrate about behavior? A)Lovebirds can be trained easily. B)The smaller the strip, the easier it is to carry. C)There is a genetic basis to behavior. D)Behavior can be learned from parents. E)Environment is important in forming behaviors.

Many rats were tested for their ability to learn a maze. The average number of errors for a total of 14 trials was 64 per rat. The rats that made the fewest errors were bred to each other, and the offspring were tested in a similar way. This process was repeated for seven generations, at which point the average number of errors for 14 trials was 36. This experiment demonstrates that: A)maze-learning ability depends mainly on early contact with adept parents. B)maze-learning ability increases with increasing homozygosity of the genome. C)natural selection has a role in the evolution of fixed action patterns but not in the evolution of behavior involving learning. D)maze-learning ability has a genetic basis. E)learned behavior cannot be inherited.

The modification of behavior based upon specific experiences defines: A)associative learning. B)imprinting. C)habituation. D)conditioning. E)learning.

When you successfully study with the stereo on in the background, you are demonstrating: A)conditioning. B)imprinting. C)habituation. D)imitation. E)associative learning.

The most extensive study of cognitive maps have involved animals that: A)build nests. B)engage in thermoregulation. C)hibernate. D)migrate. E)burrow extensive tunnels into the ground.

Squirrels on a bird feeder seem to be able to figure out how to steal seeds no matter what people do to prevent it. Yesterday, Jeremy hung out a new bird feeder design, and sure enough, by the end of the day the squirrels found a way to get to the seeds. The squirrels most likely figured out how to get the seeds through: A)imprinting. B)spatial learning. C)trial-and-error learning. D)the use of cognitive maps. E)habituation.

A big difference between imitation (social learning) and imprinting is that: A)imprinting does not involve a reward. B)imprinting does not involve learning. C)imitation has a primarily genetic basis. D)imprinting can only take place among members of the same species. E)imitation is not limited to a sensitive period.

Organisms that are nocturnal are more likely to communicate using: A)touch, taste, sight, and sound. B)smell and sound. C)sight and sound. D)touch and taste. E)sight and smell.

Which of the following situations represents the best example of territoriality? A)Male redwing blackbirds occupy and defend parcels of marsh. A dozen or more females nest in each parcel, which provides food and nesting sites. B)Humans building fences. C)Male chipmunks occupy areas that contain ranges of several females. A male chipmunk defends his area against other males and females. D)Males of an antelope species gather daily on a mating ground during the mating season. Each male defends a large segment of the ground. E)Troops of monkey species use well-defined, widely overlapping ranges. Troops avoid encountering each other and are aggressive if they meet.

Pecking order in chickens and officer ranks in the military examples of: A)agonistic behavior. B)social behavior. C)mating behavior. D)dominance hierarchy. E)alpha order.

Which of the following statements about chimpanzee behavior ( and also comparative human behavior) is true? A)Male chimps do not have a hierarchy. B)The more frequent and vigorous the display by a male, the more likely it is that he will never attain a high social position. C)Social grooming is the single most important social activity in the chimp community. D)Female chimps do not have a hierarchy. E)Social primates spend no time in reconciliation and pacification-type behavior.

An adult human jumps into a raging river to try to save a child who is drowning and is unrelated to the adult. This is an example of: A)ingrained behavior. B)reciprocal altruism. C)imprinted behavior. D)dominant behavior. E)kin selection.

Human social behavior appears to be: A)determined by the environment. B)a product of our genes. C)unrelated to genetics. D)a result of many generations of intense competition. E)a product of our genes, external influences, and environment.

Which of the following is NOT true about human population? A)It has destroyed more than 50% of the natural forests on the earth. B)It is the cause of global warming C)It has risen from 2.2 billion to 7 billion in less than 100 years. D)It is causing the sixth mass extinction E)There are enough resources on the earth to support 9 billion people sustainably if we just use alternative energy sources

The primary goal of conservation biology is to: A)maximize the land set aside for wildlife. B)integrate human culture back into nature. C)counter the loss of biodiversity. D)estimate the total number of species that exist. E)catalogue species.

The three greatest current threats to biodiversity, in order starting with the greatest, are: A)habitat destruction, the introduction of invasive species, and overexploitation. B)the introduction of invasive species, habitat destruction, and overexploitation. C)overexploitation, habitat destruction, and the introduction of invasive species. D)the introduction of invasive species, overexploitation, and habitat destruction. E)habitat destruction, overexploitation, and the introduction of invasive species.

Farmers spray pastures with a pesticide, such that the concentration of the pesticide in the tissues of the grass is 10-6 parts per million (ppm). Grasshoppers eat the grass and are in turn eaten by chickens, which are then eaten by people. Keeping in mind that roughly 10% of the energy at a trophic level is transferred to the next highest trophic level, what do you estimate to be the concentration of the pesticide in the tissues of the people? A)10-2 ppm B)10-3 ppm C)10-4 ppm D)10-6 ppm E)10-5 ppm

CO2 flooding into the atmosphere is absorbed by ________ and converted into biomass.: A)the sun B)large land masses C)other atmosphere gases D)plants, trees and ocean algae E)the ozone layer

Some populations may avoid extinction as the climate changes, especially those with high genetic variability and short life spans, through: A)evolutionary adaptation. B)feedback inhibition. C)genetic modification. D)distribution of populations. E)genetic shift.

A proactive conservation strategy: A)uses bioengineering to increase genetic diversity in populations. B)tries to boost declining populations through captive breeding. C)seeks to detect, diagnose, and halt population declines. D)is no longer considered valid, as populations are already too small. E)seeks to merge small populations into larger populations.

The areas that exhibit the highest species diversity are: A)open ocean B)forest C)wetlands D)chaparral E)mountains

Sustainablility of an ecological system that will support billions of humans for generations to come will require all of the following EXCEPT: A)an increase in material product consumption to improve the economy B)reduction of energy requirements C)huge changes in human behavior toward the environment D)global, multinational cooperation E)control of human population

When a nipple is placed in a newborn baby's mouth, the infant will immediately begin to suckle. This is an example of: A)imprinted behavior. B)innate behavior. C)classical conditioning. D)habituation. E)imitation.

Which of the following statements regarding behavior is true? A)Fixed action patterns are learned behavior sequences. B)Innate behaviors are performed the same way in all members of a genus. C)A fixed action pattern is under strong genetic control. D)Innate behaviors are not related to genetics. E)A learned behavior triggers a fixed action pattern.

Examles of human instincts include all of the following EXCEPT: A)believing what we are told B)reproduction C)gathering stuff to improve survival D)fighting over resources E)protecting the environment

Five-year-old Jasmine was helping her mother bake cookies. She watched her mother carefully measure out the sugar, then heard her mother say, "Please open the oven door." When the cookies were placed into the oven, Jasmine knew to close the door. After an hour, when the cookies were done, the oven timer rang, and Jasmine knew that it was time to open the oven again. When the cookies came out, nobody had to tell Jasmine to eat the cookies. Her mouth was already watering! Which of the following is an innate sign stimulus from this story? A)Jasmine's mother watching when the measuring cup of sugar was full. B)Jasmine's mother asking her to open the oven door. C)Jasmine watching to see when the cookies were placed in the oven and when to close the oven door. D)The smell of the cookies making Jasmine's mouth water. E)The sound of the timer going off, signaling that it was time to remove the cookies from the oven.