Animal Behavior (BIOL 408) Dr. Gene Sattler
Liberty University
Study Guide – Exam III
This study guide is only meant to help organize the material from your notes as you review these notes. It is not
meant to be an exhaustive summary of everything that might be on the exam, but on the other hand, not
everything covered on it is going to be on the exam either. It just tries to summarize the highlights and details of
the material covered.
Chapter 8 – Choosing Where to Live
Parapatric range: ranges that do not overlap but are adjacent to each other.
Biotic/abiotic: Biotic = interactions with other organisms, Abiotic = physical and chemical factors
Habitat imprinting: when an animal develops a strong preference for a specific habitat based on early
experiences
during a critical part of their development (chipping sparrows preferring pine over
oak)
Sink population: individuals inhabiting lower quality habitats (mortality > productivity). Individuals may choose a
lower quality habitat because source population territories are full or individual is of lower rank on
dominance
hierarchy.
source population: individuals inhabiting higher quality habitats (productivity > mortality)
Philopatry: to remain near the place of birth.
Resource-defense mating system: when males compete indirectly by acquiring a good territory
Mate-defense mating system: males compete directly with other males for mates by fighting.
Migration: regular and often seasonal movement back and forth often between more distant locations because
of
resource availability
Partial migration: some, but not all, individuals of a species migrate (American Robin)
Differential migration: migration behavior that differs among age or sex (Saw-Whet owl, usually females migrate
further)
Conditional Strategy: determined by state/circumstances rather than a fixed pattern (versus a hereditary
strategy
which is genetic/instinct).
Territoriality: an area that an individual defends against an intruder
Home advantage: their greater familiarity with the territory’s resources makes the territory more valuable to
them
(they’ll probably fight harder for it).
“Dear enemy” effect: once boundary disputes between neighbors have been settled, there is less cost to
maintaining them than having to establish new ones if you lose your territory and have to establish a new one.
Territorial neighbors benefit more from having an established neighbor as a competitor because of the decreased
costs of maintaining established boundaries, sometimes they will form alliances to repulse a challenger to either
one of them. It is to the individual’s benefit to help a neighbor because if a new challenger is successful then they
will have to go through another boundary dispute.
Floater: males/females without a territory, wait for a territory to open when the current owner dies so that they
can
take advantage of the
vacancy.
Sneaker male: do not defend a territory, they mimic the appearance of a female and when a male mates
with a
female (like in fish) he slips in and also deposits some sperm over the
eggs
Satellite male: don’t defend a territory, lurk at a distance from a male who is attracting a female, when
she
approaches he then attempts to mate with
her
Chapter 9 – Communication
Communication: a sender transmits information to a receiver, who uses the information in a response.
Misinformation: a sender transmits a signal meant to mislead the receiver (camouflage, mimicry)
Eavesdropping: a receiver intercepts and exploits cues from a sender who is not benefitted (prey
detecting
predator, or vice
versa)
True communication: a sender and receiver both benefit from the exchange of information
(mating/territorial
display)
Display: a behavior pattern adapted/designed to serve as a social signal.
Chapter 10 – Sexual Reproduction and Sexual Selection
Intrasexual selection: within same sex, usually male-male competition
Intersexual selection: between sexes, usually female choice of male (he displays)
Conditional strategy: the individual has inherited the flexibility to use different tactics under different conditions
Distinct strategy: the individual has inherited the ability to use only one of multiple alternate tactics that exist in
the
species, each tactic has advantages under certain conditions so it is maintained in the
population
Nuptial gift: the male gives the female something in order to win her favor (example: the male kills and gifts an
insect, gains the most
matings)
Mate guarding: males regularly “police” their mate’s activity after mating because they want to prevent
extrapair
copulation
s
Handicap principle: a variant of the good genes hypothesis, males that have survived and succeeded
despite
elaborate/heavy/conspicuous plumage must have good
genes.
Chapter 8 – Choosing Where to Live
1. Understand three primary factors that can influence where a species is found, giving examples of each.
1. Physical and chemical factors (temperature, moisture)
2. Interactions with other organisms (competition, predation, disease agents).
3. Lack of opportunity to disperse (the further from the mainland the less diversity an island has)
2. As illustrated from the example of an Australian gecko, understand that the proximate environmental cues
that an animal uses to choose its habitat are typically complex, involving multiple factors that are prioritized
because tradeoffs must sometimes be made.
There are multiple proximate factors that come into play when choosing a habitat, and some factor are prioritized
because tradeoffs needs to be made.
The Australian gecko prefers warmer basking sites but will abandon a warmer site due to snake scent, and when
larger males are present the gecko will choose a cooler site WITH snake scent over fighting the dominant male.
The factors they consider and rank:
Dominance relationship > snake free > temperature
3. As illustrated from examples involving chipping sparrows and mountain sheep, understand that genetic
factors, habitat imprinting, and tradition can all play a role in the development of habitat selection.
Factors that play a role in habitat selection include: genetic factors, habitat imprinting, and tradition.
Mountain sheep: have 2-7 patchy, season grassland home ranges. The knowledge of where and when to visit
them is passed on across generations.
Chipping sparrows: generally, prefer nesting in pine to oak, and exposure only to oak can only partially offset this.
4. Concerning the function of habitat selection in aiding an individual’s survival and reproduction, understand
the concepts of source and sink populations, how territory size can vary due to differences in habitat quality,
and as illustrated by honeybees how individuals have the ability to assess the quality of habitat.
Source population: individuals inhabiting a high-quality habitat, habitats are
usually smaller
Sink populations: individuals inhabiting a low-quality habitat, habitats are usually larger to
compensate
Honeybees can recognize proper habitat and assess its quality, the scout’s dance vigor drops off with
each return
from a potential nest site. If many scouts like the site then visits there will increases, once a threshold
number of
scouts are visiting it, a “piping’ signal tells the rest of the swarm to warm up and move
to the site.
5. Understand the costs and benefits of dispersal, the two general patterns of dispersal found in mammals and
birds with respect to which sex generally disperses a greater distance, and the possible explanations for each
of these patterns, based on whether a resource-defense or a mate-defense mating system exists, as well as
problem with these explanations.
Costs: energy expenditure and predation risks
Benefits: reduced competition and avoidance of inbreeding
General patterns of dispersal
-Birds : males are philopatric while females engage in longer dispersal movements. Birds are monogamous
so males compete more indirectly by acquiring and keeping a good territory (resource defense mating
system), and its easier to find a territory in an area you are familiar with. Female birds have better options
for males and territory/less chance of inbreeding by dispersing further.
-Mammals : females are philopatric while males engage in longer dispersal movements. Mammals are
usually polyamorous, and males compete directly by fighting with other males (mate defense mating
system). Its easier for a subordinate male to move on and find his own territory far away. Females tend to
associate with other females of their extended family closer to home so there are benefits to group living.
Males avoid inbreeding by dispersing away.
Problems:
- Of 13 species of mammals that are territorial like birds, only one had female-based dispersal like birds.
- More than one factor can be involved in a given case and different factors are probably important in
different species.
6. Understand the differences between dispersal and migration, and between partial migration and differential
migration. Also be able to explain the two primary hypotheses offered to explain the differential migration
pattern seen in birds, where females and juveniles often migrate a greater distance. Finally, be able to explain
two primary reasons that can explain partial migration in some birds species.
Dispersal: a relatively permanent and random movement of an individual from an area.
Migration: a regular and often seasonal movement aback and forth often between more distant locations
because
of resource availability.
Partial migration: some, but not all, individuals of a species migrate
Differential migration: migration behavior that differs among age or sex classes
-Social dominance hypothesis: males typically dominate juveniles and females, including food resources,
so they force subordinates to migrate further
-Closeness to breeding site hypothesis: males who migrate benefit from migrating shorter distances so
they can get back quicker in the spring
Explanation for partial migration:
1. Different environments
2. Different social status (subordinate birds may be forced to migrate as resources go to the dominant
individuals)
7. Be able to recognize and illustrate five different benefits to migration in birds that winter in the tropics and
breed in temperate regions.
1. Food/energy is more available (limited by temperature and moisture)
2. Climate can be more hospitable
3. Day length is longer in temperate areas compared to the tropics
4. Year around warmth and moisture in the tropics, so there is higher competition in the tropics and less
competition in the temperate areas
5. Season population fluctuations of prey in temperate areas means fewer predators
8. Be able to explain from data on Yarrow’s spiny lizards and American redstarts a major cost and benefit of
territoriality.
Costs include time, energy, and risk of predation and injury.
Yarrows spiny lizard: increased testosterone (via implants) lead to decreased survival when no food was given to
offset the energy demands.
Benefits (usually exceed costs) include increased survival and/or reproduction.
American Redstarts: departed wintering territories earlier for breeding grounds, fledged more young, versus
when they occupied the preferred and presumably higher quality black mangrove habitat.
9. Be able to explain the “dear enemy” effect with respect to territoriality, and how floaters, sneaker males, and
satellite males all influence the dynamics of territoriality.
Dear enemy effect: once boundary disputes between neighbors have been settled, it is of lower cost to maintain
those boundaries than to have to establish new ones with a new competitor, so sometimes neighbors will work
together to repel a challenger.
Floaters: males/females without a territory, they wait for a current territory holder to die so they
can take
advantage of the
vacancy.
Sneaker males: don’t defend a territory, mimic the appearance of a female and lurk near a male’s
territory, and
then when the male mates with a female he slips in and also deposits some sperm on
her eggs.
Satellite males: don’t defend a territory, lurk at a distance from a male who is attracting a female,
when she
approaches he then attempts to mate
with her
Chapter 9 – Communication
1. Understand the basic definition of communication and be able to distinguish between the three subcategories
of misinformation, eavesdropping, and true communication, illustrating each with an example.
In definitions above
2. Be able to list and illustrate the six primary sensory modes by which animals communicate.
1. Auditory
2. Visual
3. Odor
4. Vibrations
5. Touch
6. Electric field
3. Be able to list and illustrate the nine primary functions of communication, also identifying two different
subcategories of reproduction, spacing/attraction, food, alarm, agonism/social status, and recognition.
1. Reproduction (measure condition, synchronization)
2. Spacing/attraction (contact calls, assembly pheromones)
3. Food (location, hunting intention)
4. Alarm (predator warning, discourage predator)
5. Agonism/social status (dominant/submissive, warning/threat)
6. Recognition (species, group membership)
7. Synchronize hatching
8. Soliciting care and giving
9. Play intention
4. Be able to relate the different characteristics of bird song in open and forested habitat with the
environmental
influences that are believed to be related to these
differences.
Open country = complex songs, high frequency, because there is little echoing to distort them or scatter.
Forested habitat = simple songs, lower frequency, because complex songs are more easily distorted and high
frequency sounds do not carry as far as low frequency
sounds.
5. Be able to distinguish the different characteristics of honest versus deceptive communication, illustrating each.
Honest signals
- Cannot be faked
- And/or energetically expensive
- Are a reliable indicator of the sender’s fitness
- Typical within a “community of interest.”
- Examples: European toads (deeper call = larger toad and favored by females), stotting gazelle
Deceptive signals
- Can be faked
- Energetically cheap
- Typical when there is “conflict of interest”
- Exploits an adaptive communication system in which it is costly for participants to not respond to the signal
- Examples: predatory firefly, bird mimicking meerkat lookout’s warning cry.
6. Be able to relate some examples from the video “Talking to Strangers” viewed on your own online with the
concepts from this chapter discussed in lecture.
Chapter 10 – Sexual Reproduction and Sexual Selection/“The Trials of Life: Courting”
1. From the Trials of Life video on “Courting” viewed on your own online be able to recognize what aspects of
sexual selection some of the animals shown in the video illustrate, including the nightingale, helicopter damselfly,
hangingfly, salamander, bowerbird, and manikins.
Nightingale: song complexity (sings)
Helicopter damselfly: resource-defense (the puddle for the babies)
Hangingfly: nuptial gift (gives the female a fly to convince her to mate with him)
Salamander: resource-defense (defends home near termite nest bc termites are better than ants)
Bowerbird: elaborateness of bower
Manikins: vigorousness of display (bird who dances)
2. Understand that there are three hypotheses for which sex is choosier in mate selection; all three of which can
explain the pattern we see, depending on the species. For each hypothesis, be able to give an example of a
species that illustrates it, explaining how it supports that hypothesis.
Gamete investment: females invest more in their gametes (females are born with/have a limited number of
eggs), a greater investment could lead to more choosiness in a mate. Sometimes roles are reversed, for example
crickets produce a spermatophore and the females compete for it.
Offspring investment: usually the female, whoever raises the young would puts more energy into them will be
choosier with their mate. For example, in seahorses the male carries the babies in his pouch so the females
compete for a male to carry their eggs.
Reproductive capacity: this depends on which sex is a limited resource reproductively, this can switch back and
forth depending on resource availability—like food. Example: when food is plentiful male katydids produce
spermatophores and try to give it to a female, but when food is scarce they produce fewer spermatophores and
the females fight over the males.
3. Understand that intrasexual selection (usually male-male) can be divided up into competition that occurs before
mating/fertilization and competition that occurs after mating/fertilization. For intraspecific competition before
mating, be able to describe the five ways that this can occur, illustrating with an example. For competition after
mating be able to describe the two ways that this can occur, elaborating on a couple of the ways that sperm
competition can occur.
Intrasexual selection: competition that occurs BEFORE mating/fertilization and AFTER mating/fertilization
Intraspecific competition:
BEFORE MATING
1. Outright battles
2. Dominance hierarchies
3. Sneaker and satellite males
4. Mating when dominant male is distracted/cannot prevent access to all of his harem
5. Subordinate male-male alliance against dominant male, and subordinate male alliances with females,
gaining matings for care/protection
AFTER MATING
1. Mate guarding (policing mate’s activity after mating to prevent extrapair copulations)
2. Sperm competition
- Variation in quantity/quality of sperm
- Sperm displacement (removal of sperm from reproductive tract)
- Order of fertilization can influence which sperm is successful, females can also sometimes have control over
whose sperm is successful
4. Regarding intraspecific competition, understand the difference between a conditional strategy and a distinct
strategy. Be able to illustrate a conditional strategy using either the example of horseshoe crabs or scorpionflies,
explaining how an individual in each case might change its strategy, depending on the conditions it finds itself in
(example health or size). Also be able to illustrate a distinct strategy using the example of sponge isopods,
explaining how three different sized individuals, genetically programmed for that size, each has a different
strategy for mating success that allows it to coexist with the other two under certain conditions.
Conditional strategy: individual has the inherited flexibility to use different tactics under different conditions -
In horseshoe crabs, the dominant males wait offshore and intercept females coming ashore to lay
eggs - They attach to them and accompany them to shore
- Satellite males wait on shore and by crowding in, they manage to fertilize some eggs, but 10% less
- Healthy individuals choose a better strategy, worn/older individuals make the best of their condition and
gain some fertilizations on the beach rather than being pushed off when trying to attach to females
Distinct strategy: the individual has the inherited ability to use only one of multiple alternate tactics that exist in
the species, each tactic has advantages under certain conditions so is maintained in the population.
- In sponge isopods there are three distinct forms that exist: alpha, beta, and gamma
- Large alpha males physically throw small males out of sponges, beta males can mimic females though, so
they don’t get thrown out
- Small gamma males are like satellite males
- One female in sponge then alpha male controls her and mates the most, lots of females then alpha can’t
control all and beta mates most, under other conditions, gamma male mates most. Each distinct strategy is
maintained.
5. Regarding interspecific competition, be able to give four examples/illustrations of material benefits. For
nonmaterial benefits, be able to explain each of the four hypotheses for why a female might chose a particular
male that does not provide her with any material benefits. For the good genes hypothesis, be able to list several
potential indicators of a males fitness or genetic quality, and also be able to explain how the handicap principle
relates to this hypothesis. Also have an idea of which hypothesis or hypotheses seems to have the strongest
evidence in its favor.
Material benefits:
1. Territorial benefits (food, nesting resources)
2. Parental care (incubating, brooding, feeding)
3. Nuptial (prey, body product like spermatophore)
4. Protection from harassment from other males
Non-material benefits:
1. Good genes hypothesis: a males appearance/display might indicate he is of higher fitness because he
carries genes of higher quality (bright, elaborate plumage, vigorousness of display, song complexity, flight
performance, and the handicap principle is that males may have survived and succeeded in spite of
elaborate/heavy plumage that is conspicuous to must have good genes)
2. Healthy male theory: a males appearance/display might indicate he is less likely to be a carrier of disease
or parasites
3. Runaway selection theory: females might have a genetic preference for some trait that they use in
choosing a male (by a mutation). Offspring of those females will then carry those preferable traits, which
they will pass on to their children. Sons benefit because they are chosen by females with the same
preference, and daughters benefit because they will produce their own sons which will be chosen by
females with the preference. A runaway process could develop, in which over-exaggerated forms of the
trait develop so that it becomes adaptive only because females prefer it, otherwise it is maladaptive to the
males
4. Chase away selection theory: males might develop a trait that is attractive to females (by mutation) only
because of a genetic preference by females, as in runaway selection. Females might be induced to mate
with him because of this trait even if the male doesn’t provide any material/genetic benefits. Females
might then develop the genetic preference to reject this type of male, to which they develop a more
extreme form of this trait to overcome the female’s resistance, cycle repeats as a result of selection based
on a conflict between the sexes.
Animal Intelligence and Consciousness (videos)
1. Be able to briefly explain and illustrate the seven types of intelligence covered in our video.
1. Mental map
2. Insight learning
3. Tool use
4. Imitative learning
5. Classification
6. Numerical competence
7. Language
2. Be able to briefly explain and illustrate the six types of consciousness covered in our video.
1. Awareness
2. Orientation/navigation
3. Abstract thought
4. Language
5. Self-awareness
6. Pain and death
