ASU BIO331 ANIMAL
BEHAVIOR PRACTICE
EXAM 60Q
Question 1: A researcher asks, 'Does increasing ambient temperature cause desert lizards to spend more time in shade?' Which statement is a prediction rather than a hypothesis?
Choices:
1) Higher temperatures alter the costs of remaining exposed and therefore change shade-use behavior.2) If ambient temperature is raised by 5°C, lizards will spend a greater proportion of the observation period in shade.3) Shade-seeking evolved because exposed lizards historically experienced lower survival.4) Lizards use thermal receptors in the skin to detect heat.Correct Answer: If ambient temperature is raised by 5°C, lizards will spend a greater proportion of the observation period in shade.Explanation: A prediction states the expected observation under speci�ed conditions, often in an if-then form. The statement that a 5°C increase will cause more time in shade is directly testable. The other choices are explanations about function or mechanism.Page 1
Question 2: A biologist measures how circulating testosterone changes neural
activity immediately before male songbirds sing. Which of Tinbergen's four questions is the study primarily addressing?
Choices:
1) Phylogeny 2) Ontogeny 3) Mechanism 4) Function
Correct Answer: Mechanism
Explanation: Mechanism asks how a behavior is produced in the present, including neural, hormonal, sensory, and physiological processes. Measuring testosterone and neural activity immediately before singing addresses proximate causation rather than development, evolutionary history, or adaptive value.Question 3: Which research question is primarily about the function of a behavior?
Choices:
1) How does a spider's visual system detect an approaching predator?2) Which ancestral spider lineage �rst evolved orb webs?3) At what age do juvenile spiders �rst build a complete web?4) Do spiders that place webs near lights capture more prey and produce more o�spring than spiders that do not?Correct Answer: Do spiders that place webs near lights capture more prey and produce more o�spring than spiders that do not?Explanation: Function concerns the �tness consequences or adaptive value of behavior.Comparing prey capture and reproductive success directly tests whether a behavior improves �tness. The other questions concern mechanism, ontogeny, or phylogeny.Page 2
Question 4: What distinguishes a chronogram from a phylogenetic tree that shows
only branching order?
Choices:
1) A chronogram contains only extinct taxa.2) A chronogram displays estimated timing or duration along branches.3) A chronogram must be based entirely on fossils.4) A chronogram can show behavior but not genetic relationships.Correct Answer: A chronogram displays estimated timing or duration along branches.Explanation: A chronogram is a time-calibrated phylogenetic tree, so branch positions or lengths represent estimated divergence times or durations. It can include living taxa and can use molecular, fossil, or combined evidence.Question 5: In a cross-fostering study, newborn mice from two genetic strains are exchanged between mothers of the two strains. What is the main advantage of this design for behavioral genetics?
Choices:
1) It guarantees that any behavioral di�erence has broad-sense heritability of 1.2) It eliminates all environmental variation.3) It converts a quantitative trait into a Mendelian trait.4) It separates o�spring genetic background from aspects of the rearing environment.Correct Answer: It separates o�spring genetic background from aspects of the rearing environment.Explanation: Cross-fostering breaks the usual association between o�spring genotype and the environment provided by the biological mother. Di�erences that track genetic strain despite foster environment support genetic e�ects, while di�erences that track foster environment support rearing e�ects.Page 3