BIOL 459 Midterm Exam (Latest 2026/ 2027
Update) Actual Questions & Answers | 100%
Verified | Grade A | Complete-PDF
How are psychology and ethology different?
psychology links what people do to their brain
ethoogy is animal behavior
What is behavioural ecology?
a large subdivision of ethology, looks at behaviour, interactions within a populaion and comunity.
usually evoluntoary context
Know tinbergens 4 levels of analysis
-causation: why does an animal act a certain way (cause/physioloigcal mechansim)
-ontongeny (developmental history): why do calls change with development
-function (adaptation): how does this set of behaviours arise? is it adaptive
-phylogeny; how did this trait/behvaiour eveolve?
what are proxmiate questions/mechansims?
what are ultimate questions/mechansims?
, BIOL 459 Midterm Exam (Latest 2026/ 2027
Update) Actual Questions & Answers | 100%
Verified | Grade A | Complete-PDF
know the requirement for natrual selection
-reproduction
-heritable variation
-differential fecundity/survival
-competition
what forces other than natural selection result in evolutionary change?
-mutation, genetic drift, gene flow, natural selectoin.
be able to explain how gene might produce/influence behvaiour
differences in behaviour are affected by genes.
cake analogy:
-change one ingrediant, might drastically change the cake. determined by genes
interaction between genetic and envrionmental nfluence make up behaviour.
look into fly example.
how do foraging genes affect behaviour in Drosophilia, Apis?
behaviour can be influenced by different alleles or differences in expression:
some flies are sitters, others are rovers (move around)
for R - higher PKG activty in the brain - forager
for r - lower PKG activty (recessive)-sitter
, BIOL 459 Midterm Exam (Latest 2026/ 2027
Update) Actual Questions & Answers | 100%
Verified | Grade A | Complete-PDF
protein produced by the foraging gene is PKG which turns genes on and off by phosphorylating
other genes.
Apis (bees) pleiotropy; one gene with multiple expresison
bees change their behaviour epdning on how old they are because as they age their gene becomes
more expressed. increasing PKG switchs them to a foraging behabour. as they get older more
PKG expressed, they leave the nest and search for nectar.
be able to explain the wynne-edwards model of group selection
a level of selection happening on top of normal selection (group selection)
model to explain how Alturistic genotype could go to fixation and could be stabel.
could occur if little migration happens, and the selfish genotype goes extinct very quickly after
fixation this would result in selection for the alturistic genotype.
group selection does not occur often but it can.
if group selection is possible, why is it probably rare?
only occurs if migration is rare. indiv selection occurs more quickly and migration is hard to
block therefore alturism rarely occurs. too many constraints.
higher density = more group selection
What is an example of a tradeoff?
if you have. clutch size too large you could end up dying sooner in life before your reproductyl
done. so then you have to decide hw to maximize successful offspirng. smaller clutch has less
babies but a longer life ot make even more... but you also want to make babies before you die...
trade-offs.
Update) Actual Questions & Answers | 100%
Verified | Grade A | Complete-PDF
How are psychology and ethology different?
psychology links what people do to their brain
ethoogy is animal behavior
What is behavioural ecology?
a large subdivision of ethology, looks at behaviour, interactions within a populaion and comunity.
usually evoluntoary context
Know tinbergens 4 levels of analysis
-causation: why does an animal act a certain way (cause/physioloigcal mechansim)
-ontongeny (developmental history): why do calls change with development
-function (adaptation): how does this set of behaviours arise? is it adaptive
-phylogeny; how did this trait/behvaiour eveolve?
what are proxmiate questions/mechansims?
what are ultimate questions/mechansims?
, BIOL 459 Midterm Exam (Latest 2026/ 2027
Update) Actual Questions & Answers | 100%
Verified | Grade A | Complete-PDF
know the requirement for natrual selection
-reproduction
-heritable variation
-differential fecundity/survival
-competition
what forces other than natural selection result in evolutionary change?
-mutation, genetic drift, gene flow, natural selectoin.
be able to explain how gene might produce/influence behvaiour
differences in behaviour are affected by genes.
cake analogy:
-change one ingrediant, might drastically change the cake. determined by genes
interaction between genetic and envrionmental nfluence make up behaviour.
look into fly example.
how do foraging genes affect behaviour in Drosophilia, Apis?
behaviour can be influenced by different alleles or differences in expression:
some flies are sitters, others are rovers (move around)
for R - higher PKG activty in the brain - forager
for r - lower PKG activty (recessive)-sitter
, BIOL 459 Midterm Exam (Latest 2026/ 2027
Update) Actual Questions & Answers | 100%
Verified | Grade A | Complete-PDF
protein produced by the foraging gene is PKG which turns genes on and off by phosphorylating
other genes.
Apis (bees) pleiotropy; one gene with multiple expresison
bees change their behaviour epdning on how old they are because as they age their gene becomes
more expressed. increasing PKG switchs them to a foraging behabour. as they get older more
PKG expressed, they leave the nest and search for nectar.
be able to explain the wynne-edwards model of group selection
a level of selection happening on top of normal selection (group selection)
model to explain how Alturistic genotype could go to fixation and could be stabel.
could occur if little migration happens, and the selfish genotype goes extinct very quickly after
fixation this would result in selection for the alturistic genotype.
group selection does not occur often but it can.
if group selection is possible, why is it probably rare?
only occurs if migration is rare. indiv selection occurs more quickly and migration is hard to
block therefore alturism rarely occurs. too many constraints.
higher density = more group selection
What is an example of a tradeoff?
if you have. clutch size too large you could end up dying sooner in life before your reproductyl
done. so then you have to decide hw to maximize successful offspirng. smaller clutch has less
babies but a longer life ot make even more... but you also want to make babies before you die...
trade-offs.
