Ecology Behavioral Ecology Concepts 3

Question 1

Hamilton's rule states that altruism evolves when rB > C. What does 'r' represent in this inequality?

Accepted Answer

Relatedness between actor and recipient

Answer

In Hamilton's rule, r is the coefficient of relatedness, quantifying the probability that actor and recipient share a given allele by common descent.

Question 2

When a vervet monkey gives an alarm call that attracts a predator's attention toward the caller, this behavior is paradoxically maintained by:

Accepted Answer

Kin selection because group members are typically relatives

Answer

Alarm calling in vervets is best explained by kin selection: callers warn closely related group members, thereby passing copies of alarm-call alleles into the next generation.

Question 3

What is the primary distinction between proximate and ultimate explanations for behavior?

Accepted Answer

Proximate explains immediate mechanisms; ultimate explains adaptive significance

Answer

Proximate causes address the immediate physiological and developmental mechanisms triggering behavior, while ultimate causes address why the behavior evolved and its fitness consequences.

Question 4

A bird that joins a communal roost during winter gains warmth but also competes for food. This trade-off is best analyzed using:

Accepted Answer

Cost-benefit analysis within behavioral ecology

Answer

Behavioral ecologists use cost-benefit analysis to evaluate whether the thermoregulatory benefits of roosting outweigh the increased food competition.

Question 5

Which parental investment pattern most commonly leads to sex-role reversal, where females compete for males?

Accepted Answer

Females invest less than males in offspring

Answer

Sex-role reversal arises when males provide greater parental investment than females, making males the limiting resource and causing females to compete for access to them.

Ecology Practice Test

Ecology Practice Test

Ecology Behavioral Ecology Concepts 3