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

Rate of reproductive success

Answer

Risk of predation to the actor

Answer

Resource value of the territory

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

Individual selection favoring alarm callers directly

Answer

Group selection acting on populations

Answer

Sexual selection favoring conspicuous display

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 explains evolutionary history; ultimate explains mechanisms

Answer

They are interchangeable terms for the same level of analysis

Answer

Proximate focuses on ecology; ultimate focuses on genetics

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

The ideal free distribution model

Answer

The marginal value theorem

Answer

Optimal territory size theory

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

Males and females invest equally

Answer

Females invest more than males in offspring

Answer

Neither sex provides post-hatching care

Question 6

A honeybee worker that stings an intruder dies shortly afterward. This sacrifice is explained evolutionarily because:

Accepted Answer

Workers and the queen share 75% of their genes under haplodiploidy

Answer

Workers reproduce independently and benefit directly

Answer

Group selection favors altruistic colonies

Answer

Workers are misidentifying the intruder as a competitor

Question 7

The concept of 'honest signaling' in animal communication requires that signals:

Accepted Answer

Carry a cost that prevents low-quality individuals from faking them

Answer

Be identical across all individuals in a population

Answer

Be produced only during reproductive seasons

Answer

Encode precise numerical information