What is an Animal
What are the 3 criterias that define an animal (according to the curriculum)?
1.Eat organic matter
2.Be able to move from one place to another
3.Made up of multiple cells that have membrane-bound organelles
Who formulated the concept of natural selection?
Charles Darwin
What does fitness mean (in regards to survivability)?
How fit individuals are for their environment in order to survive & reproduce
What defines an animal’s behavior?
How animals interact with other animals, internal signals, and the environment
What is an ethogram?
A detailed written explanation of behaviors an animal performs
Name the 6 ecological levels of organization
Individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere
Nikolaas Tinbergen researched what type of behavior in seagulls? Define this type of behavior.
Innate behavior, which is behavior animals do automatically, without having to learn it.
What is the difference between learned behavior & instinctual behavior
Instinctual behavior is caused by genes, learned behavior is caused by outside factors
What is the difference of an internal stimuli v.s and external stimuli
Internal stimuli=sensations coming from organism’s body
External stimuli=anything outside the animal to which it can respond to
What is the difference between positive & negative selective pressures?
Positive selective pressure adds new traits to population; negative selective pressure removes traits
Name one characteristic of an arthropod
Lack spinal cords, open circulatory systems, has an exoskeleton
Konrad Lorenz worked with which animal when he researched imprinting?
Graylag geese and mallards (at least one of them should be mentioned)
Describe the theory of kin selection
When an animal sacrifices itself for the safety of its offspring, which increases the fitness of that offspring
What is habituation and why is it useful?
Habituation is when an animal learns to ignore stimuli that are not a threat. This allows it to save energy and focus more on the actual threats.
Why are humans more sensitive on their face and hands than they are on their backs?
Humans have more somatosensory neurons in their face and hands, which are responsible for detecting stimuli
How are mammals viviparous?
They give birth to live young, or embryos that develop inside mother’s body instead of hatching from egg
What is the difference between laboratory experiments and observational studies? Explain.
An observational study involves observing an animal in their habitat without any manipulation. A laboratory experiment involves manipulating the animal and observing what happens. Laboratory experiments usually include a control group as well.
Explain the difference between the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system
The Sympathetic nervous system is when the animal goes on high alert (spends more energy to pay attention to surroundings, etc.). The parasympathetic nervous system is when the animal relaxes, after the danger has passed.
What is synaptic plasticity and why is it the foundation for an animal’s ability to learn?
Synaptic plasticity is the ability for neuron connections to change in response to an animal’s experience; this allows an animal to adapt to its surroundings accordingly
What is proprioception?
Proprioception is when the brain receives information to determine where the animal is in space. This includes balance.
What is the difference between oviparous & ovoviviparous animals?
Oviparous=lays eggs to reproduce
Ovoviviparous=gives birth to offsprings that were hatched internally
What are the four questions Tibergen developed to explain animal behavior, and what example did the curriculum use to display these questions?
Function (what is the function of this behavior?)
History/evolution (what other animals exhibit this behavior?)
Cause (what caused this behavior?)
Development (how does the animal know of this behavior?)
Curriculum used an example of a human eating a sandwich.
Hormones are released by what gland?
The endocrine gland.
How does epigenetic modification cause variations to the behavior of an animal?
External factors like the environment or lifestyle changes the way a gene is expressed without changing DNA itself
B.F. Skinner found that ____ reinforcement and ____ punishment was more effective than ______ reinforcement and _____ punishment. Verbally explain what each of these terms mean.
Positive, negative; negative, positive.
Positive reinforcement= rewarded for good behavior
Negative punishment=removing reward for bad behavior
Negative reinforcement=removing something undesirable to increase good behavior
Positive punishment= punished for bad behavior