The male cuttlefish in the chapter-opening photo can rapidly change their skin colors (under nerve control) to flash warning patterns to rivals. Predict the proximate and ultimate causes of this behavior.

Some airports have attempted to scare geese off by playing goose alarm calls over loudspeakers. This tactic kept the geese away initially, but soon the geese ignored the alarm calls. How would you explain this outcome?a. The alarm calls are a social signal that geese ignore unless they can see the other geese.b. The geese became imprinted on the alarm calls.c. The geese used spatial learning to navigate the environment of the airport.d. The geese became habituated to the alarm calls when no danger was present.

Is it true that all organisms forage optimally? Why or why not?

Which of the following is not required for a behavioral trait to evolve by natural selection?a. In each individual, the form of the behavior is determined entirely by genes.b. The behavior varies among individuals.c. An individual's reproductive success depends in part on how the behavior is performed.d. Some component of the behavior is genetically inherited.

Almost all the behaviors of a housefly are innate. What are some advantages and disadvantages to the fly of innate behaviors compared with behaviors that are mainly learned?

In Module 35.3, you learned that Norway rat offspring whose mothers don't interact much with them grow up to be fearful and anxious in new situations. Suggest a possible ultimate cause for this link between maternal behavior and stress response of offspring. (Hint: Under what circumstances might high reactivity to stress be more adaptive than being relaxed?)

Propose an evolutionary hypothesis to explain the observation that some bird populations do not migrate if people supply food for them in feeders.

A chorus of frogs fills the air on a spring evening. The frog calls are courtship signals. What are the functions of courtship behaviors? How might a behavioral ecologist explain the proximate cause of this behavior? The ultimate cause?

Hamilton's rule states that an altruistic allele could spread in a population if Br>C, where B represents the fitness benefit to the recipient, r is the coefficient of relatedness between altruist and recipient, and C represents the fitness cost to the altruist. If r=0.5 between the altruist and the recipient, what would the ratio of costs to benefits have to be for the altruistic allele to spread?a. C/B>0.5b. C/B>0c. C/B<0.5d. C/B < 0