Textbook Question
A behavior is considered adaptive if it increases an individual's fitness. How is fitness measured? Select True or False for each statement.
T/F Strength
T/F Body size
T/F Speed
T/F Number of viable offspring
Ch. 50 - Behavioral Ecology
Freeman8th EditionBiological ScienceISBN: 9780138276263
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Table of contents
- Ch. 1 - Biology: The Study of Life13
- Ch. 2 - Water and Carbon: The Chemical Basis of Life14
- Ch.3 - Protein Structure and Function10
- Ch.4 - Nucleic Acids and the RNA World10
- Ch. 5 - An Introduction to Carbohydrates10
- Ch. 6 - Lipids, Membranes, and the First Cells11
- Ch. 7 - Inside the Cell10
- Ch. 8 - Energy and Enzymes: An Introduction to Metabolism10
- Ch. 9 - Cellular Respiration and Fermentation11
- Ch. 10 - Photosynthesis12
- Ch. 11 - Cell-Cell Interactions12
- Ch. 12 - The Cell Cycle8
- Ch. 13 - Meiosis12
- Ch. 14 - Mendel and the Gene23
- Ch. 15 - DNA and the Gene: Synthesis and Repair15
- Ch. 16 - How Genes Work16
- Ch. 17 - Transcription, RNA Processing, and Translation16
- Ch. 18 - Control of Gene Expression in Bacteria16
- Ch. 19 - Control of Gene Expression in Eukaryotes12
- Ch. 20 - The Molecular Revolution: Biotechnology, Genomics, and New Frontiers15
- Ch. 21 - Genes, Development, and Evolution12
- Ch. 22 - Evolution by Natural Selection16
- Ch. 23 - Evolutionary Processes13
- Ch. 24 - Speciation15
- Ch. 25 - Phylogenies and the History of Life13
- Ch. 26 - Bacteria and Archaea15
- Ch. 27 - Diversification of Eukaryotes16
- Ch. 28 - Green Algae and Land Plants16
- Ch. 29 - Fungi18
- Ch. 30 - An Introduction to Animals9
- Ch. 31 - Protostome Animals15
- Ch. 32 - Deuterostome Animals17
- Ch. 33 - Viruses16
- Ch. 34 - Plant Form and Function16
- Ch. 35 - Water and Sugar Transport in Plants16
- Ch. 36 - Plant Nutrition13
- Ch. 37 - Plant Sensory Systems, Signals, and Responses16
- Ch. 38 - Flowering Plant Reproduction and Development16
- Ch. 39 - Animal Form and Function17
- Ch. 40 - Water and Electrolyte Balance in Animals16
- Ch. 41 - Animal Nutrition16
- Ch. 42 - Gas Exchange and Circulation16
- Ch. 43 - Animal Nervous Systems16
- Ch. 44 - Animal Sensory Systems16
- Ch. 45 - Animal Movement11
- Ch. 46 - Chemical Signals in Animals16
- Ch. 47 - Animal Reproduction and Development16
- Ch. 48 - The Immune System in Animals16
- Ch. 49 - An Introduction to Ecology15
- Ch. 50 - Behavioral Ecology16
- Ch. 51 - Population Ecology16
- Ch. 52 - Community Ecology20
- Ch. 53 - Ecosystems and Global Ecology17
- Ch. 54 - Biodiversity and Conservation Ecology18
Chapter 50, Problem 6
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.
Verified step by step guidance1
Step 1: Understand the terms 'proximate' and 'ultimate' causes. Proximate causes in biology refer to the immediate physical or physiological mechanisms that lead to a particular trait or behavior. Ultimate causes, on the other hand, refer to the evolutionary pressures and reasons why a particular trait or behavior might have been favored by natural selection.
Step 2: Identify the proximate cause of the cuttlefish's color-changing behavior. The proximate cause is likely a response to a perceived threat or rival, triggered by the nervous system. The cuttlefish's skin contains specialized cells called chromatophores that can change color when stimulated by the nervous system.
Step 3: Identify the ultimate cause of the cuttlefish's color-changing behavior. The ultimate cause is likely related to survival and reproductive success. By flashing warning patterns, the cuttlefish can deter rivals and potential predators, increasing its chances of survival and reproduction.
Step 4: Formulate your prediction. Based on the above understanding, you can predict that the proximate cause of the cuttlefish's color-changing behavior is a nerve-triggered response to threats or rivals, and the ultimate cause is to increase survival and reproductive success by deterring rivals and predators.
Step 5: Remember that these are predictions based on our current understanding of biology and animal behavior. They could be tested and refined with further research and observations.
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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Proximate Causes
Proximate causes refer to the immediate, mechanistic factors that lead to a behavior. In the case of the male cuttlefish, the proximate cause of changing skin color involves neural control and the physiological mechanisms that allow for rapid color change, such as the contraction of specialized pigment cells called chromatophores.
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Ultimate Causes
Ultimate causes explain the evolutionary reasons behind a behavior. For the male cuttlefish, the ultimate cause of flashing warning patterns is likely related to reproductive success, as displaying these colors can deter rivals and enhance mating opportunities by signaling strength and fitness.
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Communication in Animals
Communication in animals encompasses the various ways organisms convey information to one another. In cuttlefish, color changes serve as a visual signal to communicate aggression or dominance, which is crucial for establishing territory and reducing physical confrontations with rivals.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question
Why does altruism seem paradoxical?
a. Sometimes altruistic behavior is actually selfish.
b. Altruism does not actually help others.
c. Alleles that cause an organism to behave altruistically should be selected against since these alleles should lower the organism's fitness.
d. Animals behave altruistically to help the species, but sometimes their behavior harms the species.
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Textbook Question
Is it true that all organisms forage optimally? Why or why not?
Textbook Question
Propose an evolutionary hypothesis to explain the observation that some bird populations do not migrate if people supply food for them in feeders.
Textbook Question
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 > 0.5
b. C/ B > 0
c. C/ B < 0.5
d. C/ B < 0
Textbook Question
Evolutionary biologist Hopi Hoekstra and colleagues have hypothesized that the burrow-digging behavior of mice (and the resulting shape of their underground burrows) is heritable—innate and not learned. Design an experiment to test this hypothesis.