Animal Behavior, Fall, 2001

Bi 376, Hour Exam III, December 5, 2001

Instructions:

1) After receiving the exam, you are free to work on the answers in any classroom in Boyd Hall.

2) You may not use any information other than what you have stored in your brain (no notes, books, etc.)

3) Please limit your answers to the space provided beneath each answer. Feel free to use labeled diagrams (i.e. - graphs) to enhance your answers. Write clearly and concisely.

4) You have 1.5 hours to complete this examination. Remember that you have agreed not to discuss this examination with anyone else in the class until all have taken it (I will let you know in class).

5) Please sign below if you agree to the above policies.

GOOD LUCK!

 

Honor Statement: I have read the above instructions and agree to them. I promise to neither give nor receive any help on this examination.

Signed,

 

 

Choose 6 out of the following 7 - Short Answer. These questions can be answered in 2-4 sentences or a labeled diagram and 1-2 sentences. @ 10 points

 

1) List the events that take place at a synapse beginning where the action potential arrives at the pre-synaptic terminal to the release of neurotransmitter into the synapse.

 

 

2) List the events that take place at a synapse beginning with the release of neurotransmitter into the synapse and ending with the generation of the post-synaptic potential.

 

3) Briefly describe the studies performed on Ring doves in the 50's and 60's that suggest that auditory input is important for the proper behavior and physiological events to happen during courtship.

 

4) The corpora allata and one of its hormones are thought to be important for the production of sexual receptivity in fruit flies. Briefly describe the evidence that supports this contention.

 

5) Relate on of your favorite stories about honeybee behavior that sheds light on the signals or factors that determines (a) behavior in workers.

 

6) Briefly describe what is known about bumblebee movements within a "patch" of flowers.

 

7) Briefly compare and contrast the feeding techniques of lions and hyenas.

 

Choose 2 out of the following 3: - Essay Questions: Answer the following questions in essay format (a paragraph or two with topic sentences followed by information supporting the topic sentence. Labeled figures or graphs are encouraged but be sure to explain these with text. You can also use the back side of the sheets of paper. @ 20 points

 

1) Describe how each neuron in the nervous system of an animal acts as its' own "computer" or "decision maker". Be sure to include the anatomical substrates and physiological mechanisms that subserve this function.

 

2) Compare and contrast the organizational versus the activational effects of hormones on behavior. Be sure to include specific examples from your class notes.

 

 

 

3) You have been asked by the National Sciences Foundation to design experiments that will increase our understanding of feeding behavior in a new species of bird found in the Amazon, the deboyd bird. Specifically, the NSF wants you to a) determine if this species is a generalist or a specialist. Furthermore they want you to determine if this animal uses a search image to better locate prey. Describe your procedures and the data that you would need to collect to address these isseus for the NSF.