List of top Behavioural Ecology Questions on Animal Sciences

The figure depicts how body temperature changes for two species (L and M) as a function of ambient temperature.Which one of the following statements about how L and M regulate temperature is correct?

You are a deep–sea organism and your potential mates are several hundreds of kilometers away from you. Which one of the following kinds of mating signals is most likely to help them locate you?

Two species of birds, A and B, are found together in region X. Only species A is present in region Y. Both species produce species-specific alarm calls in response to a predator P. A researcher conducts experiments where she plays recorded calls of both species to species A in regions X and Y. The response of species A to the recorded calls are summarized in the table below. . Call stimulus Response in region X Response in region Y Alarm call of species A Species A flies for cover Species A flies for cover Alarm call of species B Species A flies for cover Species A does not respond Based on the results, the most appropriate inference is that

There are two palatable prey species, Q and R, for an insectivorous bird species in a forest. However, the bird searches for and consumes only species Q. According to optimal foraging theory, which one or more of the following conditions can explain the bird choosing to forage only for Q?

Which one of the following is a proximate explanation for grouping in animals?

The ethologist Konrad Lorenz is known for his discovery of which one of the following processes?

Male stickleback fish develop red colour on their ventral side in the breeding season and maintain territories. When a conspecific male intruder enters their territory, resident males perform an aggressive display. The ethologist Niko Tinbergen presented models of different shapes to territorial male stickleback fish. He found that models of any shape elicited aggressive displays, provided the ventral part of the models was coloured red. This observation led to the development of which one of the following concepts?