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ARHOLIADAU EXAMINATIONS
SEMESTER 2 EXAMINATIONS 2010
IBERS (BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES)
BS23520 ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS
ANSWER FOUR QUESTIONS, EACH IN A SEPARATE ANSWER BOOK
1. We may ask both “ultimate” and “proximate” questions about a specific
behaviour. What is the difference between these two approaches to
understanding behaviour? Support your answer by providing an example of
behaviour that can be addressed from both perspectives and propose both an
“ultimate” and a “proximate” explanation for this behaviour.
2. Explain the evolutionary benefit of stimulus filtering and describe the
mechanism behind one example of pre-detection stimulus filtering in animals.
3. Support or refute, using at least two lines of evidence, the hypothesis that
biological clocks in mammals are endogenous.
4. If genes make proteins, not behaviour, is there any evidence that indicates a
link between genetic makeup and the expression of specific behaviours?
Explain your answer using at least two specific examples.
5. Explain the difference between classical conditioning and social learning, and
give appropriate examples of each type of learning.
