Study Questions for Learning and Cognition

1. What is the principle of parsimony? What is a clade? What is an outgroup? Why is the outgroup crucial in interpreting evolution in a clade? How can we use the concept of an outgroup to reconstruct the pattern of evolution?

2. Why are we interested in shared derived characters and shared ancestral characters?

3. What are altricial and precocial birds? Explain the comparative data on extant (modern-day) birds and embryology that we can use to differentiate precocial or altricial traits with levels of parental care. Explain the phylogentic argument regarding parental care in dinosaurs and birds (hint what is the outgroup for this comparison?).

4. Does unpalatability arise before or after gregariousness in caterpillars? Draw a cladogram to illustrate your answer. How do the results of the phylogenetic analysis relate to Fisher's original hypothesis (Explain).

5. Describe the phylogenetic patterns that support the coevolutionary hypothesis of insect-hostplant evolution. Specifically, what are the three conditions that would support the notion that insects and hosplants are in a coevolutionary arms race? Support your answer with two cladograms (one for insect the other for the plant).

6. Describe the two possible character states for the female preference in the outgroup of a clade in which you are testing for sensory bias. Use diagrams to show how the two possibilities support or do not provide evidence of sensory bias.