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It was a truly tough quiz.....here are the answers
1. The srinx is an organ that is unique to birds. This powerful organ, located at the base of the trachea, is responsible for the wide array of whistles, grunts, and hisses produced by birds.
2. Allopatry indicates that two species' ranges do not overlap. Sympatry is the term used when the species ranges do coincide. Some species may only be sympatric in small areas, while being allopatric throughout the remainder of their range (as illustrated).
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3. Recurved indicates that the bill curves upward. A bill that curves downward would be describes as decurved.
4. The mustelid family includes skunks, otters, weasels, and minks. Most members of this family have paired anal scent glands which can produce a fetid discharge. This trait is most highly developed in skunks, which use this as a defense mechanism. Other members of this family also produce a fowl smelling secretion, but it is used in marking territories and communicating with other members of their species.
5.
Roger Tory Peterson, a life long bird enthusiast, was also a gifted artist.
Early in his career, he was dismayed but the crudeness of existing field guides,
and set out to make an accurate and user-friendly pocket guide. This original
guide, which illustrated birds in both picture and text, sold over 3 million
copies. Mr. Peterson died in 1996, leaving behind a legacy of bird conservation
which spanned almost 90 years. You can read his biography at http://www.rtpi.org/info/rtp.htm
See
the Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds
here.
6. Polyandry is the reverse of polygyny. Here, a female mates with more than one male, either at once, or in succession. Usually, the male cares for the offspring
Polygyny involves a male associating with several females at once, or in
succession. The female typically cares for the resulting
offspring
Promiscuity describes a mating system where both male and
female mate several times with different individuals. Afterwards, either sex may
care for the offspring.
Monagamy involves a male and female forming either short or long term pair bonds. Often, both parents care for the young.
7. Neoteny is a term used to denote the presence of larval characteristics in adult animals. A good example is the axolotl form of the Eastern Tiger Salamander (although any member of the family Ambystomatidae (the mole salamanders) also exhibit this phenomenon). Here, the adult breeding salamanders retain the gill structure found in larval stages, and do not leave the water to become a terrestrial adult. Basically this is just a strong case of adults trying to stay juvenile for their entire life.
8. The Student's T-test is a statistical operation typically used to compare the means of two populations. Click here to see a web page explaining this operation, along with Java script for performing the calculation.
9. This species is a Loggerhead Shrike or often called the "butcher bird" because of its habit of storing food on thorns and barbed-wire fences.
10. Although Grossly Polluted Streams might be a good guess, GPS actually stands for Global Positioning System. This technology, originally used by our defense department, uses several orbiting satellites and a nuclear clock, to determine the near exact position of a target. This technology is now an integral part of wildlife study and monitoring. Among many uses, a small GPS unit can be attached to an animal collar, and will record the animals movements with astounding precision. Amazingly, this technology is available to anyone and there are now hand-held units that sell for just over $100. Please Click Here to learn more about this technology and how it is used in wildlife research at this web site.
I hope you learned something....thanks for visiting!