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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does an animal do when it fails to claim a territory?

2. According to Dawkins, for whom does a bird regulate the number of eggs it lays?

3. What shape is the location where guillemots lay their eggs?

4. In Dawkins' game theory analysis of a colony of birds and ticks, what were grudger birds?

5. In Dawkins' example, why might a child try to get extra food, to the detriment of brothers and sisters?

Short Essay Questions

1. Does Dawkins agree or disagree with the theory about parental suffering for children's success, and why?

2. When and why are gulls' offspring in danger?

3. Why does Dawkins say mothers are more altruistic to their children than fathers?

4. Does Dawkins put forth any ideas by Wynne-Edwards that he agrees with?

5. What does Dawkins cite that makes human beings exceptions to the idea that genes for having too large a number of children die out?

6. According to Dawkins, in what ways does weaning benefit an older child?

7. What does higher PI mean, in R.L. Trivers' ideas?

8. What is Hamilton's explanation of how herds are formed?

9. What explanation does Zahavi propose for stotting?

10. What two possible explanations for the behavior of the baby swallow observed by the Spanish researchers does Dawkins present?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the elements that contribute to survival in an evolutionary system.

1) What role does fecundity play in evolutionary survival? Why does fecundity play and important role? How is its role different in molecular reproduction and in the lives of complex organisms?

2) What role does fidelity play in evolutionary survival? What role does it play in evolutionary change?

3) What role does longevity play in evolutionary survival? How is longevity different in a system of molecules in competition, versus in a system of organisms in competition?

Essay Topic 2

One of Dawkins' primary premises is that the good of the individual is what organisms strive for, not the good of the species. Discuss the conflict between the individual and the species in The Selfish Gene.

1) Why are individuals representative of their genes?

2) What is Dawkins' central argument for selfishness of individuals within a species? Why does the selfishness of genes translate to the selfishness of individuals?

3) What are the arguments that other scientists pose for individuals acting for the good of the species, and how does Dawkins counter those arguments?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Darwin's treatment of siblings in The Selfish Gene.

1) In what ways are siblings in competition? Why doesn't competition between siblings typically escalate to deadly competition?

2) In what ways do siblings cooperate or benefit each other?

3) How do the relationships between siblings vary between species in the natural world, and how does this relate to Dawkins' overall theory.

(see the answer keys)

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