Why Is Territoriality an Adaptive Behavior for Songbirds Maintaining Populations

question 26

Multiple Choice

Why is territoriality an adaptive behavior for songbirds maintaining populations at or near their carrying capacity?

• A) Songbirds expend a tremendous amount of energy defending territories so that they spend less time feeding their young and fledgling mortality increases.
• B) Only the fittest males defend territories and they attract the fittest females so the best genes are conveyed to the next generation.
• C) Songbird males defend territories commensurate with the size from which they can derive adequate resources for themselves, their mate, and their chicks.
• D) Many individuals are killed in the agonistic behaviors that go along with territorial defense.
• E) Adult songbirds make improvements to the territories they inhabit so that they can produce successfully fledged chicks.

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Definitions:

Rate Of Trade-off

The rate at which one good or service must be sacrificed to produce an additional unit of another good or service, often related to the concept of opportunity cost.

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Furniture pieces designed for sitting, typically consisting of a seat, back, legs, and sometimes arm supports.

Couches

Furniture pieces designed for seating multiple people, characterized by a long seating area with back and arm support.

Pies Per Day

A measurement of production output, often used metaphorically to represent the daily productivity or output level of a particular good.