Thermal Biology
Be able to diagram energy exchange mechanisms between ectotherms and their environment.
For which groups of animals are each mechanism is most important?
What herps are able to generate their own body heat?
What are some behavioral thermoregulation methods used by herps? Be able to provide an
example.
Give an example of how temperature influences short term performance and fitness.
Be able to interpret: an ectotherm performance curve; whether an animal is thermoregulating
given figures that illustrate operative, preferred, and body temperature
How do herps hibernate in the water and on land? Give an example.
What is TSD?
Where do you think dinosaurs fell on the spectrum from ectothermy to endothermy? Provide
an argument to support your position.
Water Balance
Concentrations of what 3 things are important in maintaining water balance?
In what types of environments are herps at risk of becoming dyhydrated and excessively
hydrated? What are some methods amphibians and reptiles use to maintain homeostasis? Give
an example for each environment.
Give an example of convergent evolution that helps to prevent water loss, maintain ion
balance, or collect/conserve water for herps in a dry environments.
Sensory Perception
What group of herps lacks color vision? What unique color vision adaptation do amphibians
have?
What do eye muscles do in herps?
Which herp groups have a well developed and poorly developed auditory sense?
How can herps hear without an eardrum? Give an example.
What two organs are involved in olfaction?
How does the tongue work in smelling?
What cutaneous sensory organ in found in amphibians? What does it detect?
Reproduction
Describe the relationships demonstrated by the figures in the reproduction worksheet
between: clutch size and hatchling mass, clutch mass and female size, gravidity and female
size (water skinks), reproductive effort and female survival (water skinks)
What survivorship pattern do crocodylians, turtles, and amphibians with direct development
exhibit? What survivorship pattern do no herps exhibit?
Explain fecundity and survival costs associated with reproduction.
What is the “cold-climate” hypothesis?
Describe three forms of parental care and give an example of an animal that exhibits each.
In which herp clade do animals court by “dancing”? Vocalizing? Headbobbing? Walking
proudly? Extending dewlaps? Emitting skin pheromones?
Which clades have internal fertilization and what structures do they use?
Why do frogs call?
In which clades is viviparity most common?
Foraging/Diet
What two foraging modes do most herps use? How are they characterized?
What methods are important for prey capture in herps? Give two examples of how this works.
Give an example of a diet specialization in herps.
What herps are herbivorous and what are some requirements necessary to support herbivory?
Predator Evasion
How do animals escape: detection, identification, approach, and capture? Provide an example
for each.
What is the difference between Mullerian and Batesian mimicry? Give an example in herps.
How does tail autotomy work in predator evasion? What are the consequences to tail loss? Do
tails grow back?
What is the evolutionary arms race between predator and prey?
Know what these terms mean: endothermic, ectothermic, homeothermic, poikilothermic,
kleptothermy, seat patch, monogamy, polygamy, brooding, phallodeum, oviparous,
viviparous, spermatophore, amplexus, hemipenes, sit-and-wating foraging, active foraging,
unken reflex, mimicry, tail autotomy