Egg-retrieval behavior in geese exemplifies the principle that: animals consciously act in order to improve their reproductive success. an animal may exhibit complex-appearing behaviors when they're actually following simple behavioral rules. animals learn complex behaviors by watching and imitating others. innate behaviors may vary widely from individual to individual in a population. any stimulus can trigger a fixed action pattern.

Awaiver of the requirement for documentation of informed consent may be granted when: the investigator has no convenient place to store signed consent forms separate from the research datathe only record linking the subject and the research is the consent document and the principal risk is a breach of confidentiality.potential subjects might find some of the research questions embarrassing, personal, or intrusivethe subjects are literate in their own language; however, they do not read, write, or speak english