3. Learning, pt 1 Flashcards
Learning Objective 1: Animal Learning and Behavioral Adaptation
Animal Learning and Survival
Animal learning refers to lasting behavioral changes resulting from experiences.
One example is recognizing predator cues, enhancing survival odds.
Learning’s significance extends to wildlife conservation; it aids population management of threatened species and guides animals away from specific areas to prevent negative encounters.
Learning Objective 2: Impact of Habitats on Learning
Habitat Influence on Learning
Habitat Influence on Learning
Learning’s effectiveness influenced by the environment.
Neophobia, the fear of novel stimuli, is adaptive; it prevents animals from engaging with potentially dangerous new things.
Boldness, varying based on habitat, helps animals adapt to changing environments, allowing them to exploit new resources when benefits outweigh risks.
Learning Objective 3: Adaptive and Maladaptive Behaviors
Adaptive vs. Maladaptive Behaviors
Behaviors learned by animals can be adaptive or maladaptive based on their consequences.
Adaptive behaviors enhance an animal’s fitness; e.g., wild boars learning to forage in human areas.
Maladaptive behaviors, once useful, become harmful due to environmental changes, leading to increased mortality rates; these scenarios are ecological traps.
Learning Objective 4: Examples of Learned Behaviors
Urban vs. Rural Bird Behavior
Urban vs. Rural Bird Behavior
Barbados bullfinches in urban areas exhibit higher boldness and problem-solving skills compared to rural counterparts, optimizing survival in changed environments.
Learning Objective 2: Impact of Habitats on Learning
Age-Dependent Learning
Age-Dependent Learning
Age plays a pivotal role in learning’s outcomes.
Atlantic salmon’s responsiveness to predator odors changes with age, tied to shifts in habitats and encounters with new predators.
Learning’s effectiveness often corresponds to life stages when specific cues are most relevant for survival.
Learning Objective 4: Examples of Learned Behaviors
Age-Dependent Predator Response in Salmon
Age-Dependent Predator Response in Salmon
Atlantic salmon’s responsiveness to predator odor varies with age due to habitat shifts and encounters with new predators.
Learning Objective 4: Examples of Learned Behaviors
Wild Boars in Spain
Wild Boars in Spain
Wild boars have learned adaptive foraging in human-dominated areas for high-energy food but face increased mortality risks due to human activities.
Learning Objective 4: Examples of Learned Behaviors
Robbing and Bartering in Long-tailed Macaques
Robbing and Bartering in Long-tailed Macaques
Long-tailed macaques in Bali engage in robbing and bartering with tourists due to food provisioning and trial-and-error learning, highlighting complex adaptation to human presence.
Learning Objective 4: Examples of Learned Behaviors
Habituation and Human-Animal Interactions
Habituation and Human-Animal Interactions
Habituation helps animals distinguish threats from non-threats, enhancing survival.
Learned interactions like robbing and bartering with humans emerge from trial-and-error learning, showcasing adaptability to frequent human presence.
