51 Flashcards
behavioral ecology
studies how animal behavior is controlled and how it develops, evolves, and contributes to survival and reproductive success
the questions that can be posed about any behaivor can be divided generally into two classes: those that focus on __ and those that __
immediate stimulus and mechanism for the behavior;
explore how the behavior contributes to survival and reproduction
behavioral traits are part of an animal’s __
phenotype
most of what we call behavior is __
the visible result of an animal’s muscular activity
we can think of behavior as
everything an animal does and how it does it
when we observe a certain behavior, we may ask both __ and __ questions
proximate and ultimate
proximate questions focus on
the environmental stimuli, if any, that trigger a behavior, as well as the genetic, physiological, and anatomical mechanisms underlying a behavioral act
ultimate questions address
the evolutionary significance of a behavior
how are proximate and ultimate questions conneted
proximate mechanisms produce behaviors that have evolved b/c they reflect fitness in some partiulcar way
ethology
scientific study of how animals behave, particulary in their natural environments
tinbergen’s 4 questions
- what is the mechanistic basis of the behavior, including chemical, anatomical, and physiological mechanisms?
- how does development of the animal, from zygote to mature individual, influence the behavior?
- what’s the evolutionary history of the behavior?
- how does the behavior contribute to survival and reproduction (fitness)?
fixed action pattern (FAP)
a sequence of unlearned behavioral acts that’s essential unchangeable and, once initiated, is usually carried to completion
FAP is triggered by __ __ __ known as __ __
external sensory stimulus known as a sign stimulus
imprinting is a type of behavior that
includes both learning and innate components and is generally irreversible
imprinting is distinguished from other types of learning by having a
sensitive period, a limited phase in an animal’s development that is the only time when certain behaviors can be learned
the tendency to respond is __; __ provides the __
innate; outside world; imprinting stimulus
imprinting stimulus
something to which the response will be directed
innate behavior
developmentally fixed behavior – nearly all individuals in the population exhibit virtually the same behavior, despite internal and external environmental differences during development and throughout life
directed movements
we refer to them as such because of the clear role of genes in the control of these movements
kinesis
a simple change in an activity or turning rate in response to a stimulus
taxis
more or less automatic, oriented movement toward (positive taxis) or away from (negative taxis) some stimulus
kinesis vs taxis
kinesis: non-directional
much of the social interaction btwn animals involves
transmitting info thru specialized behaviors called signals (aka displays)
signal
behavior that causes a change in another animal’s behavior
__, __, __ constitute animal communication
the transmission of, reception of, and response to signals
many signals are very efficient in
energy costs
animals communicate using __, __, __, __, and __ signals
visual auditory chemical (olfactory) tactile electrical
pheromones
chemical substances emitted by many animals that communicate thru odors
in most cases, both the proudction of pheromones and animal responses to them are
controlled genetically
pheromones are espeiclaly common among __ and __ and often relate to __
mammals and insects and often relate to reproductive behavior
env. factors such as (3) can influence the development of behaviors in eevery group of animals
quality of the diet, nature of social interactions, opportunities for learning
learning
the modification of behavior based on specific experiences
habituation
loss of responsiveness to stimuli that convey little or no information
in terms of ultimate causation, habituation may
increase fitness by allowing an animal’s nervous system to focus on stimuli that signal the presence of food, mates, or real danger instead of wasting time/energy on a vast number of other stimuli that are irrelelvant to the animal’s survival and reproduction
spatial learning
modification of behavior based on experience w/ the spatial structure of the environment, including the locations of nest sites, hazards, food, and prospective mates
for spatial learning to be a reliable way to navigate thru the environment,
the landmarks used must be stable (within the time frame of a particular activitiy)
cognitive map
internal representation, or code, of the spatial relationships btwn objects in an animal’s surroundings
cognitive maps benefit the organism by
reducing the amount of detail that must be remembered to relate an object
associative learning
the ability of many animals to associate one feature of the environment (a stimulus, such as color) with another (bad taste)
classical conditioning
a type of associative learning, in which an arbitrary stimulus is associated with a reward or punishment
operant conditioning
type of associative learning, also called trial-and-error learning. an animal learns to associate one of its own behaviors w/ a reward or punishment and then tends to repeat or avoid that behavior
the study of cognition connects __ with __
behavior w/ nervous system function
cognition
the ability of an animal’s nervous system to perceive, store, process, and use info gathered by sensory receptors
cognitive ethology
study of animal recognition. examines connection btwn animal’s nervous system and its behavior
one area of research in cognitive ethology investigates how __. researches have discovered that many animals are capable of categorizing objects according to concepts such as __ and __
an animal’s brain represents objects in the environment;
“same” and “different”
b/c of the influence of genes on behavior, natural selection can result in __. one of the primary sources of evidence for this evolution is __
evolution of behavioral traits in populations.
behavioral variation btwn and within species
when behavioral variation ___, it may be evidence of past evolution
within a species corresponds to variation in environmental conditions
2 of the most direct ways a behavior can affect fitness are thru its influences on __ and__
foraging, mate choice behavior
optimal foraging theory views foraging behavior as
a compromise btwn the benefits of nutrition and costs of obtaining food
mating behavior includes (3)
seeking/attracting mates, choosing among potential mates, competing for mates
mating behavior is product of
a form of natural selection called sexual behavior
promiscuous mating
no storng pair-bonds or lasting relationships
polygyny
one male, many females
polyandry
single female mates w/ several males
among monogamous species, M and F are often
so much alike morphologically that they may be difficult/impossible to distinguish based on external chracteristics
polygynous and polyandrous species are
dimorphic
degree of sexual dimorphism within a species results from
sexual selection, a form of natural selection in which differences in reproductive success among individuals are a consequence of differences in mating success
intersexual selection
mmembers of 1 sex choose mates on the basis of particular characteristics of the other sex (ex: courtship songs)
intrasexual selection
invovles competition among members of 1 sex for mates
agnostic behavior
often ritualized contest that determines which competititor gains access to a resourcd
game theory
evaluates alternative strategies in situations where the outcome depends not only on each individual’s strategy but also on the strategies of other individuals
inclusive fitness
total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes by producing its own offspring and by providing aid that enables other close relatives, who share many of those genes, to reproduce
kin selection
natural selection that favors altruistic behavior by enhancing reproductive success of relatives
reciprocal altruism
aided individual returns the favor in the future. this sort of exchange of aid is commonly invoked to explain altruism btwn unrelated humans
reciprocal altruism is limited largely to species
with social groups stable enough that individulas have many chances to exchange aid
reciprocal altruism is generally thought to be most likely where
individuals are likely to meet again and where there’d be negative consequences associated w/ not returning favors
social learning
learning thru observing others
culture
system of info transfer thru social learning or teaching that influences the behavior of individuals in a population
cultural transfer of info has the potential to
alter behavioral phenotypes and, in turn, to influence the fitness of individuals
culturally based changes in the phenotype occur on a ___ time scale than changes resulting from __
much shoter; natural selection
mate choice copying
individuals in population copy the mate choice of others
