Animal and plant behaviour Flashcards
Innate releaser mechanism
Neural network which produces a specific type of behaviour in response to an external sensory stimulus.
Categories for innate behaviour
1) Kineses
2) Taxes
3) Simple reflexes
4) Instinctive behaviour
Taxis
Simple response whose direction is determined by direction of stimulus.
- A taxic response is movement of organism toward or away from a directional stimulus.
Operant conditioning
Reinforces appropriate behaviour and eliminates inappropriate behaviour
Variations of intermittent reinforcement
- Reinforcement is delivered after fixed number of responses are made.
- Fixed-interval schedule
- Variable-interval schedule
- Schedules of reinforcement affect rate of response, acquisition of a behaviour, and resistance to extinction
Exploratory learning
Involves storing information for later. Enables animals to survive long after learning occurs
Insight learning
Highest form of learning. Involves animals using past experiences and synthesising them to solve a problem. Involves thought and reasoning
Extended Parental Care
In primates, few offspring are produced and parental care occurs over a long period. Provides opportunity for learning various behaviours for survival and socialisation.
Endogenous rhythms
Controlled internally and have nervous and hormonal components.
Exogenous rhythms
Controlled by external environmental factors such as photo-periods and lunar cycles
Courtship change examples in secondary sexual characteristics and behaviour
- More reproductive hormones & maturation of gonads
- Colouration changes
- Increase in size of parts of the body
- Mating calls
- Postural displays
- Use of chemical sex attractants
How does courtship behaviour help animals reproduce?
- Species recognition.
- Identify mate of sexual maturity
- Attract/identify mate
- Synchronise mating so there is maximum probability of sperm & egg meeting
Pheromones
Secretion & release of small amounts of highly volatile chemical substances of low mr, leads to specific physiological or behavioural responses in members of the same species, for courtship and mating
Altruism
Form of social behaviour whereby one organism puts itself either at risk or personal disadvantage for the good of other individual members of the species
Kin selection
Evolutionary strategy that favours the reproductive success of an organism’s relatives, even at a cost to the organism’s own survival and reproduction
Eurosociality
Describes social systems with 3 characteristics:
- Overlap in generations between parents and offspring
- Cooperative brood care
- characteristicis specialized castes of non-reproductive individuals.
Reciprocal altruism
Altruism where an organism benefits another without expecting any immediate compensation
Tropism
Growth movement of part of a plant in response to a directional stimulus. Can be positive/negative depending on growth in relation to stimulus.
Plant growth regulators
Chemicals used by plants for internal coordination of growth and development.
Photoperiod
Length of the day
Photoperiodism
Response of organism to changes in day length
Gibberellins
Promote cell elongation and so increase growth, also cell differentiation and division.
Involved in breaking dormancy in seeds, mobilizing food reserves for germination by stimulating synthesis of enzymes (gene expression)
Cytokins
Derivative of adenine, so likely involved in nucleic acid metabolism.
Found in dividing tissues, promoting cell division in the presence of auxins.
Also delay ageing in leaves.
Abscisic acid
Inhibits growth, working antagonistically to other growth hormones. Causes abscission.
Abscission
Organised shedding of parts of the plant. Abscission zone forms at base of organ by cells breaking down middle lamellae. Vascular strands break by wind action.
Lamellae
Layer of magnesium and calcium salts of pectins that holds neighbouring cell walls together
In the lead up to abscission what occurs to growth hormone levels in the plant?
Auxin decreases, ABA levels may increase leading to abscission.
What occurs to growth hormones during ripening of fruit?
Auxin levels decrease, ABA and ethene levels will rise.
Ethene as a growth hormone
- Produced by senescing leaves and ripening fruits
- Always stimulates abscission
- Induces ripening in tomatoes, bananas & citrus fruits.
- Increases respiration rate & acts as growth inhibitor
Even if light hits the plant, why might biomass not be formed?
Wrong wavelength of light
Misses chlorophyll
Used for evaporation of water
Light is reflected
What might cause plant stuff to be indigestible?
Contains cellulose or lignin (cell wall components), and lack enzymes necessary to digest them.
How are saprophytic fungi able to make use of so many nutrients of faceces?
Extracellular digestion and release of enzymes and uptake of nutrients.
Fixed-interval schedule
Type of intermittent reinforcement
Reinforcer delivered after fixed amount of time
Variable-interval schedule
Type of intermittent reinforcement
Reinforcer delivered after average amount of time
