animal behavior Flashcards
ecology
study of home and interactions
behavioral ecology was developed by
Niko Tinbergen
goal of behavioral ecology
understand animal behaviors and their cause
proximal cause asks..?
HOW is a behavior occurring
what asks these questions:
How does a stimulus triggers that behavior?
How are mechanisms involved in detecting that trigger?
How does development/growth teach that response?
proximal cause
ultimate cause asks …?
WHY is a behavior occurring?
what asks these questions:
Why does this behavior help the animal survive or reproduce?
Why did this behavior evolve?
ultimate cause
fixed action patterns
built in responses linked directly to a stimulus (stimulus always results in specific response)
are fixed action patterns learned or instinctual?
instinctual
fixed action patterns: male stickleback example
male sticklebacks are territorial and attack other males with red undersides
BUT they attack pretty much anything with a red underside
(red acts as a sign stimulus)
environmental cues
environment provides info needed for some behaviors
environmental cues: migratory animals use clues such as …. to find destination
o Sun or stars
o Earth’s magnetic field
o Undiscovered mechanisms
signal:
behavior in one animal may act as a stimulus for another
communication results when…
signals are sent and received
examples of different forms of stimuli used for communication:
Visual, chemical, tactile, auditory
why is Bee communication complex?
uses many forms of communication (visual, chemical, tactile, and auditory)
complex behavior leads to …
complex response
pheromones:
chemicals used for communication
how are pheromones detected?
smell or taste
innate behavior
all animals of a species respond the same to a given stimulus
behavior must be ___ to adapt to environment
flexible
acquiring behavior that is NOT hard coded requires…
LEARNING
learning:
modification of behavior based on experiences
simplest form of learning is…
imprinting
imprinting is a combination of
learned and hard coded behavior
sensitive/critical period:
stage of development where learning is possible
*Time period is hard coded
*Experiences during this sensitive period are locked for life
imprinting works well unless…
stimuli during learning period are incorrect
spatial learning:
learning location of landmarks
difficulty of spatial learning :
may need to approach remembered location from a specific direction
cognitive map: may remember ___ ____ of landmarks
spatial orientation
cognitive mapping: more flexible and efficient without need for ….
landmark hopping
associative learning
making connections between experiences
example of associative learning
Blue jays’ vomit if they eat monarch butterflies
*Jays associate monarchs with vomiting and avoid them.
classical conditioning
an arbitrary (unnatural) stimulus is associated with an outcome
occurs in lab, not in nature
classical conditioning
example of classical conditioning
Pavlov’s dog: bell was rung before dogs were fed
*Dogs began drooling when the bell was rung
operant conditioning
trial and error learning
operant conditioning: animal associates…
its behavior with outcome
operant conditioning:
repeats behavior with ___ outcome
avoids behaviors with ___ outcome
positive; negative
most complex forms of learning involve
cognition
cognition includes:
awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgement
cognition pulls multiple sources of information together to…
make decisions
problem solving:
determine how to move form one state to another using a series of behaviors
problem solving is __ focused
objective
social learning
learning through observing others
most common in social species
social learning
social learning is similar to associative learning but…
thought the experiences of others
example of social learning
chimpanzees learned to crack nuts by watching parents
social learning is the basis of
culture (info is passed down through generations)
continuing behaviors must be selected by
natural selection: increased survival and reproduction
cost benefit analysis
balance between cost and benefits
*Cost of finding food VS Benefit of nutrition
natural selection favors optimal foraging:
maximize benefits and minimize costs
example of optimal foraging
crow foraging: fly to optimal height to break shell open
-makes sure they get the food without expending too much energy
foraging increases risk of…
predation
why do mule deer forage in meadows instead of forests, where there is more food?
mule deer are eaten by cougars which prey along forest edges, they feed in open meadows to compromise between selective pressures
promiscuous partners
- No long-term pair bonds
- Mate with different partners each year
- Mate with many partners in one season
monogamous species
one male and one female mate
polygamous species
one gender mates with many of the other gender
polygyny
one male, many females
polyandry
one female, many males
sexual dimorphism: genders are nearly identical in ___ species
monogamous species
sexual dimorphism: males are more ornamented in __ species
polygynous species
sexual dimorphism: females are more ornamented in __ species
polyandrous species
needs of young influence
mating system
for young that require lots of parental care…
both parents remain to make care of young
for young that can fend for themselves immediately…
fathers maximize reproductive success by mating with additional females
males with internal fertilization…
cannot be certain of maternity
males with external fertilization..
CAN be certain of maternity and are more likely to protect young
females often choose mates with
dramatic characteristics (sign of a healthy male)
females often choose mates that look like..
their father
mate choice copying
females choose similar mates as other females when alone
intrasexual selection
members of SAME sex compete to mate with members of opposite sex
intersexual selection: often always ___ species
polygamist
intersexual selection often involves __ behaviors
agonistic (contest for a resource)
do agonistic behaviors result in extreme or mild injuries?
mild
intersexual selection results in males with..
similar characteristics
some species have males of various phenotypes, each phenotype..
has a different strategy for reproduction
behavior is partially controlled by
genes
genetics of behavior: garter snake example
coastal snakes eat slugs and inland snakes do not, despite being born in a lab
altruism
a behavior that harms you while helping others
altruism decreases one individual’s ___ while increasing another individual’s __
fitness
the highest evolutionary advantage is to
have your genes the next generation
there are 2 ways for your genes to be in the next generation:
- You reproduce directly: 50% of your genes in children
- Your close family reproduces
inclusive fitness
combination of personally passing on genes AND close family passing on genes
kin selection
natural selection favors enhanced reproduction of close relatives
ground squirrels: why are females more likely to give alarm calls?
o Females save family
o Males save strangers
*risk her own survival to increase survival of relatives
eusocial insects appear to have extreme altruism:
o Often only 1 individual reproduces
o Most individuals serve colony without reproducing
eusocial insect’s extreme altruism involves
haplodiploidy
o Females are diploid
o Males are haploid
results of haplodiploidy
Parents and offspring share 50% of genes
Siblings share 75% genes (on average)
haplodiploidy: helping mother create more siblings passes your genes (more or less?) than reproducing yourself would
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