Animal Behavior Flashcards
Bootcamp
Ethology:
the study of animal behaviors, which
are inherited (innate), or learned.
Instincts:
innate behaviors that occur without thought. eg: birds undergoing migration in response to seasonal changes.
Reflexes
are involuntary rapid responses to a
stimulus. Reflex arcs are controlled by a neural circuit. There are 2 types: simple reflexes and complex reflexes
Simple reflexes
are most rapid. An
afferent sensory neuron travels from
stimulus to central nervous system and
synapses on efferent motor neurons, which travel from central nervous system to muscle.
Complex reflexes
are slower because
peripheral nerves are separated by an
interneuron.
Fixed Action Patterns
- are hardwired actions
initiated by a specific stimulus (releaser or sign stimuli) and are considered the simplest form of
an instinct. - Once initiated, they will continue to completion even if the stimulus is removed during
the behavior. - Leads to predictable and appropriate behaviors that do not need to be learned.
Imprinting:
an innate way that animals learn behaviors that will never be forgotten. Occurs during the critical period or critical imprinting
stage
Learned behaviors
increase an animal’s fitness, allowing it to adapt to unexpected events.
Classical conditioning:
pairing a neutral
stimulus (elicits no physiological response) to an
unconditioned stimulus (naturally elicits a physiological response - unconditioned
response). This conditions the unconditioned
response to be mentally paired with a neutral stimulus (becomes a conditioned stimulus) resulting in a conditioned response.
Stimulus generalization:
a conditioned
animal responds to stimuli not identical to the original conditioned stimulus. The more a stimulus differs from the original conditioned
stimulus, the smaller the conditioned
response (stimulus generalization
gradient).
Stimulus discrimination:
differentiation
between a conditioned stimulus and other similar, but different, non-conditioned stimuli.
Operant conditioning:
learning to associate a behavior with a reward (increases behavior) or a
punishment (decreases behavior).
positive punishment
add something bad to decrease behavior
positive reinforcement
adds something good to increase the behavior
negative punishment
take away something good decrease behavior
negative reinforcement
takeaway something bad to increase a behavior
Associative Learning:
learning that two things are connected to each other. Increases stimulus
response efficiency. Can be forgotten (extinction) or remembered via re-association (recovery)
Spatial learning:
associating a response with a specific location.
Spontaneous recovery
occurs when a
stimulus is absent for a period of time and
reintroduced, allowing the behavior to occur.
Observational learning:
learning by watching another animal perform the same behavior.The animal learns without
reinforcement and increases efficiency.
Insight:
learning in a new situation. No
reinforcement required.
Non-associative Learning
occurs when you are
not associating a stimulus with a behavior. There
are two types: Sensitization and habituation
sensitization
as stimulus occurs more often, behavioral response increases
habituation
decreasing behavioral response to repetitive, meaningless stimulus
Kinesis:
changing speed in random directions -
no target (Favorable environment reduce
speed; Unfavorable environment increase
speed). eg: flatworm escaping when exposed to light.
Taxis:
movement with a specific direction,
towards (positive taxis) or away (negative taxis)
from a stimulus. Light stimulus = phototaxis;
chemical stimulus = chemotaxis.
Migration:
long-distance movement from one
area to another due to instinct, often seasonal.
communication
allows coordination of social behaviors with other animals (finding shelter, food mates, and avoiding predation)
Visual:
associated with aggressive (eg: wolves baring teeth) and submissive behaviors (eg: wolves lowering tail). Another example is
courtship/mating rituals.
Auditory:
communication via sounds. Beneficial at night and over long distances.
Tactile:
communication via touch (eg: wolves
greeting by licking muzzles).
Chemical:
communication via chemicals. Releaser pheromones (immediate, reversible behaviors) and primer pheromones (long term behaviors).
Social Behavior
Allows interaction for companionship, finding food, protection, and mating.
Cooperation:
grouping together to better achieve a goal (eg: coordinated hunting).
Agonistic behaviors:
competing for food,
territory, or mates. Include: threats, aggression (often detrimental to both parties), and submission.
Appeasement behavior
(a threat by one animal causes another animal’s
submission) avoids aggression (prevents injuries).
Dominance Hierarchy
pecking order.
Alpha male
top ranked male.
Territoriality:
behaviors used to protect an animal’s territory or safe space (eg: employing
watchers and defenders and using pheromones
to scare off others).
Search images:
abbreviating what food looks like to quickly locate abundant and safe food without
much thought.
Altruistic behaviors:
sacrifices made for
relatives.
Inclusive fitness
sum of animal’s direct
(genes animal passes on) and indirect (genes passed on by relatives) fitness. Increased by
indirect fitness (kin selection).
Reciprocal altruism:
sacrifices made for
other organisms in anticipation of a future reward (‘I help your family, you later help
mine’).
Sexual selection:
selection: how males and females differ
in mating behavior to maximize fitness.
Females contribution
contribute a lot of energy in mating
(maximize fitness with focus on high quality mates and offspring), while males contribute
little energy (maximize fitness with focus on
quantity of offspring).
Female choice
increases attractive traits in males.
Male competition
rewards strongest males with more mating opportunities.
Sexual dimorphism:
males and females of
same species look different (eg. males larger than females).
Monogamy
one mating partner at once.
Polygamy
multiple partners at once.
Polygyny
one male multiple females.
Polyandry
one female multiple males.
Semelparity
mate once in lifetime (multiple
offspring, low survival, harsh conditions, no
parental care).
Iteroparity
mate many times in lifetime
(one offspring, high survival, dependable
environment, parental care).
