Animal Behavior

Question 1

Ethology

Answer 1

Study of behavior and it’s relationship to its evolutionary origins

Question 2

Karl Von Frisch

Answer 2

Known for honeybee communication and the waggle dance description.

Question 3

Niko Tinbergen

Answer 3

Known for elucidation of the fixed action pattern.

Question 4

Konrad Lorenz

Answer 4

Famous for work with imprinting.

Question 5

Fixed Action Pattern

Answer 5

highly stereotypic behavior that once begun is continue to completion no matter how useless; initiated by sign stimuli

Question 6

Releasers

Answer 6

sign stimuli exchanged between members of the same species

Question 7

Tinbergen and Stickleback Fish

Answer 7

FAP study that identified the red belly of intruder fish as the releaser for the stickleback fish. The stickleback will not attack an intruder without a red belly even if they’re competitor but will attack another fish with a red belly even if they are not a competitor.

Question 8

Learning

Answer 8

Sophisticated process in which the responses of the organisms are modified as a result of experience. The capacity to learn can be tied to length of life span and complexity of the brain. If the animal has a short life span there is no time to learn so they will follow FAPs.

Question 9

Habituation

Answer 9

an animal comes to ignore a persistent stimulus so it can go about its business; ex. if you tap the glass containing a hydra it will shrink away but if you continue to do it the hydra will begin to ignore it

Question 10

Associative Learning

Answer 10

one type of learning in which one stimulus becomes linked to another through experience; classical and operant conditioning

Question 11

Classical Conditioning

Answer 11

Ivan Pavlov; dogs began salivating to the sound of a bell because in the past the bell would be rung with the food

Question 12

Operan Conditioning

Answer 12

Trial-and-Error; B.F.Skinner; an animal learns to associate one of tis own behavior with a reward or punishment and them repeats or avoids that behavior

Question 13

Imprinting

Answer 13

Konrad Lorenz & Geese; Learning that occurs during a sensitive or critical period in the early life of an individual that is irreversible for the length of that period. Mother-offspring bonding are critical to safety and development of offspring.

Question 14

Social Behavior

Answer 14

Any kind of interaction among two or more animals, usually of the same species. Include cooperation, agnostic, dominance hierarchies, territoriality, and altruism.

Question 15

Cooperation

Answer 15

Enables individuals to carry out a behavior such as hunting they can do more effectively as a group.

Question 16

Agnostic Behavior

Answer 16

Aggressive behavior; It involves a variety of threat or actual combat to settle disputes among individuals. These disputes involve both real aggressive behavior as well as ritualistic or symbolic behavior.

Question 17

Dominance Hierarchies

Answer 17

Pecking order behaviors that dictate the social position an animal has in a culture. This is commonly seen in hens where the alpha animal controls the behaviors of all the others.

Question 18

Territoriality

Answer 18

An area an organisms defends from which other members of the community are excluded. They are established using agnostic behavior.

Question 19

Altruism

Answer 19

A behavior that reduces and individual’s reproductive fitness while increasing the fitness of the group or family. Ex. when a worker bee kills an intruder for the good of the queen bee.