Animal Behavior Flashcards
What is ethology?
Study of how animals behave
Ethology serves to answers what 4 questions?
- What stimulus elicits a behavior and what physiological mechanisms mediate a response?
- How does the animals experiences during development influence the response?
- How does the behavior aid survival and reproduction?
- What is the behaviors evolutionary basis?
The study of the ecological and evolutionary basis of behavior is called?
Behavioral Ecology
Proximate cause focuses on what?
immediate causality (how it happens)
Ultimate cause focuses on what?
the bigger picture (why it is evolutionarily beneficial)
Define kinesis
change in activity due to a stimulus
Define taxis
orientation towards or away from a stimulus
Define migration
a long distance change of locations done at regular intervals
Migration is usually stimulated by _________ ______.
seasonal changes
Animals who migrate use what for navigation?
the sun, north star, or the earth magnetic field
What are circadian rhythms?
daily cycles (rest, eating, etc), usually regulated by light and dark
What are circannual rhythms?
yearly cycles usually linked to seasons
Where is cortisol released?
the adrenal gland
List ways animals use signaling
visually, chemical, or auditory
Define innate behaviors
fixed behaviors that all the animals in a population are born with (instinct)
Define fixed action pattern
a sequence of innate behaviors initiated bya stimulus.
Define habituation
a reduction or loss of reaction to a stimuli