Animal Behavior Definitions Flashcards
Animal Behavior
Any internally coordinated, externally visible pattern of activity that responds to changing external or internal conditions.
Ethogram
A formal Description of an animal’s behavior.
Time budget
A summary of the total time and relative frequency of different behaviors of an individual.
Process of science
Observing events, organizing knowledge, and providing explanations through the formulation and testing of hypotheses.
Hypothesis
Explanation based on assumptions that make a testable prediciton.
Research question
A formal statement of an unknown that begins the scientific method.
Alternate hypothesis
Statistical hypothesis that the proposed explanation for an observation does significantly affect the behavior of an organism.
Null Hypothesis
The statistical hypthesis that an observation results from chance. Also called the hypothesis of no effect.
Negative results
An outcome in which the null hypthesis is not rejected, and thus the atlernate hypothesis is rejected.
Correlation
Two variables that vary rogether predictably
Scientific Theories
Hypotheses that have been tested many times, by many different scientists, and have not been rejected. These are conceptual framework that explains many phenomena and are well supported by observations and experimental tests.
Proximate explanation
A behavior that focuses on understanding a behavior mechanism. no evolution
Ultimate explanation
Behavior that requires evolutionary reasoning/analysis.
Operant chamber
Enclosure used to study behavioral conditioning
Skinner box
Enclosure used to study behavioral conditioning
Anthropomorphism
Using human motivations, characteristics, and emotions to animals.
Handling time
The time it takes to manipulate a food item so its ready to eat.
Observational method
When scientists observe and record the behavior of an organism without manipulating the environment or animal.
Experimental method
When scientists change manipulate or change a variable to examine how it affects the behavior of an animal.
Control group
When a group that is not manipulated is compared to a group that is maniuplated for results.
Comparative method
An approach used to examine differences and similarities between species to understand the evolution of behavioral traits.
Phylogeny
Branching diagram showing hypothesized evolutionary relationships among organisms. aka phylogenic tree
Derived trait
Trait found in an organism that was not found in the last common ancestor aka apomorphic trait.
Sister species
Two species that are more closely related to one another than to any other species, species that share a recent common ancestor.
Replacement
Ethical guideline that encourages the use of computer modeling, recordings, or other approaches in place of actual animals.
Scientific misconduct
Violation of ethical behavior standards in science. Usually involves the falsification or fabrication of data and plagirism.
Reduction
Ethical guideline that promotes limiting the number of animals subject to disturbance in research or teaching.
Refinement
Ethical Guideline that involves improving procedures and techinques to minimize pain and stress for animals.
Primary literature
Original source of scientific information, typically peer reviewed scientific journals.
Peer review
Process in which editors of scientific journals ask experts to review a submitted paper to determine wheter to accept or reject it for publication.
Secondary literature
A report, which often appears in newspapers, magazines, and books, that summarizes and interprets the primary literature.
Natural Selection
Process of differential reproduction and survivorship among individuals within a population.
Heritable
Characteristic of a trait that can be passed from parents to their offspring due to it being genetically based.
Evolution
Changes in allele frequency or trait values in a population over time.
Fitness
The survivorship and reproductive success of an individual.
Parent-offspring regression
Statistical technique used to exmaine the similarity between parents and their offspring in terms of the traits they possess
Selection experiment
An experiemnt in which different groups of individuals are subjected to differential selection on a trait.
Phenotype (P)
Observable traits of an individual.
Compass
Instrument or capability that provides informatoin about direction.
Frequency-dependent selection
Evolutionary process in which the fitness of a trait is relatied to its frequency in a population.
Adaptation
Trait that enhances fitness (survivorship and reproduction) also an evolutionary process that results in a popualtion of individuals with traits best suited to the current environment.
Directional selection
Situation which individuals with one extreme trait value in a population possess the highest fitness.
Disruptive selection
A situation in which individuals with either of two extreme trait values a population possess the highest fitness.
Stabilizing selection
Mode of selection in which individuals with intermediate trait values in a population have the highest fitness in a particular environment
Competition
Interaction that results in a reduction in fitness for one or both individuals.
Optimal trait value
Trait value that confers the highest fitness in a population in a particular environment.
Cost-benefit approach
Method used to study behavioral adaptations in which the fitness benefits and costs of different traits are examined to determine which has the highest net benefit.
Game theory
A cost-benefit modeling approach in which an individual’s fitness is affected by the behavior of others.
Evolutionary stable strategy
A strategy that if adopted by a population cannot be invaded by another strategy because it yields the highest fitness
Individual selection
Natural selection acting on individuals
Cooperative behavior
A mutually
beneficial interaction between
individuals.
Group selection
form of selection
that favors particular groups of
individuals over other such groups.
Direct fitness
Genes contributed to
the next generation by an individual
due to its own reproduction.
Indirect fitness
genes contributed
to the next generation by an individual
as a result of helping non-offspring kin
produce additional offspring
Inclusive fitness
The sum of an
individual’s direct and indirect fitness.
Kin selection
A form of natural
selection in which individuals can
increase their fitness by helping close
relatives, who share the helper’s genes.
Multilevel selection
Form of
selection that can act simultaneously
on individuals and groups. In some
circumstances, selection may be
stronger on groups than individuals.
Sexual selection
A form of natural
selection that acts on heritable traits
that affect reproduction.
Sexual dimorphism
Morphological
differences between the sexes.
Heritability (H2)
The proportion of
phenotypic variation in a population
that is due to genetic variation.
Genotype (G)
The genetic makeup of
an individual.
Epistasis (I)
Interactions between
genes at different loci.
Fixed action pattern
A behavior
that is invariant, unlearned, and, once
initiated, always completed.
Wild type
The typical form of an
organism or gene in nature.
Pleiotropy
A situation in which a
single gene affects more than one
phenotypic trait.
knockout technique
A procedure
in which a single gene is rendered
nonfunctional.
Quantitative trait loci
Stretches
of DNA that either contain or are linked
to genes influencing a trait such as
behavior.
QTL mapping
A statistical technique
that combines genetic information with
trait information to determine which
regions of the genome contain the
genes that influence the trait QTLs.
Gene expression
The process in which
gene products are produced.
Genome
The complete DNA of an
organism.
Rover
One type of genetic and
behavioral variant in fruit flies. Larval
rovers have longer foraging trails than
sitters in the presence of food and are
more likely to leave a food patch.
Sitter
One type of genetic and
behavioral variant in fruit flies. Larval
sitters have shorter foraging trails than
rovers in the presence of food and are
less likely to leave a food patch.
Genomics
Study of the structure,
function, and evolution of genomes by
examining gene expression.
Personality
Consistent relative
differences in behavior among
individuals over time or across different
environmental contexts.
