Animal Behaviour Flashcards
Ethology:
-the study of animal behaviors, which
are inherited (innate), or learned.
Inherited Behaviors include:
1) instincts
2) Reflexes
3) Fixed Action Patterns
4) imprinting
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: 1) Simple Reflexes and 2) 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. (ex: goose rolling egg back into nest, male insects attacking red bellied males). Fixed action patterns are not flexible or adaptable.
Imprinting:
- an innate way that animals learn
behaviors that will never be forgotten. Occurs
during the critical period or critical imprinting
stage (eg: ducklings treating a moving object as
their mother & following it).
Learned behaviors
- increase an animal’s fitness,
allowing it to adapt to unexpected events. - includes:
1) Classical Conditioning
2) operant conditioning
3) Associative learning
4) Non-associative learning
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. - includes:
1) stimulus generalization
2) stimulus discrimination
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). - BF Skinners box
1) Positive punishment - add something bad to decrease behaviors
2) negative punishment - take away something good to decrease behaviour
3) Positive reinforcements - add something good to increase behaviour
4) negative reinforcement - take away something bad to increase behaviour
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) - includes:
1) spatial learning
2) spontaneous recovery
3) observational learning
4) insight
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: 1) Sensitization and 2) habituation
Sensitization:
- as stimulus occurs more often,
behavioral response increases.
Habituation:
- decreasing behavioral response
in response to repetitive, meaningless
stimulus.
Different animal movements include:
1) Kinesis
2) taxis
3) migration
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.
Animal communication allows:
- Allows coordination of social behaviors with
other animals (finding shelter, food, mates, &
avoiding predation). - different communication method include:
1) Visual
2) auditory
3) tactile
4) chemical
Animal communication: Visual
- associated with aggressive (eg: wolves
baring teeth) and submissive behaviors (eg:
wolves lowering tail). Another example is
courtship/mating rituals.
Animal communication: Auditory
- communication via sounds.
Beneficial at night and over long distances.
Animal communication: Tactile
- communication via touch (eg: wolves
greeting by licking muzzles).
Animal communication: Chemical
- communication via chemicals.
Releaser pheromones (immediate, reversible
behaviors) and primer pheromones
Animal Social Behaviour
- allows interaction for companionship, finding
food, protection, and mating. - includes:
1) cooperation
2) agonistic behaviour
3) dominance hierarchy
4) Territoriality
5) Search image
6) altruistic behaviour
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.
- includes:
1) Inclusive Fitness
2) Reciprocal altruism
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). - Hamilton’s Rule of Altruism
r x B > C
r= genetic relatedness between altruist and relative
B = # genes passed on by relative after being saved by altruist
C = cost of altruist
r x B = indirect fitness
For altruist behavior to occur = indirect fitness (i.e.: r x B) > direct fitness (i.e.: C)
Reciprocal altruism
- : sacrifices made for other organisms in anticipation of a future
reward (‘I help your family, you later help mine’).
Mating: Sexual Selection
- how males and females differ in mating behavior to maximize fitness.
- Females 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).
includes:
1) female choice
2) male competition
3) sexual dimorphism
4) monogamy
5) polygamy
6) polygyny
7) Polyandry
8) semelparity
9) iteroparity
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).
