Animal behaviour

Question 1

What is behaviour?

Answer 1

A response to a change in an organisms surrounding environment in order to increase its chances of survival.

Question 2

What are the factors that influence behaviour?

Answer 2

1. Environment.

2. Genetics.

Question 3

What are innate behaviours?

Answer 3

A response that occurs without any need for learning. It is inherited and is stereotyped in the sense that it is carried out in the same way each time by all members of the same species.

Question 4

Why do invertebrates only display innate behaviour as opposed to both innate and learned?

Answer 4

• They have short life-spans, so don’t have time to learn appropriate behaviours.
• They are solitary so do not interact with each other.
• They do not take care of their young.

Question 5

What are reflexes?

Answer 5

Involuntary actions that follow a specific pattern each time in response to a stimulus. Usually used as a mechanism for escape from danger (escape reflexes).

Question 6

What are example of reflexes?

Answer 6

• Earthworms retreat underground when they detect vibrations above ground.
• Humans move their hands quickly away when touching a hot/sharp object.
• Pupils dilate in response to dimming in light levels.

Question 7

What are kineses?

Answer 7

A non-directional orientation behaviour whereby the movement speed of an organism increases when in unfavourable conditions and the organism moves in random directions, until more favourable conditions are reached and the organism slows down/stops.

Question 8

What are examples of kineses?

Answer 8

• Woodlice prefer dark/damp conditions as they prevent them from drying out and protect them from predators.
• When paced in light/dry conditions, they move quickly in random directions until they find darker/damper conditions, when they eventually slow down and stop.

Question 9

What are taxes?

Answer 9

A directional orientation behaviour whereby an organism actively moves away from a stimulus or towards it.
- Chemotaxis relates to a chemical stimulus.
- Phototaxis refers to a light stimulus.
Direction of movement is in relation to the stimulus.
- Positive taxis is movement towards the stimulus.
- Negative taxis is movement away from the stimulus.

Question 10

What are fixed action patterns (FAPs)?

Answer 10

Innate behaviour whereby a series of more complex motor actions are triggered by stimulus. With stimulus acting as releaser for more complex nerve impulse patterns stored in brain.

Question 11

What are examples of FAPs?

Answer 11

• Female three-spined stickleback fish follows any red objects into nest and ovulates when any pressure is applied to base of tail..
• Baby chicks peck at any red objects.

Question 12

How do worker bees communicate with each other?

Answer 12

• They perform the waggle dance in order to inform each other of food source locations.
• The angle between vertical and body of the bees represents direction of food source.
• Duration of dance represents approximate distance of food source.

Question 13

What is a learned behaviour?

Answer 13

Animal responses that change and adapt over time, with experience. The response is not possessed at birth but is acquired through experience, and is heavily influenced by the environment.

Question 14

What types of animals display learned behaviours?

Answer 14

• Animals with longer life-spans, giving time to learn.
• Animals that experience maternal care, allowing them to learn from mothers.
• Some social aspects so there can be learning from other members of the same species.

Question 15

What is habituation?

Answer 15

When an animal has a reduced/no response to an insignificant stimulus (presenting no reward/punishment) after repeated exposure over a period of time.

Question 16

Why is habituation important?

Answer 16

• To prevent energy being wasted on responding to stimuli that don’t affect the animal.
• To keep animal focused on stimuli that may potentially affect (benefit/harm) animal.

Question 17

What are some examples of habituation?

Answer 17

• When birds learn to ignore scarecrows.

- When humans learn to ignore traffic noise during night.

Question 18

What is imprinting?

Answer 18

When an infant becomes associated with certain object (e.g. parent). This often results in infant following object as well as imitating it. Imprinting only occurs in period of time after birth called sensitive period.

Question 19

Why is imprinting described as both innate and learned behaviour?

Answer 19

• Innate component of behaviour comes in the form of the infant instinctively recognising the first individually seen after birth as parents.
• Leaned component of behaviour comes in the form of the instant having to learn to recognise this/these individuals.

Question 20

What are examples of imprinting?

Answer 20

• When a bird infant imprints on parents and learn vital skills such as flight.
• When a duckling hatches in the presence of humans, it will imprint on the human and follow him/her around.

Question 21

Why is imprinting important?

Answer 21

• Helps infants learn important skills quickly from their parents.
• Ensures they are close to parents for food, shelter and protection; increasing their chances of survival.

Question 22

What is classical conditioning (associative learning)?

Answer 22

When an animal learns to associate a stimulus causing natural response (unconditioned stimulus) with one that doesn’t (conditioned), resulting in the response being caused by a stimulus that doesn’t normally cause it.

Question 23

What is the process of classical conditioning?

Answer 23

1. Animal exposed to 2 different stimuli, one causing a specific response naturally (unconditioned stimulus) and one that doesn’t (conditioned stimulus), usually conditioned before unconditioned.
2. Animal responds to unconditioned stimulus. This is called the unconditioned response.
3. When the process is repeated enough times, animal learns to associate conditioned stimulus with unconditioned stimulus and responds naturally to conditioned stimulus even when unconditioned stimulus is absent. This is called the conditioned response.
4. This type of conditioning is passive.

Question 24

What are some examples of classical conditioning?

Answer 24

• When a dog associates the noise of a ringing bell with food and salivates despite not being presented with any food after the bell is rang.
• When human test subjects associate a red light on a device with an electric shock and move their hands away from the device when a red light shows despite the electric shock not being applied.

Question 25

What is operant conditioning (trial and error learning)?

Answer 25

When an animal learns to associates particular response with either reward or punishment and repeat reward response, but not punishment response.

Question 26

What are the 3 types of operant conditioning?

Answer 26

1. Positive reinforcement: When an animal learns to repeat a response when the response is associated with a reward.
2. Negative reinforcement: When an animal learns to repeat a response when the response is associated with the cessation of a punishment.
3. Punishment: When an animal learns not to repeat a response when the response is associated with a punishment.

Question 27

Why is operant conditioning described as active learning?

Answer 27

Because the animal is learning though activity (doing something consciously).

Question 28

What are some examples of operant conditioning?

Answer 28

• When a mice associates pressing a lever with receiving food or escape from a cage (reward) and repeatedly presses the lever.
• When a monkey associates one side of a choice chamber with social reward (e.g. another monkey) learns to choose the same side of the chamber when the experiment is repeated several times.

Question 29

What is latent (exploratory) learning?

Answer 29

Learning that occurs, but is not immediately expressed without some form of reinforcement. This usually involves exploration or repeatedly doing the same task.

Question 30

How can an experiment be set up to show latent learning?

Answer 30

1. A group of mice are put into a maze with food reward at the end and time taken for all mice to complete maze recorded.
2. Experiment repeated and a decrease in time taken for mice to complete maze is shown.
3. Another group of mice are put into the same maze without food at the end and time taken for all mice to complete maze recorded.
4. The experiment is repeated and the second group take considerably longer to complete maze each time (compared to first) and little improvement is shown.
5. Food is then put at the exit of the maze for the second group and the experiment is repeated.
6. The mice of second group take considerably shorter time to complete maze than first, make fewer errors and improve quicker than mice in first group.
7. This shows that the mice in second group have been learning the maze, but this learning is not shown until a reinforcer (food) is introduced.

Question 31

Why is latent learning important?

Answer 31

Animals may take time to explore and learn the surroundings to their burrows. This learning doesn’t usually show until a threat is present and the animal escapes quickly, proving it knows surroundings very well.

Question 32

What is insight learning?

Answer 32

When animals learn to solve complex problems using previous experience. This can either be taught by other members of the species or worked out by the animal through association of many previous events. The solution is then remembered and can be repeated when similar/same problem is presented.

Question 33

What is an example of insight learning?

Answer 33

Chimpanzees are left with boxes and a bunch of hanging bananas out of reach. Though playing with boxes, chimpanzees learn to stack the boxes and climb on top of them in order to reach bananas.

Question 34

What are social behaviours?

Answer 34

Organisms of a particular species living together in groups with defined roles for each member of the group.

Question 35

What is the social hierarchy of gorillas?

Answer 35

• Gorillas live in groups of around 10 called troops.
• There is a dominant male (silverback), a few mature females and infants.
• When a male infant grows up, he lives in his own until he matures and attracts females to form his own troop.
• When a female infant grows up, she can either stay in her current troop or joins another.

Question 36

What are the advantages of gorillas having social behaviours?

Answer 36

Strength in numbers:

• Large group means hunting for food is more efficient.
• Large group means more protection from competitors or predators.
• Infants can play with each other, improving their social skills.
• Infants can learn vital hunting/survival skills from large number of other adults, increasing their chances of survival in future.
• Grooming (picking parasites from each other) ensures hygiene throughout group and reduces risk of disease as well as increasing social bondage.

Social hierarchy:
- Hierarchy with dominant male prevents fighting for dominance between males, causing disorder and wasting energy.

Maternal care:
- Females looking after young ensures they are safe. This ensures there are enough individuals (especially females) to reproduce and maintain population.

Question 37

What is dopamine?

Answer 37

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and hormone. It also acts as precursor molecule to adrenaline and noradrenaline.

Question 38

What is the effect of dopamine?

Answer 38

• Increased general arousal.
• Decrease in inhibition.
• Increased creativity.

Question 39

What controls the effect of dopamine?

Answer 39

The different dopamine receptors found in the body, each having slightly different effect. There are 5, DRD1 - DRD5, although these have slight genetic variations from person to person that cause them to act slightly differently.

Question 40

What types of behavioural disorder are associated with DRD4?

Answer 40

• Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD): Ritalin is used to treat ADHD and has effect on dopamine levels in brain, evidence that there is a link between disorder and dopamine. Studies have shown that particular variant of DRD4 is prominent in sufferers of the disorder.
• Different variants of DRD4 are associated with increased gambling/risk taking activities. Drugs affecting dopamine levels (e.g. L-dopa) cause dramatic changes to these forms of behaviour.