Animal Behaviour Flashcards
What does “umwelt” mean in German?
Environment
What is the meaning of “Umwelt” in animal behaviour?
the world through the animal’s eyes, shaped by what it needs to do, and it’s needs to survive
Definition: How sensory input is processed onto flexible behaviour (able to do different things under different circumstances)
Cognition
Definition: cognitive ability (how well do you apply
→both relative to what the animal needs to do
Intelligence
Definition: The attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to nonhuman entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology
Anthropomorphism
Definition: The scientific study of how and why animals behave the way they do
The study of animal behaviour
artificial selection:
Selectively bred for specific looks or abilities, based on desirable phenotype (all traits that make up an organism)
: what decides what survives, resulting in species with certain genotypes and phenotypes
selective agent
direct fitness:
individual’s reproductive success
indirect fitness
reproductive success of genetic relatives
inclusive fitness
direct fitness + indirect fitness
what is eusociality
Some reproduce, some don’t
Overlapping generations - everyone helps everyone
Communal care of young
Individuals specialised for particular tasks
_________ traits
same function but not same physical structure; probably got through different evolutionary history
analogous
_________ traits
humans and primates skeletons look similar) (same physical structure, perhaps not same behaviour; probably same evolutionary history
homologous
when a gene is copied from the genome in order to make a protein
transcription
The mRNA now in cytoplasm is turned into a protein that the DNA codes for
translation
Double Helix. Transfers genetic material from one generation to the next. Very stable. “whole instruction manual”
DNA
Single stranded, easily broken down. Not very stable. Easy to use inside a cell for translation but not good for carrying info over generations. Carries “passages of the text to be translated and put into action”
RNA
Mendel’s law of independent assortment
the presence of an allele of one of the genes in a gamete has no influence over which allele of another gene is present
behavioural dimorphism
subdivision within the sexes of an animal
plietrophy
when one gene influences two or more phenotypic traits that seem independent
epistasis
gene expression depends on other genes present - the effect of one gene being dependent on the presence of one or more “modifier genes”
- multiple genes act togetehr to express one phenotypic trat
epigenetics:
the study of chemical reactions that turn biological mechanisms on and off and the factors that influences these chemical reactions
species found in one small specific area and nowhere else
endemic species
animal that moves to a new area where it may overtake a niche of an existing species or maybe a niche not yet filled; spread rapidly, has large effects on environment
invasive species
a species moves from a population to a new one; entering a foreign country to live there from your own population. entering ones country to live
immigration
a species moves out of a population to a new one; leaving ones country where you lived
emigration
the study of human-animal relationships
Anthropology
ethology
Observation and description of animals in their natural or semi-natural habitat and environment
sociobiology
How natural selection selects for particular social behaviours
behavioural ecology
- The function and evolution of behaviour - Hybrid of ecology and comparative psychology - Strongly theoretical
ethogram
List of behaviours with definitions:
Can translate neuronal stuff to signals to pituitary (endocrine) and this releases hormones that go through whole bloodstream and stimulate adrenal glands (endocrine glands) that stimulate production of stress hormones and these get animal to do things (mostly getting ready for a challenge for the body)
- end up with production of stress hormones
HPA-axis
cascade of hormones that ends with the production of sex hormones
H-P- Gonadal Axis
describe the main 3 parts of the cascade of the HPA axis
- what does it end with?
Hypothalamus → anterior pituitary → adrenal glands
End up with hormones, corticosteroids, cortisol
Flight or fight
describe the main 3 parts of the cascade of the HPG-axis
what does it end with?
Hypothalamus → anterior pituitary → Gonads
End up with sex steroids
Androgens
Estrogens
Progesterone (reproduction, parental behaviour)
what does progesterone control?
reproduction and parental behaviour
is development needed for innate behaviours?
yes
what does development consist of? (stages)
maturation
experience
practice
learning and teaching
example of social influence and development: How does the cow bird learn songs after being put in an unrelated birds nest?
The males sing songs the females then reinforce some of the songs by responding with their wings. The males will drop other songs the female did not like/ respond to
What limits social influence among animals? advantages vs disadvantages?
Advantages to joining crowd or standing out by being different
Could be that you’re learning from an outlier, so there might be guards against this
Young birds learn from repetitions to a point and then don’t as much
Explain natural selection in 5 steps
- Individuals vary
- Some variation is heritable
- Some individuals survive
and reproduce better than
others - Survival and reproduction is
non-random; individuals with
more suitable traits do better - End up with Organisms that
are left have adaptations
that are good for their
environment
a set of observable characteristic of an organism resulting from genotype and environment interaction
phenotype
the genetic makeup of an organism
genotype
inclusive fitness score identical twin parents sibling grandmother
Identical twin = 1 Parent, offspring = 0.5 Full sibling = 0.5 Half sibling = 0.25 aunt/uncle, niece/nephew = 0.25 grandparent/grandchild = 0.25
kin selection
What if the behaviour was a behaviour that helped someone else with the same gene- more relatedness the more you want to help them
Evolutionary history better displayed in a evolutionary tree
phylogenic trees
____ pairs of chromosomes for humans
23
______ are made of gene, genes are made of our 4 nucleotide bases
chromosomes
in each chromosome there are ____ copies of genes from mom and dad
1 copy of genes from mom and 1 copy from dad - the two copies are allele
allele
a pair of genes- one from mom one from dad
The three major fields of animal behaviour
- psychology (comparitive)
- biology (behavioural)
- anthropology
what is ethology
Observation and description of animals in their natural or semi-natural habitat and environment
what is sociobiology
How natural selection selects for particular social behaviours
what is behavioural ecology
The function and evolution of behaviour
Hybrid of ecology and comparative psychology
Strongly theoretical
the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals, especially as these relate to the phylogenetic history, adaptive significance, and development of behavior
comparative psychology
Pioneers of ________: Karl Von Frisch (bees and language), Konrad Lorenz (schemes of approaching behaviour), Niko Tinbergen (naturalist, field experiments)
ethology
what did karl von frish study
bees and language- ethology
what did niko tinbergen do
ethology- naturalist, did field experiments
what did EO Wilson study?
sociobiology: E.O. Wilson (importance of biodiversity, ant nerd)
who is richard dawkins?
a sociobiologist, Richard Dawkins (anti creationist guy; wrote “The Selfish Gene)
_______ is the study of the behavior, biology, evolution, and taxonomy of nonhuman primates.
primatology
The first two legs of animal behaviour: proximate “how”?
- Mechanism (immediate causes of behavior)
2. Development (history of the behaviour, and way organism is helped to behave in \ particular way)
The second two legs of animal behaviour: ultimate “why”?
- Evolutionary/ phylogenetic (understanding evolutionary history and phylogeny and evolutionary function of the behaviour)
- Survival value
behavioural decision equation
Sensory cues on what to do, + social internal states (needs; thirsty, hungry, mating) = behavioural decision
behavioural decision equation
Sensory cues on what to do, + social internal states (needs; thirsty, hungry, mating) = behavioural decision
behaviour organised through:
1.
2.
Neurons
Hormones
axis definition in biology
chain of events within the body
bouts
a chunk of repetition, mini pattern, short bursts of repetitive behaviour in an ethogram
sequences
bouts put together, movements in accordance with the definitions, to create movement
neuropeptides
a group of polypeptides that act like neurotransmitters
an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli.
instinct
how do juvenile behaviours develop, how does the animal not die while grow up/ how does it survive while learning how to live
The developing animal has to have a functioning behaviour system to do its work to survive/ keep animal alive
influence of hormones, stress, timing, and target cells on birds songs
embryo : discrimination, guide for sensory learning, listening to sounds outside
Fledgling: sensory learning, learning and listening, developing brain to make discriminations between songs
Young adult: practicing, matching songs to other individuals, crystallizing adult song
Adult: adult song and song preference, female birds can tell what kind of shape the male birds are in with the males bird song
