Animal Behaviour Flashcards
Innate
Molded by evolution
Is genetic
Usually beneficial for overall fitness of the animal
Behavioural Ecology
Behaviour that is beneficial for overall fitness of the animal
Learned
Behaviour learned through environment/experiences
Instinct
Inherited/genetic behaviour
i.e. In mammals, mother cares for offspring
FAP
Fixed Action Patterns
Type if instinctive behaiour
Types of behavior that almost always runs to completion
Sign stimulus stimulates behaviour
i.e. Sign stimulus= missing egg from nest
Causes goose to roll egg back to nest, will roll imaginary egg back to nest if egg becomes lost along the way
Imprinting
Inherited behavior that can be imprinted on the aniaml during a specific phase of their life
If critical period is missed, behaviour can’t be learned
i.e. Salmon have their birth region imprinted on them when they are young. Come back to the same spot to mate
Associative Learning
Learns that 2 or more events are connected
Classical conditioning
Trial and Error Learning
Operant Conditioning
Associative Learning
Animal connects behaviour to type of response
Spatial Learning
Associative learning
Connect location to a reward, causing the animal to return to that location
i.e. Wasps use landmarks to find nests
Habituation
Learned behavior
Allows animals to disregard meaningless stimuli
i.e. Sea anamones ignore things that bump into them that aren’t food
Observational Learning
Observes behavior of another animal, then copies this behaviour even though there was no positive reinforcement for it
i.e. Monkey washed sand off potato instead of using hands. Other monkeys copied
Insight
Animal gains insight into a new behavior that results in a positive outcome
i.e. Monkey can’t reach bananas. Builds a tower of boxes to reach bananas
Kinesis
Undirected change in speed in response to a stimulus
i..e Log lifted up, animals inside run away
Taxis
Directed movement in response to stimulus
either toward or away from stimulus
Phototaxis
Light (stimulus) directs movement towards light
Migration
Long distance, seasonal movement of animals
Pheromones
Chemicals animals use for communication
Can be smelled or eaten
Releaser pheromones
Causes immediate and specific changes in behavior
Release/trigger behavior to occur
Primer Pheromones
Cause physiological changes
i.e. Ants secrete primer pheromone that is eaten by workers and prevent them from being able to reproduce
Visual Comunication
Used to entice a mate or show aggression
Agonistic Behavior
Behaviour related to aggression/submission
Comes from competition for food, mate, or territory
Behaviours are often ritualized
Auditory Behavior
Animals used sounds to communicate through long distances, water or at night
i.e. Whales produce songs that can be heard hundreds of miles away (at a frequency that humans can’t hear)
Tactile
Animals use physical touching in social bonding, infant care, grooming, and mating
Foraging Behavior
Goal to max feeding, minimizing energy and risk to obtain food
Can form herds to most animals are hidden from view
Can form packs to corner prey
Search Images
Animals use search images to find food
Similar technique humans use to associate BW car= [police car]
Dominance Hierarchies
Indicates power or status of certain animals
Established hierarchies minimize competition for food or mates
Territoriality
Animals defend territory they live in
Territories are important for reproduction, raising young, and finding food
Altruistic Behavior
Animals risk their own safety to defend others
Seems to reduce fitness, but actually increases inclusive fitness
Inclusive Fitness
Number of offspring supported by an individual, regardless if they are biological offspring
Kin Selection
Form of natural selection and inclusive fitness
Favours the reproductive success of an organisms relatives, even at a cost to the organisms own survival and reproduction
Combines number of offspring produced with number an individual can produce by supporting others (i.e. siblings)
Kin Altruism
Altruistic behaviour driven by kin selection
