Animal Behaviour Flashcards
(a) Explain the advantages to organisms of innate behaviour;
- It does not need to be learned
- It has immediate survival value for a young, inexperienced animal in a dangerous situation
- It is appropriate for invertebrates with short life cycles that do not have time to learn
- It requires few neurones
- It is likely to be appropriate for the animal’s habitat, as the alleles controlling it will have been subject to natural selection.
(b) Describe escape reflexes, taxes and kineses as examples of genetically-determined innate behaviours;
Escape reflexes
A particular stimulus brings about an autonomic response, where the organisms move away from danger, avoiding predators. E.g. Earthworms contract the longitudinal muscles of the body when they are touched at the head end, and so withdraw in their burrow to escape predation.
Taxes
A directional movement in response to an external stimulus; the organism moves towards or away from a directional stimulus. E.g. Woodlice move away from light; a negative phototaxis. They will be less visible to predators in darker conditions, and less liable to desiccation.
Kineses
A movement in response to an external stimulus, in which the rate of movement is related to the intensity, but not the direction of, a stimulus; the organisms’ movement response is affected by a non-directional stimulus.
e.g. Woodlice move rapidly and turn frequently in dry conditions, but when damper conditions are found by chance, movement slows down, or stops, keeping the organism in optimum conditions.
(c) Explain the meaning of the term learned behaviour;
Learned behaviour; animal responses that change or adapt with experience.
Learned behaviour; animal responses that change or adapt with experience.
Habituation
Simplest form of learning. The animal stops responding to a repeated stimulus; learning to ignore certain stimuli due to repeated exposure to the stimulus, stimuli that are no longer novel and that are neither harmful or beneficial. Avoids wasting energy in making escape responses to non-harmful stimuli. Animals remain alert to unfamiliar stimuli, though.
E.g. the earthworm’s escape response fades, allowing it to emerge from a partially blocked burrow.
Calcium ion channels in presynaptic membranes are inactivated so that less and less neurotransmitter is secreted.
Imprinting
A form of learning to recognise a parent or other complex stimulus, which is often limited to a sensitive period in an animal’s development. It ensures that the infant animal is in a position to learn the skills possessed by the parent. There is no innate recognition of the parent species; the young animal follows or learns from objects of a similar shape to the imprinted organism.
Classical conditioning
A form of adaptive learning in which an innate response is modified; responding naturally to a stimulus that doesn’t normally cause that response. The animals learns to respond to a stimuli that is different from the usual stimulus, as seen in Pavlov’s dogs salivating in response to a bell, rather than to the presence of food, in a conditioned reflex. The dog learnt to relate the two events and anticipate the second event after the first event had occurred; the dog associated the sound of the bell (the conditioned stimulus) with the arrival of food (the unconditioned stimulus), so that either produces a response.
Operant conditioning
A form of adaptive learning in which an animal learns to carry out a particular action in order to receive a reward or to avoid an unpleasant experience. Also known as trial and error conditioning; an animal learns to associate an operation with a reinforer, which can either be reward or punishment. At first, the animal can accidentally perform the operation and will be reinforced accordingly. This then leads to an increase of frequency of the operation being performed, reward is given, or decrease of operation, if a punishment is given. The animal learns to associate the reward/punishment with the action.
Latent learning
Behaviour that is no directed towards a particular outcome; the exploration of environments in order to retain information about the new environment that is not of immediate use but may be essential in the future. Hidden learning; the animal doesn’t immediately show it’s learned something.
Insight learning
A form of learning in which an animal integrates memories of two or more earlier actions (e.g. from latent learning) to produce a new response to gain a reward. The organism has the ability to use thought and reason to solve problems or deal with situations that do not resemble simple, fixed, reflex responses or the need for repeat trial and error. Considered the highest form of learning, and when a solution is found, it is remembered. Solving problems by insight learning is quicker than by trial and error as actions are planned and worked out. E.g. Chimpanzees stacking a series of boxes in order to gain access to bananas which, without stacking, would not be in reach.
(e) Describe, using one example, the advantages of social behaviour in primates;
In gorillas
- Females give birth to only one (or very few) young at a time. The maternal care and group protection enhances the survival rate of the young. By the age of 12 months, the young gorilla will only venture 5m from its mother.
- The young learn through the observation of, and play with, the other members of the group. Learned behaviour is vital to the survival of primates. By the age of two, juvenile gorillas play together and imitate the actions of the adults. From 3-6years, the young plat with the older male to learn new skills.
- The final, relatively large brain size slows the maturity of primates; the security of a group enhances the survival and learning of the immature young.
- Knowledge and protection of food sources is shared with the group
- Greater ability to detect and deter predators is achieved by groups of individuals working together.
- A large group is more efficient at hunting for food; a larger area can be searched, and communicate back to the group when there’s a DECE source of food.
- Members of the group groom each other; this is hygienic and helps to reinforce the social bonds within the group.
- There’s a clear-cut hierarchy within each group; helps prevent fighting which would otherwise waste energy as the males already know their rank order in the group.
(f) Discuss how the links between a range of human behaviours and the dopamine receptor DRD4 may contribute to the understanding of human behaviour;
There are a range of dopamine receptors in the brain. Depending on how effective the receptors are to bind to dopamine, there will be different levels of dopamine in the brain. The gene coding for one of the 5 receptors for dopamine, DRD4, is one of the most variable human genes known. Having variable levels of repeats of DRD4 in the brain has been linked to a range of conditions, such as schizophrenia, ADHD and Parkinson’s disease. The link between a particular DRD4 genotype and a mental state such as schizophrenia is a statistical association; many genetic and environmental factors apart from the different DRD4 alleles are involved. Understanding the role of the DRD4 protein receptors and other neuroreceptors is helping the development of therapeutic drugs.
