Behavior Flashcards
Natural selection applied to animal behavior
behavioral traits vary
Variants have evolutionary costs and benefits
Variation is heritable
near an evolutionary equilibrium
timid
less active (eat less, fewer mates) but survive better
bold
more active (more food, more mates), but more likely to be eaten
Variation heritable, at least in part
timid animals have offspring that are more timid than average
Near an evolutionary equilibrium
Most fit animals have a near optimal level of wariness
Behavioral ecology
The study of the adaptive value of behavioral traits in solving environmental obstacles to survival and reproduction
ultimate function of behavior is to
increase fitness
Anti-predator behaviors
reflect perceived risk. Metrics are flight initiation distance, extent of flight, time devoted to vigilance
Movement behaviors
Habitat selection
Response to disturbance
Connectivity conservation
Real time tracking
Ideal free distribution
the distribution of individuals in space when they are free to make decisions that maximize their individual fitness
Ideal
have complete information about patch quality (resources, disturbance) and competitors
Free
Go where they will enjoy same rate of resource acquisition
Geofencing
aversive conditioning of a problem elephant
Allee effect
correlation between population size and individual fitness
habituation
the relative persistent waning of a response as a result of repeated stimulation
Sensitization
the increased behavioral responsiveness over time when animals learn that a repeated or ongoing stimulus has consequences
Tolerance
the intensity of disturbance that an individual tolerates without responding in a defined way
conditioning
learning through reward reinforcement
