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UACE Biology > Behavior > Flashcards

Behavior Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What is Behavior?

A

This is an internally directed system of adaptive activities that facilitate survival and reproduction.

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2
Q

Define Ethology

A

This is the scientific study of animal behavior, particularly when that behaviour occurs in the context of an animal’s natural environment.

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3
Q

What are types and examples of stimuli?

A

Internal stimuli

Examples:
(i) Hunger signals a need for more energy and causes an animal to search for food (ii) Thirst signals a loss of internal fluid and causes an animal to look for water
(iii) Pain warns an animal that some part of its body may be subject to injury causing it to take some action to avoid injury

External Stimuli
Examples:
(i) The sound of a predator can cause an animal to hide or run away to avoid being caught (ii) The sight of potential mate can trigger courtship behaviors
(iii) Changes in day length can trigger reproductive behaviors or migration

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4
Q

What are the two types of behavior?

A
  • Innate / instinctive behaviour: natural, inborn patterns of behaviour e.g. suckling in newborns.
  • Learned behaviour: behaviour acquired through experience / practice.
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5
Q

Define instinctive behavior

A

This is a type of complex inborn stereotyped behaviour of immediate adaptive survival value exhibited by all organisms of the same species that doesn’t require prior/previous experience.

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6
Q

What are the characteristics of instinctive behavior?

A

• Are unique
• Are inflexible; no alternative responses
• Are inherited from parents; controlled by genes
• Don’t require prior experience
• Are automatic
• Often quick and exhibited by all organisms of the species

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7
Q

What is the significance of instinctive behaviour?

A

• It’s of much valve in adapting the organism and the whole species to its environment and thus the stimuli.

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8
Q

State the types of instinct behaviours

A
  • Simple behaviors like reflex action, tropisms, taxes, kineses, nastic responses
  • Complex behaviours like migration, nest building, mating behaviour etc.
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9
Q

What is a reflex action?

A

A reflex action is a simple form of behaviour in which a stimulus produces a specific short-lived response.

An example of a reflex action in lower animals like earthworm and squid is the escape response.

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10
Q

Define a tropism

A

This is a growth response of organism(plant) to directional external stimuli;

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11
Q

What is a taxis?

A

This is the locomotory response of an organism to external directional stimulus.
(movement of the whole organism)

An example is sperm cells; moving towards chemicals secreted by ova; positive chemotaxis. Liverworts, mosses, ferns, woodlice; away from light; negative phototaxis. Motile bacteria moving away from chemicals; negative chemotaxis.
Green algae swim towards regions of optimum temperature; positive thermotaxis. Larvae & some small organisms moving away from extremes of temperature [cold/hot condition]; positive thermotaxis.
• Euglena; move towards light; positive phototaxis

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12
Q

Define kineses

A

These are locomotory responses of an organism/a cell to intensity of non- directional stimulus.

In other words, kinesis is a type of behaviour in which an animal responds to an alternation in intensity of stimulus by changing its activity level.

i.e. the locomotion doesn’t take a particular direction but speeds up and slows down according to the intensity of the stimulus.

E.g. Woodlice in choice chamber which is half way moist and half way dry; if they cross into the dry area (their unfavourable environment), their rate of locomotion and turning increases.
When turn back into the moist area (their favourable environment) their locomotion and turning cease altogether.
Generally, their rate of turning is increased as they try to get to favourable conditions; i.e. moving from dry to moist environment.

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13
Q

True or false
Both kinesis and taxis are referred to as orientation behaviour.

A

True

*Orientation; Reflexes of complex behavioural responses where organism take a particular position in relation to stimuli.

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14
Q

Define a Nastic response

A

This is a non-directional movement of plant in response to intensity of a stimulus;
magnitude of response; dependent on intensity of stimulus i.e. affected by; intensity of stimulus; structure.
Growth/turgor responses;
E.g.
• Opening & closing of stomata (stimulus is light).

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15
Q

What is a stimulus?

A

This is a change in the environment that causes an organism to change its behavior

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16
Q

Define a response

A

This is a change in activity of organism
or
it’s part in reaction to stimulus

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17
Q

What is an effector?

A

This is a body structure or cell which responds to stimulus.

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18
Q

What are the types of stimuli?

A
  • Motivational stimuli
  • Releasing stimuli/ releasers
  • Terminating stimuli
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19
Q

What is motivational stimuli?

A

Stimuli that determine stage/state of responsiveness of an organism; e.g. smell of food.

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20
Q

What is releasing stimuli?

A

This is any feature of the environment which is positively shown to evoke behavioural responses.

e.g. sight of food; secretion of pheromones; red stripped abdomen(male); large abdomen (male) in stickleback fish; butch of red feathers in male ribbons; high frequency sound of female mosquito; male follow; red spotted beaks in gulls(birds); rolling of eggs into nests in ground nesting;

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21
Q

What are Terminating stimuli?

A

These are stimuli that terminate/end behavioural responses; e.g. stretching of stomach walls on satisfaction; terminates desire to eat.

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22
Q

Define Fixed action patterns

A

This is an inborn behavioural response triggered by a very specific stimulus, which once initiated, continues until completed.

Examples of FAPs:
(i) Toad capturing a grasshopper / prey (releaser is any movement by a small [prey-sized] nearby object).
Note: A toad can starve even though it is surrounded by dead insects because it cannot recognize non-moving animals as prey!

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23
Q

What are characteristics of fixed action patterns?

A

• Are stereotyped
• Are complex
• Are independent of experience
• Are triggered by stimulus
• Are species-specific

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24
Q

What are the types of releasers?

A

(i) Visual releaser; e.g. beautiful colours of peacock; change of tail structure
(ii) Auditory releasers e.g. Singing of some birds
(iii) Chemical releasers e.g. pheromones

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25
Q

Define motivation

A

This is a complex innate behaviour; which drives an organism to respond to stimuli; self drives; intrinsic forces.

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26
Q

Define migration

A

This is a complex innate behaviour; that involves movement of a population/part of population; from one area to another and their return to original area/habitat after some time eg

• Stickle back fish in the springs, the males migrate upstream to their
breeding grounds.

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27
Q

What are the reasons for migration?

A

• To look for mates.
• To look for food.
• To look for water etc

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28
Q

What are the advantages of migration (releasers)?

A

• it’s a means of finding better food suppliers
• provides better chances of finding good breeding places/sites thus animals that have migrated breed successfully
• enables animals to avoid adverse unfavourable environmental conditions.

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29
Q

How do the organisms that have migrated find their way back home?

A

→ Follow prominent natural/Physical features e.g. Mountain ranges, waterbodies & waterfalls etc.
→ Orientation towards the direction of sun’s rays i.e. orient themselves in relation to the position of the sun
→ Doves using their tails as a compass to find their way back home.
→ Have inborn ability to sense direction like the homing ability of pigeons; internal
biological clock.

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30
Q

What is territoriality?

A

This is an innate behaviour where organism or group of organisms acquire; demarcate; protect/guard an area out of intruders.

Note: Amphibians don’t display territoriality.

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31
Q

What is a territory?

A

A territory is an area(avenue) of the habitat which is occupied by an individual/group of individuals and defended from other individuals of the same species.

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32
Q

What methods are used by organisms to defend their territory?

A

(i) Defecating around the territory
(ii) Urinating around it
(iii) Making special sounds
(iv) Making special signals like posture/facial expression.
(v) Producing bad odour/smell.
(vi) Rubbing glandular parts of the body against objects called scent posts.

33
Q

What is the importance of threat displays among territorial organisms?

A

To prevent actual fighting from breaking out since the rival usually accepts defeat and departs as it is frightened by the threatening postures of the aggressor.

E.g.
✓ An aggressive dog threatens another rival by standing erect barring its teeth and the rival is threatened and departs.
✓ Open combat between human beings is avoided by facial expression.

34
Q

What are the advantages of territorial behavior?

A

• Reduces loss of animals(organisms) to predation by defending the territory against predators
• Ensures/guarantees food supply, shelter and adequate space to offsprings, old and the mates; by keeping off all other animals that would feed on their food and reducing intraspecific competition;
• Reduces the amount of time devoted to aggression which is a destructive behavoiur; and aggression is replaced by mere threats;
• Reduces/prevents spreading of diseases/epidemics; due to reduced contact with other organisms
• Limits mating to biologically fit individuals only thus, increase the overall fitness of the population; by ensuring passing on of good genetic characters/traits from one generation to the next
• Enhances pair formation hence mating assured; which is a pre-requisite for reproduction of most animals;
• Permits improved defense of nest and young ones; due to protection of breeding area & offsprings;
• Reduces interference from other intending mates;(other organisms intending to mate)

35
Q

What are the disadvantages of territorial behavior?

A

• Leads to genetic death since mating is only limited to fit individuals; and unfit/weak individuals are denied chance for mating thus don’t propagate their genetics to their young ones/subsequent generation;
• Limits the population density that can be attained in an area;
• Reduces genetic variation; since it encourages inbreeding which results
into reduced biological fitness;
• Puts animals at risk of predation in which case the entire territory likely
to be consumed
• Encourages spreading of diseases amongst territory owners during the outbreak of epidemics; due to overcrowding;
• Encourages passing on of poor traits from fit individuals to offsprings; since mating is limited to fit individuals only;
• Weak organisms are incapable of making territories; since they can’t secure and defend them;

36
Q

What is reproductive behavior?

A

This is a complex form of inborn behaviour involving both precopulatory/prenatal behaviour like courtship and post copulatory/postnatal behaviour like care for the young called parental care.

37
Q

What are the categories of reproductive behaviour?

A
  • Pre-copulatory behavior
  • Post-copulatory behavior
38
Q

Define courtship

A

This is a form of stereotyped(specific) behaviour between male and female organisms prior to mating which eventually lead them to mate.

• It ends in pair formation i.e. male-female pairs; occurs with focus of mating.

Eg
- Unmated female cockroach secretes a chemical substance which stimulates the male to court it.
- Making sounds in amphibians
- Change in colour of belly to red in male stickleback fish.

39
Q

What are the advantages of courtship?

A

• Synchronizes development of gonads.
• Induces mating among accepted pair/leads to mating after pair formation
• Strengthen bond pair among mating pair.
• Reduces aggressiveness among mating pair.
• Synchronizes maturity towards to sexual activity[preparedness]
• Ensures pair formation and pair bond formation thus ensuring the responsibility of both male and female partners of the same species for the young.
• Suppresses some tendencies that exist in organisms like escaping behaviour, avoidance of body contact.
• Prevents mate cannibalism i.e. the tendency to eat members of the same
species.

40
Q

What is parental care?

A

This is a series of activities a parent animal does to ensure the survival, development and well being of its young.

Note: man at any particular time has smaller number of young compared to those of amphibians but offers maximum parental care.

41
Q

What is the evolutionary significance of parental care?

A
  • It ensures survival of species from one generation to another.
42
Q

What is a pheromone?

A

This is a chemical substance produced by one animal which influences the behaviour of another.

• It does so either by acting as a releaser of by building up motivation towards a particular type of behaviour.

e.g. unmated female cockroaches secrete a chemical substance which stimulates the male to court them.

43
Q

Define altruism

A

This is a social behaviour where an individual puts itself at a risk/personal disadvantage in trying to ensure survival of organisms of the same species.

OR

This is an activity where an organism puts itself at an increased risk/disadvantage for the sake of other organisms

E.g. Mating & parental care. Birds feeding their young ones until they reach an age of feeding themselves;

44
Q

What is the significance of altruism?

A

• Ensures defense for members of a group
• Ensures protection and care for the young ones
• Leads to increased allele frequency
• Leads to increased population size
• Ensures continuous food supply for the young ones and also other members of the group.
• Ensures continuity of the species of organisms thus survival.

45
Q

What are biorhythms/ biological rhythms?

A

These are biological activities occurring at regular intervals.

46
Q

What are Endogenous rhythms/physiological factors?

A

Rhythms involving an internal clock or pacemaker

47
Q

What are Exogenous rhythms?

A

Rhythms controlled by external factors.

External factors;
→ Photoperiods.
→ Tidal variations.
→ Seasonal changes.

48
Q

What is aggression or aggressive behavior?

A

This is a group of behavioural activities including threat postures, rituals & occasionally physical attacks [protection] onto other organisms, often to members of same sex and species; other than those associated with predation

49
Q

What is the significance of aggression?

A

➢ Enhances food capturing.
➢ Leads to Creation of hierarchy.
➢ Ensures defense for the young ones and mates.
➢ Leads to increased genetic fitness over generations
➢ Leads to displacement of weaker ones
➢ Ensures mating for only fit individuals
➢ Leads to increased allele frequency for valued traits.
➢ Enhances establishment of territories.
➢ Minimizes risks of physical combat within the population.
➢ Leads to display of weaker ones.

50
Q

What is a dominance hierarchy?

A

Is a form of social ranking within a group, where some members are subordinate to
others.

51
Q

State any features of a dominance hierarchy.

A

• The position of the member in hierarchy is determined by the level of agonistic behaviour.
• Each member carries out specific roles in the group
• Levels of testosterone and oestrogen determines the order in the hierarchy.

52
Q

What is learning?

A

This is the adaptive change in behaviour of an organism due to previous /past
experience.

53
Q

State characteristics of learned behavior

A

• Learned behaviour is acquired during the life time of an individual as a result of constant experience.
• It’s a relative permanent change in behaviour
• Learning is not directly observed but manifest itself in the activities of an individual.
• Learned behaviour depends on practice and experience of the past situations
• It’s adaptable in the form that the information learnt in one situation can be used to solve problems in new situation.
• What’s learnt vary from one individual to another thus learned behaviour is also referred to as individual characteristic behaviour.
• It can be modified if environment changes.
- cannot be inherited

54
Q

Define memory

A

The ability to store and retrieve information.

55
Q

What are the types of learned behavior?

A
  • Habituation
  • Associative learning ( Classical conditioning & operant learning/ trial and error learning)
  • Insight
  • Imprinting
  • Latent learning/ exploratory learning
  • Imitation
56
Q

Define Habituation

A

This is the type of learned behaviour in which repeated exposure of an organism to a stimulus without an associated reward or punishment results in decreased responsiveness.
Eg
Birds stop to respond to scare craw (ignore) which used to prevent them from landing.

57
Q

What is the significance of habituation?

A

• It avoids wasting time and energy on harmless stimuli.
• Time and energy is used for important activities like feeding; courtship, mating, parenting, protection, acquiring territory.
• It prevents over stimulation and damaging of receptors and effectors.
• The first response to the stimulus is vital as a precaution in case of danger.
• Avoid responding to trivial stimuli and respond only when appropriate to
stimuli with survival value.
• The animal stops responding to a stimulus that is not associated with a
reward or punishment.
• Prevents the animal to perform escape responses so frequently that is has no opportunity to do important work

58
Q

What is associative learning?

A

This is a type of learning where animals learn to associate their response with either a reward or punishment or to associate one stimulus with the other.

59
Q

Define Conditioned reflex(learning)/classical conditioning

A

Is form of associative learning where a stimulus which doesn’t normally elicit/ evoke a particular response elicits it due to organism learning to associate the stimulus with one that normally elicits it.
E.g. Pavlov’s condition of his dog to the metronome (bell’s sound) and food
The the dog associated the sound of the bell with food.

60
Q

What are the characteristics of conditioned reflexes?

A

• Evoked after many trials.
• A delay in conditioned response occurs.
• The response involves association of stimuli.
• It is enhanced/reinforced by repetitions.
• It’s involuntary.
• It decays with time after removal of the unconditioned stimuli.
• Removal of the cerebral cortex affects the response; loss of memory. i.e. response loss on removal of cerebral cortex.

61
Q

What is the significance of conditioned reflex?

A

a) Allows the animals to modify their behaviour in such a way that maximum rewards are obtained and punishments are avoided e.g. animals get to learn about their predators (punishment avoided).
b) Predators their prey(reward) maximized.
c) Is important in wild animals e.g. predators learn to associate unpalatable animals with certain marking or colouration and thus avoid eating them.
d) In human beings, we get conditioned ourselves to take over at the sound of powerful gunfire.

62
Q

Define Operant learning /trial and error learning/instrumental learning

A

This is a type of associative learning whereby an organism learns to solve problems by making a number of trials and hence rewarded and learns to minimize errors in which it is punished.
Eg
When a rat is put in a skinner box, learning that tapping on a lever results in food release from dispenser. But tapping wires it gets electric shock.

63
Q

What 3 factors In trial & error learning reflect the ability of animal to learn?

A

(i) The speed with which it ceases to make errors.
(ii) The length of time between trials that can keep remembering the content without the repeated trials.
(iii) The complexity of the situation to which it will respond/cate.

64
Q

What are the characteristics of operant learning?

A

• It’s involuntary.
• Removal of the cerebral cortex doesn’t affect the response.
• Enhanced by repetitions.
• Associative stimulus follows the action and doesn’t need to be presented with the action.
• The response improves with to stimulus.

65
Q

What is the significance of trial and error learning?

A

• In higher animals like primates, it enhances quick learning of complex situations and retaining of the relevant information for a relatively longer time.
• In lower animals like worms and insects, enhances learning of simple problems although at a slow rate.

66
Q

What is latent learning or exploratory learning?

A

Latent learning or exploratory learning is a type of learning that involves solving problems by using previous learning experiences related to the problem. It also involves an organism exploring its environment and learning useful information to be used later in life.

67
Q

Can you provide an example of latent learning in animals?

A

An example of latent learning is a rat recognizing a hole in its habitat to be used for escape when in trouble. Another example is a hungry rat placed in a maze mastering the maze after about 12 trials when rewarded with food or water. If the rat is allowed to stay in the maze before the trials begin, it requires fewer trials to gain mastery of the maze.

68
Q

What are the significances of latent learning?

A

Latent learning enables rapid escape and finding refuge, allows animals to navigate their environment, and helps animals learn and remember the characteristics and landmarks of their habitat.

69
Q

What is imprinting?

A

Imprinting is a simple and specialized form of learning that occurs during critical periods in an animal’s life and involves forming associations with other organisms or large objects they first interact with.

70
Q

What type of learning is involved in imprinting for young animals?

A

In imprinting, young animals tend to recognize and follow objects or animals they first see, often imprinting on their parents. This type of learning is best developed in vertebrates, especially mammals.

71
Q

Can you give examples of imprinting in animals?

A

Examples of imprinting include F. Lorenz’s observation that goslings and ducklings deprived of their parents would follow him and use him as a substitute parent. In human beings, children are known to imprint on their parents and caretakers. Additionally, if a young mule is reared by foster parents of another species, it will subsequently pair with a member of that species rather than its own.

72
Q

What is the significance of imprinting?

A

Imprinting enables offspring to acquire essential skills possessed by their parents, such as learning to fly in birds, improves the survival chances of the organism by creating a strong bond with the parent, and influences the behavior of the organism later in life.

It determines future behavioral patterns, provides protection from predators and parental care, and helps young ones develop a sense of belonging.

The parent also provides food, warmth, shelter, and teaches important environmental features.

73
Q

What is insight learning?

A

Insight learning is the highest form of learning involving immediate comprehension and response to a new situation without trial and error, based on advanced perceptual abilities.

74
Q

What does insight learning involve?

A

Insight learning involves internal mental processes or intelligence, putting familiar things together in new ways (reasoning or thinking), and requires high intelligence, which is the ability to carry out abstract thinking. It is most difficult to interpret and is more developed in mammals, especially high primates like humans.

75
Q

How is animal intelligence assessed in insight learning?

A

Animal intelligence is assessed by the speed with which it solves a problem it has not encountered before.

76
Q

Can you give an example of insight learning?

A

An example of insight learning is when a chimpanzee, placed in a room with a ripe banana at a height it couldn’t reach, used various strategies such as stacking boxes and tying sticks together to eventually reach the banana.

77
Q

What is the significance of insight learning?

A

Insight learning ensures the survival of an organism by avoiding adverse and dangerous conditions through solving problems immediately and leads to discovery.

78
Q

What is imitation in the context of learning?

A

Imitation is a form of social learning that involves the rapid spreading of certain types of animal behavior from one area to another by copying the behavior of another animal, usually of the same species.

79
Q

Is imitation limited to a critical period?

A

Imitation is not limited to a critical period.

An example of imitation is the development of hunting skills in dogs.

UACE Biology (30 decks)

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