Behavior Flashcards
behavior
Any action by an organism.
Proximate causation
n biology, the immediate, mechanistic cause of a phenomenon (how it happens), as opposed to why it evolved. Also called proximate explanation.
Ultimate causation
In biology, the reason that a trait or phenomenon is thought to have evolved; the adaptive advantage of that trait. Also called ultimate explanation.
fixed action pattern
Highly stereotyped behavior pattern that occurs in a certain invariant way in a certain species. A form of innate behavior.
innate behavior
Behavior that is inherited genetically, does not have to be learned, and is typical of a species.
cost-benefit analysis
Decisions or analyses that weigh the fitness costs and benefits of a particular action.
optimal foraging
The concept that animals forage in a way that maximizes the amount of usable energy they take in, given the costs of finding and ingesting their food and the risk of being eaten while they’re at it.
Do genes influence behavior?
Yes, fruit fly experiment
What are the sex hormones in females and males?
testorone in males and estradiol in females(in relation to lizards)
sexual dimorphism
Differences in the sexes as to gene expression
What are the three categories of navigation for animals?
1) Piloting
2) Compass Orientation
3) True Navigation
circadian clock
n internal mechanism found in most organisms that regulates many body processes (sleep-wake cycles, hormonal patterns, etc.) in a roughly 24-hour cycle.
Benefits and costs of migration?
Food benefit, energetic and predator risk
Deceit usually works…
When rare
Altruism
Any behavior that has a cost to the individual (such as lowered survival or reproduction) and a benefit to the recipient.
coefficient of relatedness
A measure of how closely two individuals are related. Calculated as the probability that an allele in two individuals is inherited from the same ancestor.
Hamilton’s rule
The proposition that an allele for altruistic behavior will be favored by natural selection only if Br > C, where B = the fitness benefit to the recipient, C = the fitness cost to the actor, and r = the coefficient of relatedness between recipient and actor.
inclusive fitness
The combination of (1) direct production of offspring (direct fitness) and (2) extra production of offspring by relatives in response to help provided by the individual in question (indirect fitness).
kin selection
A form of natural selection that favors traits that increase survival or reproduction of an individual’s kin at the expense of the individual.
reciprocal altruism
A type of navigation in which animals use familiar landmarks to find their way.
