Behavioral Ecology Flashcards by Eulivanne Rose Anduyan

Responses of animals to Environmental cues

Behavior

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Behavior is controlled by ___ and ___ systems.

Nervous, endocrine

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Innate Behavioral Types (3)

Heritable
Stereotypic
Intrinsic
(Example: Making nests and newborn reflexes)

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Learned Behavioral Types (3)

Nonheritable
Adaptable
Extrinsic

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Founder of animal behavior
Studied instinctive behavior in animals
-principle of IMPRINTING in ground nesting birds
-Greylag geese experiment

Konrad Lorenz

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Initial use of experimental methods in behavior
Studied senses of bees
Identified bee communication
-Translated meaning of the waggle dance
-Length and number of waggles=distance
– Angle of waggle run to vertical of hive = angle of
food from sun

Karl von Frisch

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Questions to ask about any behavior according to Nikolass (Niko) Tinbergen (4):

Causation - what are the proximate causes?
Development - what is the ontogeny/development
Function - what is the survival value?
Evolution - what is the evolutionary history?

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Originated 4 questions to ask about any behavior:
Causation
Development
Function
Evolution
Cornerstone of modern ethology
Worked with Lorenz on fixed action patterns

Nikolass (Niko) Tinbergen

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Examine HOW an animal behaves
-Factors behind a biological system working at a particular time and place
-Mechanisms and structures within an animal that produce the behavior

Proximate causes

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Examine WHY they behave that way
-Identify and reconstruct evolutionary history of the behavior
-Purpose of this behavior
-Evolution of the behavior
-Adaptability of the behavior

Ultimate causes

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Programmed by genes
Highly stereotyped

Innate behaviors

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Four categories of Innate Behaviors:

Kinesis: random movement in response to stimulus
Taxis: deliberate movement toward or away from a stimulus
Reflex
Fixed action pattern (FAP)

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Stereotyped often complex series of movements
-Response to a specific stimulus = ‘releaser’
-Fully functional 1st time performed (completed fully once started)
-Not modified by experience

Fixed Action Patterns

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Examples of fixed action patterns:

Suckling behavior of newborns
Egg retrieval of greylag goose
Courtship rituals
yawning

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Acquired during an animal’s lifetime
Modified by experiences

Learned Behavior

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Learned behavior Categories (6)

-Imprinting
-Habituation
-Associative learning
-Problem solving
-Spatial learning (cognitive mapping)
-Social learning

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Occurs during a ‘sensitive’ or ‘critical’
development period

Imprinting

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Decline in response to a harmless,repeated stimulus
Acts as a filter

– Prevents wasting energy on irrelevant stimuli

Adaptive

Habituation

Prairie dog warning calls decrease when homes near human pop.

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Forms association between
2 stimuli

Associative Learning

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Type of conditioning where Animal learns to perform old
response to new stimulus
* Stimulus 1st, behavior 2nd
* Pavlov’s dogs

Classical conditioning

Type of conditioning with Trial-and-error learning
Perform behavior to receive
reward or avoid punishment
* Behavior 1st, reward 2nd
* Clicker training

Operant conditioning

Manipulate concepts to arrive at an adaptive behavior
Internal memory used as additional
sensory/information source
Mental trial-and-error

Problem solving

Enables an animal to learn and use
information about its physical
environment
– Bees and wasps use to locate nest
* Tinbergen used digger wasp nests to test

Spatial Learning

– Internal representation of spatial
relationships in an animal’s surroundings

Cognitive mapping

Piloting and homing animals find their way by orienting to these landmarks

Migration

Involves observing and imitating members of the same species – Food washing in Japanese macques * Female learns and imitated by younger group members – Calling by vervet monkeys * Young vs adult * Eagle vs snake vs any flying animal

Social Learning

Types of Individual Behavior (4)

Foraging Communication Moving Grooming

Types of Foraging Individual Behavior

Eating Searching Recognizing Capturing

Types of Communication Individual Behavior

Visual Auditory Chemical Tactile

* Involves interactions with members of the same species

Social Behavior

Types of Social Behavior (4)

– Affiliative: promote group cohesion – Agonistic (aggressive) * Territorality * Dominance – Reproductive – Parental

Advantages of Social Behavior (4)

– Hunting efficiency – Protection from predators – Energy conservation – Access to mates

Disadvantages of Social Behavior (4)

– Increased competition within group – Increased risk of infection – Risk offspring being killed by group – Risk of being spotted by predators

* Occur over limited resources * Threats, displays, or combat – Displays often to minimize injury * Reinforce social hierarchy – Stable for periods of time – Alpha individual and others understand position

Agonistic Behavior

* Establishing and maintaining a space * Requires maintenance of boundaries – Olfactory marking – Singing – Occasional physical interactions * Size of territory depends on required maintenance * Access to resources and mates

Territoriality

Requires Communication Conditions for Success Mating Systems

Sexual Reproduction

Sexual Reproduction Communication (3)

– Stereotyped displays (FAPs) – Sexual dimorphism – Pheromones

Sexual Reproduction Conditions of Success (3)

– Identify species – Identify opposite sex – Identify availability

Sexual Reproduction Mating Systems (3)

– Promiscuous – Monogamous – Polygamous

Parental Behavior (4)

* Approaches and care for young – Maternal, paternal, both, or none * Defense – Maternal aggression * Feeding * Nest building

* List of natural behaviors in an animal – Can be individual or social – Based on natural or semi-natural environmental observations * Distinguishes frequencies and durations of behaviors – Seasonal and geographic effects – Gender and development effects

Ethogram

Preparing an Ethogram

* List different behaviors expected to see – Organize into types +Solitary or social +Food or reproductive related +Affiliative or aggressive – Multiple individuals need identification codes * Prepare a chart to allow monitoring – Break into a given time increment (1-2 minutes good) – Record everything done as checks and/or letter designator for each period * Glossary explains detailed behaviors for other observers to interpret

Sample Ethogram Glossary Solitary type Behavior (4)

Groom Self (GS) Sleep (S) Rest (R) Locomote (L)

Sample Ethogram Glossary Food Related Behavior (3)

Eat (E) Look for Food (LF) Drink (D)

Sample Ethogram Glossary Social type Behavior (2)

Groom Others (GO) Play (P)

Sample Ethogram Glossary Aggressive type Behavior (2)

Fight (F) Steal Food (SF)

The main feature of the NCA is the ___, a large volcanic caldera. The crater, which formed when a giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself some two to three million years ago, is 610 m (2,000 ft) deep and its floor covers 260 km2 (100 sq mi).

Ngorongoro Crater (Serengeti National Park)

What are the "Big Five"

Lion African Leopard African Elephant Black Rhinoceros African Buffalo