Behaviour Flashcards
What is animal behaviour?
Animal behaviour is an observable action taken by an animal, this may involve whole body movements e.g. run, feed, mate. Or specific movements e.g. pupil dilation, cell pigmentation
What is animals aim of life?
To survive long enough to reproduce and pass on their genes to offspring
What are some examples of hyperactivity?
High energy Constantly needing to move Impulsive and easily distracted Can become aggressive On high alert at all times
Where is hyperactivity commonly seen?
Commonly seen in captive and domestic animals , very unusual to see in wild animals
What can cause hyperactivity?
Breed
Environment
Diet
Disease
What are examples of excessive inactivity?
Very lethargic
No energy to move
Slow movements
Can be obese
Where is excessive inactivity usually seen?
Usually seen in captive and domestic animals, very unusual to see in wild animals
What can excessive inactivity be caused by?
Diet
Disease
Environment
What are stereotypical behaviours?
Repetitive behaviours that seem to serve no purpose
What are some examples of stereotypical behaviours?
Wind sucking, crib biting , weaving, box walking- horses
Scratching, tail chasing, paw biting, over grooming- dogs
Over grooming, pacing, scratching- cats
Feather plucking , bobbing, self mutilation- parrots
Where are stereotypical behaviours usually seen?
Captive and domesticated animals
What are some causes of stereotypical behaviours?
Environment
Breed
Diet
Disease
What are displacement behaviours?
Re-directed behaviours which are performed when the animal is anxious. They are to provide self comfort or to deter other animals. Not all displacement behaviours are abnormal, most are normal and are good indicators of mild stress or anxiety
Examples of displacement behaviours
For dogs-
Sneezing, yawning,shaking head, sniffing ground, scratching, eyes wide
For cats-
Yawning, looking away, scratching, licking, grooming
What is the common cause of displacement behaviours?
Environment
What are the 3 main causes if atypical/abnormal behaviour?
Confinement
Unsuitable environment
Inappropriate social group
What are the behaviours that may differ between wild and captive animals?
Social behaviour Reproductive behaviour Feeding behaviour Predator avoidance Sleeping patterns and hibernation Activity levels Migration
Social behaviour to consider
Solitary or social
Group structure e.g. Alpha, matriarch
Territorial or resource guarding
Complex groups or communication
Reproductive behaviour to consider
Courtship behaviour Competition for mates Pair bonding, for life or not Specific conditions needed Number required to help rear young
Feeding behaviours to consider?
Type of diet
Method of hunting and or foraging
Predation avoidance behaviour to consider
Different methods of avoidance e.g. fight or flight
Need to avoid predators in captivity
Sleeping behaviours to consider
Whether they are nocturnal, diurnal or crepuscular
How many hours they sleep
Hibernation patterns
Activity level and migration behaviour to consider
How active the animals are
How far they travel
When are where they migrate
What is the definition of duration of behaviour?
How long a behaviour lasts for
Is a state a behaviour pattern of long or short durations?
Long
What is scan sampling?
Where a whole group of animals are quickly scanned at regular intervals and the behaviour of each individual is recorded
What does frequency mean?
How often/amount of times an animal displays a certain behaviour
What is a state?
Behavioural pattern of long durations
What is an event?
Behavioural patterns of relatively short duration which can be seen as points in time
What is an instantaneous recording?
Measuring the behaviour on the instant e.g. noting behaviour every 30 minutes
What is a continuous recording?
Recording each occurrence of the behaviour with information about the time of the behaviour e.g. walking 1.33-1.43
What is focal sampling?
All behaviours of one individual are recorded in a specific time frame
What is behaviour sampling?
When you are recording the group of animals doing one behaviour at the same time
What is an ethogram?
A catalogue of the different behaviours observed in an animal
How do you write an ethogram?
Choose your animal Make a list of behaviours you see Observe animals using notes videos and photos Put all info into the table Write codes for each behaviour if needed
What is nature
Provides animals with instinctive/ innate behaviours
For example the animal is genetically predisposed to behave a certain way
This behaviour is mainly fixed despite environment and parental influence
What is Nurture
Environment will shape this in the form of learning
Behaviour which is learnt either from parents sibling family or their environment
What is instinctive/innate behaviour?
An inborn pattern of behaviour this is characteristic of a species and is often a response to a specific environmental stimuli
What is learned behaviour?
Is a behaviour that must be directly taught or learnt fro, experience. It will not be there when first exposed to stimuli
What is trial and error?
Is leaning in which an animal comes to associate particular behaviours with the consequences they produce
This tens to reinforce the behaviour, ie the behaviour is likely to be repeated if the consequences are pleasant and positive but not if they are negative and unpleasant
What is observational learning?
When one animal can watch the actions of another and learn from those actions. This may be as simple as learning a location of a food source or learning a sequence of actions that needs to be taken in order to earn a reward. For example blue tits learnt to rob cream from the top of milk bottles during the early part of the 20th century
What is cultural behaviour?
Animal culture describes the current theory of cultural learning in animals through socially transmitted behaviours. Culture is a process rather than an end produce. It involves the social transmittance of a novel behaviour both among peers and between generations. This behaviour is shared by a group of animals but not necessarily between separate groups of the same species
What is parental/ social teaching
Social learning involves the transfer of information from a more experienced individual to a naive one. Social learning is fundamentally different from individual learning or asocial learning. Social learning is most beneficial in stable environments in which predators, food and other stimuli are not likely to change rapidly
