Ch. 37 Behavioral Adaptations to the Environment

Question 1

Animal Behavior

Answer 1

External observable muscular activity. It is what an animal does when interacting with environment.

Question 2

Behavioral Biology

Answer 2

Science of behavior

Question 3

What did Karl Von Frisch do?

Answer 3

He pioneered the use of experimental methods in behavior.

Question 4

What did Konrad Lorenz do?

Answer 4

The founder. He noted importance of comparing the behavior of various animals by same stimulus

Question 5

What did Niko Tinbergen do?

Answer 5

He studied innate behavior and simple learning.

Question 6

The immediate explanation for an organism’s behavior

Answer 6

Proximate cause

Question 7

Evolutionary explanation for an organism’s behavior

Answer 7

Ultimate cause

Question 8

Scientific search for evolutionary basis of behavior as mechanisms of reproductive success

Answer 8

Behavior ecology

Question 9

Behavior that appears to be performed in virtually the same way by all members of a species

Answer 9

Innate Behavior

Question 10

A genetically programmed, virtually unchangeable behavioral sequence performed in response to a certain stimulus
- enables to perform vital activities without learning (natural selection)

Answer 10

Fixed Action Patterns

Question 11

A stimulus that triggers fixed action patterns

Answer 11

Sign Stimulus

Question 12

A behavioral change resulting from experience

Answer 12

Learning

Question 13

Habituation

Answer 13

Learning not to response to a repeated stimulus that conveys little/no info
- highly adaptive, focus on important info

Question 14

Imprinting

Answer 14

Irreversible and limited to a critical time period in an animal’s life; results in strong bond between offspring and parent
- enables rapid learning (any age)

Question 15

Associative Learning

Answer 15

Learning that a particular stimulus/response is linked to a reward/punishment

Question 16

A type of learning in which arbitrary stimulus is associated with a reward or punishment

Answer 16

Classical Conditioning

Question 17

Learning to associate a particular behavioral act with a positive/negative effect

Answer 17

Trial - and - error learning

Question 18

Imitation

Answer 18

Learning by observing and mimicking the behavior of others (no critical period)

Question 19

Innovation

Answer 19

Ability to respond approximately to a new situation without prior experience
- mainly with primates

Question 20

Ascribing human motivation, conscious, awareness or feeling to other animals
- don’t know if true/extent

Answer 20

Anthropomorphism

Question 21

A biological cycle of 24 hours controlled by a biological clock (under influence of environmental cues)

• a pattern of activity repeated daily
• tested by Stefania Follini
• affects wellbeing, productivity, judgement

Answer 21

Circadian Rythm

Question 22

Random movement in response to a stimulus

Answer 22

Kinesis

Question 23

Directed movement resulting in an organism’s placing itself in a specific position relative to an environmental cue

Answer 23

Orientation Behavior

Question 24

Virtually automatic orientation toward or away from a stimulus

Answer 24

Taxis

Question 25

Ability of an animal’s nervous system to perceive, store, process, and use information obtained by its sensory receptors

Answer 25

Cognition

Question 26

Scientific study of cognition; connection of data process between nerves and behavior
- cognitive maps

Answer 26

Cognitive Ethology

Question 27

Representations within nervous systems of spatial relations among objects in envionment

Answer 27

Cognitive Maps

Question 28

The regular back and forth movement of animals between two geographic points at particular time
- access to rich food and breeding grounds

Answer 28

Seasonal Migration

Question 29

Mechanism that enables an animal to find a particular kind of food efficiently

Answer 29

Search Image

Question 30

Feeding behavior that provides max. energy gain with min. energy expense and min. time searching/securing/eating
- low cost/benefit ratio

Answer 30

Optimal foraging

Question 31

Any kind of interaction between two or more animals usually of the same species

• Communication
• affects growth/regulation of population and fitness

Answer 31

Social Behavioir

Question 32

Confrontational behavior involving a contest waged by threats, displays, or actual combat, which settles disputes over limited resources (food/mates)
- avoid violent combat which would lower fitness

Answer 32

Agonistic Behavior

Question 33

Ranking of individuals based on social interactions

- reduce time spent on agonistic behavior for other things

Answer 33

Dominance Hierarchy

Question 34

Territorial behavior; area an individual defends and from which other members of the same species are usually excluded

• varies with species, function, resources
• proclaim rights and exclusive access

Answer 34

Territoriality

Question 35

Prospective partners perform elaborate courtship rituals to assure same species, opposite gender, primed to mate, and not a threat

Answer 35

Mating Behavior

Question 36

Social behavior and social organization depends on this

Answer 36

Signaling

Question 37

Behavior that reduces an individual’s fitness which increasing the fitness of another individual
- colony of cooperative group

Answer 37

Altruism

Question 38

The concept that altruism evolves because it increases the # of copies of a gene common to related organisms
- natural selection

Answer 38

Kin Selection

Question 39

A selfless act repaid at a later time by the beneficiary or by another member of the beneficiary’s social system (non-relatives)

Answer 39

Reciprocal Altruism

Question 40

Sociobiology

Answer 40

Study of evolutionary basis of social behavior

- perpetuated by natural selection