Ch 52 Flashcards
behavioral ecology
the scientific study of behavior in natural environments from an evolutionary perspective
behavior
includes: what an animal does, how it does it, and if what they are doing is in response to a stimuli from the environment
proximate causes of behavior
immediate causes that permit a specific behavior, genetic, developmental, and physiological processes, answer ‘HOW’ questions, proximate questions are mechanistic: how is this behavior brought about? what stimuli trigger it? what genetic and physiological mechanisms underly it?
ultimate causes of behavior
evolutionary explanations for behavior, answer ‘WHY’ questions, ultimate questions address the evolutionary significance for behavior: what value is this behavior to the organism? why has natural selection favored it?
ethology
the study of how animals behave in their natural habitat
Is behavior environmentally determined (nurture) or genetically determined (nature)?
most behaviors are a mixture of these two components and in fact, individual choice can play a bigger role than nature or nurture
How is an animal’s reproductive success measured?
by the number of offspring that reproduce
behavior
results from the interaction of innate behavior and environmental factors
learned behavior
behavior is modified in response to environmental experience
Niko Tinbergen’s wasp experiment
the wasps looked for their nests based on nearby landmarks which they learned when they put the nest there
motor programs
coordinated sequences of muscle actions, example: walking
fixed action pattern
automatic behavior that, once activated, continues to completion regardless of feedback, can be triggered by sign stimulus, example: the graylag goose rolling it’s eggs even if the egg got taken away, example: male sticklebacks attacking anything with a red underside
cognition
the ability of an animal’s nervous system to perceive, store, process, and use information gathered by sensory receptros, we usually relate cognition with awareness
habituation
type of learning in which an animal ignores a repeated, irrelevant stimulus, example: we ignore the feeling of clothes on our skin
imprinting
establishes a parent-offspring bond, ensures that the offspring recognizes the parent, imprinting is learning limited to a sensitive period, imprinting is the recognition, response, and attachment of young to a particular adult or object, example: Konrad Lorenz’s experiment with graylag geese where he isolate freshly hatched geese so that they imprinted on him and did not recognize their own mother
classical conditioning
an association is formed between some normal body function and a new stimulus, example: Pavlov’s dog, unconscious body response
operant conditioning
learns a behavior by positive reinforcement or to avoid punishment, reinforced behavior, consciously learning behavior (?), this is sometimes called trial-and-error learning–an animal learns to associate one of its own behaviors with a reward or a punishment
insight learning
ability to adapt past experiences to solve a new problem
play
gives young animals a chance to learn and practice adulthood behaviors such as hunting, or it may serve to provide exercise and/or social interaction
behavioral ecology
is the research field that views behavior as an evolutionary adaptation to the natural ecological conditions of animals, we expect animals to behave in ways that maximize their ‘fitness’ (this idea is only valid if genes influence behavior)
optimal foraging behavior
when animals use strategies that optimize the ratio between benefits and costs, states that natural selection will benefit from animals that maximize their energy intake to expenditure ratio
habituation
this involves a loss of responsiveness to unimportant stimuli that do not provide appropriate feedback
maturation
is the situation in which a behavior may improve because of ongoing developmental changes in neuromuscular systems, for example, flight in birds–as a bird continues to develop its muscles and nervous system, it is now able to fly, this is not ‘true’ learning
biological rhythms
circadian rhythms are daily cycles
where is the biological clock located in mammals?
hypothalamus
diurnal animals
active in the day
nocturnal animals
active in the night
crepuscular animals
active at dawn and/or dusk
migration
periodic long-distance travel due to, for example, seasonal weather changes
3 ways migration can happen
piloting, directional orientation, and navigation
piloting
doesn’t require compass or map, an animal moves from one familiar landmark to another until it reaches its destination
directional orientation
travel in a specific direction, which requires compass sense, animals can detect directions and travel in particular paths until reaching destination
navigation
requires both compass and map sense, is the most complex, it involves determining one’s present location relative to other locations in addition to detecting compass directions, cues for these behaviors include the earth’s magnetic field, the sun, and the stars
social behavior
adaptive interaction usually among members of the same species
animal communication
involves exchange of recognizable signals including pheromones, vocalization, and body language
dominance heirarchy
ranking status within group, wolves have a ranking of individuals (a ‘pecking’ order) that includes alpha, and beta rankings, this allows cooperation among the group, in a hierarchy, the more dominant members are accorded benefits, often without overt aggressive behavior
agonistic behavior
agonistic behavior is a contest involving threats, this behavior is ritual and generally one of the animals submits and no harm is done
home range vs. territory
a home range is anywhere you might find an animal of a certain species, territory on the other hand is only the part of the home range that the animal marks and is willing to fight for
parental investment
refers to the time and resources expended for the raising of offspring, it is generally lower in males because they are capable of producing more gametes (which are also smaller), therefore making each one less valuable, females usually invest more time into parenting because they produce fewer, larger gametes, a process which is energetically more expensive, thus making each gamete more valuable
mate selection
in terms of mate choice, females are usually more discriminating in terms of the males with whom they choose to mate
helping behavior
cooperative behavior includes reciprocal altruism, in altruistic behavior, an individual behaves in a way that benefits others
territorality
when an individual defends a particular area, called the territory, territories are typically used for feeding, mating, and rearing young and are fixed in location, there are cons to territoriality though, it uses a great deal of one’s energy and an individual might die defending the territory or miss a reproductive opportunity
courtship behavior
consists of patterns that lead to copulation (intercourse) and consists of a series of displays and movements by the male or female
inclusive fitness
number of offspring and offspring of kin, kin selection increases inclusive fitness through reproduction of close relatives
polygyny
a male mates with many females (polyGYNY=GINNY)
polyandry
a female mates with many males (polyANDRY=many ANDRews)
monogamy
mating with a single partner
pair bond
pair bond is a stable relationship between a male and a female
certainty of paternity
can influence mating systems and parental care; if the male is unsure if offspring are his, parental investment is likely to be lower, but exceptions do exist
society
group of individuals within the same species that may work together; insect societies tend to be rigid, narrowly defined, and with the division of labor determined by age; vertebrate societies are more flexible, with some species developing culture
the dance of the honeybee
bees forage to maximize their food intake and if an individual finds a good food source, it will communicate the location to others in the hive through an elaborate dance
