Chapter 51 Flashcards
Ethology
The scientific study of how animals behave, esp. in their natural environments.
Proximate Causation
“How” a behavior occurs or is modified
Ultimate Causation
“Why” a behavior occurs in the context of natural selection
Fixed Action Pattern
A sequence of unlearned acts that is essentially unchangeable and, once initiated, usually carried out to completion. Directly linked to simple stimuli.
Sign Stimulus
The external clue that triggers a fixed action pattern
Kinesis
A change in activity or turning rate in response to a stimulus
Taxis
An oriented movement toward (positive) or away from (negative) some stimulus.
Phremones
Chemical substances used by animals to communicate. Most often utilized by mammals and insects and usually used for reproduction.
Innate Behavior
Behavior consistently observed in a species that is developmentally fixed (instinct)
Learned Behavior
Through learning, an organism changes its behavior based on experiences and its environment
Habituation
A loss of responsiveness to stimuli that convey little or no new information
Imprinting
The formation at a specific stage in life of a long-lasting behavioral response to a particular individual or object.
Sensitive (Critical) Period
A limited developmental phase during which certain behaviors can be learned
Spatial Learning
The establishment of a memory that reflects the environment’s spatial structure
Classical Conditioning
Associative learning in which an arbitrary stimulus becomes related to a particular outcome (dog salivating when bell is rung)
Operant Conditioning
“Trial-and-error” learning, in which an animal learns to associate a behavior with a reward or punishment
Cognition
The process of knowing represented by awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgement.
Foraging
Food obtaining behavior
Optimal Foraging theory
Explains the proximate and ultimate causations of foraging behavior with cost/benefit analysis.
Promiscious Mating
Mated individuals form no long-lasting relationships or strong pair-bonds.
Monogamous Mating
Mated individuals remain together for a longer time, forming stronger pair-bonds
Polygamous Mating
An individual from one sex mates with several of the other
Polygyny
One male mating with many females, most common form of polygamous mating
Polyandry
Opposite of polygyny, one female mates with many males
Agonistic Behavior
A contest that determines which competitor gains access to a certain resource, often food or a mate
Altruism
Ways in which an animal behaves that decreases individual fitness but increases the fitness of the population.
Kin Selection
The natural selection that favors altruistic behavior by enhancing the reproductive success of relatives.
Reciprocal Altruism
An animal aiding a member of the same species who is not closely related so that he will do the same one day
