Chapter 51- Animal Behavior Flashcards
agon
a contest
(agonistic behavior: a type of behavior involving a contest of some king that determines which competitor gains access to some resource)
Example: food, mates
andro
a man
polyandry: a polygamous mating system involving one female and many males
ethos
custom, habit
ethology: the study of animal behavior in natural conditions
gyno
a woman
polygyny: a polygamous mating system involving one male and may females
kine
move
kinesis: a change in activity rate in response to a stimulus
mono
one
gamy
reproduction
monogamous: a type of relationship in which one male mates with just one female
poly
many
polygamous: a type of relationship in which an individual of one sex mates with several of the other sex
socio
a companion
sociobiology: the study of social behavior based on evolutionary theory
altruism
selflessness; behavior that reduces an individual’s fitness while increasing the fitness of another individual
associative learning
The acquired ability to associate one environmental feature (such as a color) with another (such as danger)
behavior
Individually, an action carried out by muscles or glands under control of the nervous system in response to a stimulus; collectively, the sum of animal’s responses to external and internal stimuli
behavioral ecology
The study of the evolution of and ecological basis for animal behavior
coefficient of relatedness
The fraction of genes that, on average, are shared by two individuals
cognition
The process of knowing that may include awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgment
cognitive map
A neural representation of the abstract spatial relationships between objects in an animal’s surroundings
communication
In animal behavior, a process involving transmission of, reception of, and response to signals. The term is used in connection with other organisms, as well as individual cells of multi-cellular organisms
cross-fostering study
A behavioral study in which the young of one species are place in the care of adults from another species
culture
A system of information transfer through social learning or teaching that influences the behavior of individuals in a population
fixed action pattern
In animal behavior, a sequence of unlearned acts that is essentially unchangeable and, once initiated, usually carried to competition
foraging
The seeking and obtaining of food
game theory
An approach to evaluating alternative strategies in situations where the outcome of a particular strategy depends on the strategies used by other individuals
Hamilton’s Rule
The principle that for natural selection to favor an altruistic act, the benefit to the recipient, devalued by the coefficient of relatedness, must exceed the cost to the altruist
imprinting
In animal behavior, the formation at a specific stage in life of a long-lasting behavioral response to a specific individual or object
see also genomic imprinting
inclusive fitness
The total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes by producing its own offspring and by providing aid that enables other close relatives to increase production of their offspring
innate behavior
Animal behavior that is developmentally fixed and under strong genetic control. Innate behavior is exhibited in virtually the same form by all individuals in a population despite internal and external environmental differences during development and throughout their lifetimes
kin selection
Natural selection that favors altruistic behavior by enhancing the reproductive success of relatives
learning
The modification of behavior based on specific experiences
mate-choice copying
Behavior in which individuals in a population copy the mate choice of others, apparently as a result of social learning
migration
A regular, long-distance change in location
monogamous
Referring to a type of relationship in which one male mates with just one female
optimal foraging model
The basis for analyzing behavior as a compromise between feeding costs and feeding benefits
pheromone
In animals and fungi, a small molecule released into the environment that functions in communication between members of the same species. In animals, it acts much like a hormone in influencing physiology and behavior
reciprocal altruism
Altruistic behavior between unrelated individuals, whereby the altruistic individual benefits in the future when the beneficiary reciprocates
sensitive period
A limited phase in an animal’s development when learning of particular behaviors can take place; also called a critical period
sign stimulus
An external sensory cue that triggers a fixed action pattern by an animal
signal
In animal behavior, transmission of a stimulus from one animal to another. The term is also used in the context of communication in other kinds of organisms and in cell-to-cell communication in all multi-cellular organisms
social learning
Modification of behavior though the observation of other individuals
sociobiology
The study of social based on evolutionary theory
spatial learning
The establishment of a memory that reflects the environment’s spatial structure
twin study
A behavioral study in which researchers compare the behavior of identical twins raised apart with that of identical twins raised in the same household
