Ethology Flashcards
What is Neoteny?
Neoteny is the scientific term for the retention of juvenile traits in adults (Neotenous)
Where do modern dogs come from?
It is thought that modern dogs descend from wolves, canis lupus.
What is the difference between taming and domestication?
One can tame a wild animal by decreasing flight distance and increasing tolerance to humans over the wild animal’s lifespan.
Domestication is the result of generations of selection for traits that make good companions to humans. ( Dogs are domesticated, wolves can be tamed)
What is Phylogenetic behavior?
Phylogenetic behaviors are behaviors common to the species in general. They typically have developed over generations and have evolutionary significance.
Define phylogeny
Phylogeny is the evolutionary history of an organism
List the nine steps of the food acquisition sequence
- Sense prey
- Orient, freeze
- Stalk
- Grab, hold, shake
- Restrain
- Kill
- Dismember
- Eat
- Guard
Define fixed action patterns
Fix action patterns are specific examples of innate or phylogenetic behavior. A specific trigger is needed to start the behavior and once it has begun it must be completed before the animal stops. (Can be modified with because modification techniques)
Define Ontogenetic behavior
An ontogenetic behavior is a response to environmental influences that has been learned over an individual’s lifetime. ( An individual is not born with this knowledge. Ontogenetic behavior can also be modified)
Instinctive drift- the breland effect
Wherever an animal has a strong instinctive behavior, the organism will drift towards the instinctive behavior to the detriment of a conditioned behavior, even to the delay or preclusion of the reinforcement. (Learned behavior drifts towards instinctive behavior)
When do critical periods take place in dogs?
Critical periods take place between 3 and 16 weeks of age. (Roughly. We never know exactly when the various windows of opportunity will open or shut)
What kind of hormone is testosterone?
It is an androgen
What is the principal Androgen?
Testosterone
Where is testosterone manufactured?
In the testes
Why might some class instructors recommend Castration?
As a means of reducing unwanted aggressive behavior. (If this behavior has a history of reinforcement, it now has a conditioned element and can be harder to get rid of..)
What are the principal female hormones?
Estrogen and progesterone
What is the female hormonal cycle called?
The estrus cycle
Neuralpsychology
The science of the relationship between the brain and behavior
What are engrams?
Hypothetical pathways through their brain that are made by repeating a series of motor actions. Sometimes referred to as motor or muscle memory.
What is the reticular activating system?
The RAS is the attention center of the brain. It is where the outside world is perceived, processed, and acted upon.