Ethology Flashcards
Behavior
Change in activity based on a response to an external or internal stimulus (includes all the ways individuals interact with their environment, species, and community)
Main Categories of Behavior
Instinctual/innate // Learned // Abnormal
Ethology
The study of animal behavior, usually in natural settings but also in captivity
4 Questions of Ethology
Causation, Development, Fitness, Phylogeny
Instinct/Innate
Occur as a result of genetics, inborn and inflexible (e.g. reflexes or orientation)
Fixed action patterns
If stimulus is present, reaction will occur
Kinesis
Non-direction changes in motion (e.g. speeding up in colder water)
Taxis
Oriented movements to/from stimulus (e.g. turtles moving toward ocean)
Learned Behavior
Behavior altered/influenced by experiences
Habituation
How researchers must habituate themselves in a field, so that animals become used to their presence
Imitation/Observational Learning
Animal observes and copies what another does
Play Behavior
Allows for a lot of experimentation, usually only in mammals, not necessarily for a specific function
Imprinting
Think of with ducks and a mother, yet could also be with a place, like specific beaches
Associative Learning
Like with training, and having food available to accompany a behavior
Social Behavior
Typically learned behavior, only come about through grouped living
Society
Group of individuals of same species with defined rules, roles, and reciprocal dependence
Types of Social Behaviors
Aggressive behaviors (attack and escape, intimidation, predation) // Sexual behaviors (mating, courtship, care bonding) // Parental behaviors (families and caring for offspring) // Cooperative and altruistic behaviors (with the latter, there is a risk for the behavior, and is often only seen with parents and offspring)
Captive Animal Behavior
Live in vastly different conditions than in wild // Can be stressful // Can result in lack of stimulation (movement controlled and predation controlled, needs often met without action needed)
Enrichment
Providing stimuli meant to enrich physical and mental welfare
Activity Budget
Quantifying behavioral observations // how much time an animal spends engaging in various behaviors // provides baseline data on typical activity cycles
Ethograms
Catalogue of behaviors for species/individuals and associated descriptions
Approaches to Ethograms
Ad-libitum sampling // Continuous sampling // Instantaneous scan sampling // All-occurrence sampling
