ETHOLOGY Flashcards
ETHOLOGY
- study of animal behaviours, espeically innate beahviours that occur in natural habitat
Charles Darwin
- concept of evolution plasubiel by natural selection
- not first to think of it but is attributd to hm because his ideas are applied and tested in ethology
Lorenz, Tinbergen and von Frisch
- major figures of ethology who shared nobel prize in 1973
Lorenz
- founder of ethology as a distinct research area
- created terminology and theory in field
Imprinting (Lorenz)
- certain species, young attach to the first moving object they see after birth
- displayed by a “following response”
- subjective to a critical period
Animal agression (Lorenz)
- theory of instinct fueled fire of debate over innate beahviour
- argued types of aggression are necesary for survival and is instinctual rather than learned
- even in humans - explained by survival needs
Releasing stimuli (Lorenz)
- earliest work in AKA releasers/sign stimuli/releasing stimuli
- continued by Tinbergen
- elicits autnomatic, chain of behaviours from another individual in same speicies that is instinctual
Chains of behaviours were called:
Fixed action patterns
Fixed action patterns (Lorenz) 4 defining chracteristis:
- complex chain of behaviours triggered by releasing stimuli
1) uniform pattern
2) performed by most members of species
3) more complex than simple reflexes
4) cannot be interrupted or stopped in middle
Tinbergen
- one of the founders of modern ethology using models in naturalistic settings
- continue Lorenz’s work on realeasing stimuli
- most famous on stickleback fish and herring gull chicks
Stickle back fish (Tinbergen)
- in springs, male develop red coloration on belly and fight eachother
- red belly is releasing stimuli for attacks
- tested this when fish attacked the red belly models but not the very detailed non-red bellies
Herring gull chicks
- hungry chicks peck at their parent’s bill that have a red spot on tip and parent regurgitates food
- tested this when chick pecked more at red tip than on plain model
- greater contrast between bill and red spot = more vigorous pecking
Supernormal sign stimulis
- when contrast of releasing stimuli is so strong as to be unnatural
- exagerate natural stimuli and more effect than natural releaser
Karl von Frisch
- major figure in study of animal behavior
- famous for discovery of honeybees communicating through dance
Walter Connon
- coined fight or flight term referring to internal physiological chances in organism
- also proposed idea of homeotatis = internal regulation of body to maintain equilibrium
Genetics
- basic unit of heredity = gene
- DNA molecules organized in chromsomes
- human nucleas has 23 pairs of chromosomes
Gamete
- sperm or ovum is haploid so contains 23 single chromosomes
- 2 gametes = human cells; 2 separate set of 23 chromosomes come toether to form a zygote
Haploid
- 23 single chromosomes
Diploid
- all other human cells have 23 PAIRS of chromosomes
- zygote is diploid
Genotype
- total of all genetic material that offspring recieves from 46 chromosome (23 pairs)
- includes dominant and receissive genes
Alleles
- possible dominant and recessive gene variations for each characteristic
- 2 genes that make up the alleles are on the same place on the chromosome
- dominant-dominant; recessive-recessive; dominant-recessive
- determines what people look like
Phenotype
- external characteristics determined by hereditary or genotype
Natural selection
- Darwin proposed that selection proes determines whcih animals survive and reproduce because more animals are born than survive to maturity
- process by whch the fit survive; explains genetic development
Genetic drift
- particular genotypes are selected or eliminted from population over time
Fitness
- slogan of survival of the fittest
- the ability to reproduce and pass on genes
- have traits that allow them to offset dangers of competition and predation
Inclusive fitness
- natural selection favors this over individual fitness because we are invested in the survival of our genes
Kin selection
- inclusive fitness that we are also invetesed in the genes of our kin
Instinctual/innate behaviours are:
- present in all normal members of species
- stertypic in form throughout members even when performed for 1st time
- indepdnet of learning/experience
Interaction between instinct and learning =
- rodent reared in isolation can still build a nest but are not as efficient