Exam 1 Flashcards
define ethology
study of whole animal behaviors in their own environment
Who are the 3 fathers of ethology studies?
Carl von Frisch, Niko Tinbergen, and Konrad Lorenz
What did Carl von Frisch study?
studied the movement of honey bees in their hives, to understand their communication with each other about where the pollen was outside the hive
define animal behavior
any internally coordinated, externally visible pattern of behavior that responds to external / internal conditions
How can behavior be internally coordinated?
through the use of the endocrine system
–> if a male has increased testosterone, his aggressive behavior can increase
through the use of the nervous system
–> an animal can respond to its surrounding environment with different behaviors with different stimuli
What does not make up animal behaviors?
the basic physiology of the animal
What is the best way to study animal behavior?
through observation - NOT watching
define ethograms
a detailed description of behaviors
- when the behavior happened
- how long it happened
- what happened before the behavior started
- was it a sequence of events
define hypothesis testing
using the scientific method to study animal behavior
- usually occurs in a lab under operant conditioning
What factor do you have to thing about when talking about behavioral questions?
how does the environment effect the behavior?
define proximate causation
HOW questions
individual level
what causes the behaviors?
- IMMEDIATE causes of behaviors-
proximate questions - Physiology response
What internal mechanisms control the behavior?
Proximate questions - Ontogeny
How does the behavior develop over the animals lifetime?
define ultimate causation
WHY questions
species level
Why did this happen?
ultimate questions - Ecology
What is the function of the behavior?How does the behavior effect reproduction/survival in an animals habitat?
ultimate question - evolution
What is the evolutionary history of the behavior and why did it evolve?
define natural selection
different traits found in a population which causes differences in fitness
what has to be in a population for NS to occur?
- variable trait
- heritable trait
- some traits have a reproductive advantage
3 Darwinian concepts important for animal behavior
1- selection pressure
2- adaptations
3- fitness
define fitness
the ability to pass your genes on to the next generation
How is evolution shaped sexually?
by members of the opposite sex - trait preference
What is the result of mates showing trait preference?
this produces courtship rituals, elaborate appearances, and competition between same sex individuals
define sexual selection
alot like natural selection in that some traits can be beneficial and some are not in attracting mates
define secondary sexual characteristics
traits that differ between sexes that are not required for the act of mating but aid in ATTRACTING a mate
how do secondary sexual characteristics demonstrate a males fitness to a female?
if males have an extravagant trait, the female thinks that they must have great genes to be able to live with the hinderance
what are the costs to the males for having these traits?
they are more vulnerable to predation and the traits are more physiologically demanding
what are the benefits for males to have extravagant traits?
they are more likely to pass down their genes
define sexual dimorphism
when the sexes of a species don’t look the same
define anthropomorphism
assuming that animals behave because they have thoughts and feelings like humans
define teleology
assuming that animals behave a certain way because they can see the outcome of their actions