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Comparative Animal Behavior > Exam 1 > Flashcards

Exam 1 Flashcards

1
Q

define ethology

A

study of whole animal behaviors in their own environment

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2
Q

Who are the 3 fathers of ethology studies?

A

Carl von Frisch, Niko Tinbergen, and Konrad Lorenz

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3
Q

What did Carl von Frisch study?

A

studied the movement of honey bees in their hives, to understand their communication with each other about where the pollen was outside the hive

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4
Q

define animal behavior

A

any internally coordinated, externally visible pattern of behavior that responds to external / internal conditions

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5
Q

How can behavior be internally coordinated?

A

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

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6
Q

What does not make up animal behaviors?

A

the basic physiology of the animal

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7
Q

What is the best way to study animal behavior?

A

through observation - NOT watching

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8
Q

define ethograms

A

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

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9
Q

define hypothesis testing

A

using the scientific method to study animal behavior
- usually occurs in a lab under operant conditioning

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10
Q

What factor do you have to thing about when talking about behavioral questions?

A

how does the environment effect the behavior?

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11
Q

define proximate causation

A

HOW questions
individual level
what causes the behaviors?
- IMMEDIATE causes of behaviors-

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12
Q

proximate questions - Physiology response

A

What internal mechanisms control the behavior?

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13
Q

Proximate questions - Ontogeny

A

How does the behavior develop over the animals lifetime?

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14
Q

define ultimate causation

A

WHY questions
species level
Why did this happen?

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15
Q

ultimate questions - Ecology

A

What is the function of the behavior?How does the behavior effect reproduction/survival in an animals habitat?

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16
Q

ultimate question - evolution

A

What is the evolutionary history of the behavior and why did it evolve?

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17
Q

define natural selection

A

different traits found in a population which causes differences in fitness

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18
Q

what has to be in a population for NS to occur?

A
  • variable trait
  • heritable trait
  • some traits have a reproductive advantage
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19
Q

3 Darwinian concepts important for animal behavior

A

1- selection pressure
2- adaptations
3- fitness

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20
Q

define fitness

A

the ability to pass your genes on to the next generation

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21
Q

How is evolution shaped sexually?

A

by members of the opposite sex - trait preference

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22
Q

What is the result of mates showing trait preference?

A

this produces courtship rituals, elaborate appearances, and competition between same sex individuals

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23
Q

define sexual selection

A

alot like natural selection in that some traits can be beneficial and some are not in attracting mates

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24
Q

define secondary sexual characteristics

A

traits that differ between sexes that are not required for the act of mating but aid in ATTRACTING a mate

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25
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
26
what are the costs to the males for having these traits?
they are more vulnerable to predation and the traits are more physiologically demanding
27
what are the benefits for males to have extravagant traits?
they are more likely to pass down their genes
28
define sexual dimorphism
when the sexes of a species don't look the same
29
define anthropomorphism
assuming that animals behave because they have thoughts and feelings like humans
30
define teleology
assuming that animals behave a certain way because they can see the outcome of their actions
31
define Morgans Canon (Occam's razor)
the simplest answer/explanation is often the best answer
32
define comparative phycology
- the study of animal behaviors to understand human behaviors asks mostly proximate questions of "how" behaviors evolved - often use puzzle boxes to test an animals ability to learn thru trial and error
33
define behaviorism
the idea that animals have no emotions/instinct and all behaviors are a result of experiences that are reinforced by the behaviors outcome (good/bad)
34
define what a Skinner box is
a box used to study how chance behaviors animals perform lead to rewards/punishments and how the animal responds to these results
35
What did Niko Tinbergen study?
he studied wasps, fish and shorebirds
36
What did Konrad Lorenz study?
he studied geese and allowed them to imprint on himself in order to study their behaviors
37
define sociobiology
the biological study of social behavior and how it affects gene flow, fitness, and population genetics
38
define biological evolution
the change in allele frequencies over time
39
what is selective transmission of genes?
choosing who to mate with
40
define cultural evolution
changes in behavioral characteristics through observational learning and cultural transmission
41
define speciation
one species splits into two species
42
what has to be present for speciation to occur?
there has to be isolating mechanisms for speciation to happen
43
define reproductive isolating mechanism
a factor that prevents a group from mating with each other - river/mountain --the group has to be able to sexually reproduce other wise if the barrier was not there--
44
define postcopulatory isolation mechanism
an isolating mechanism that occurs after animals have attempted mating
45
what can cause postcopulatory isolation?
- parts don't fit - sperm destruction - hybrid sterility (baby is made but the gene flow stops there) - offspring weakness/mortality
46
define precopulatory isolating mechanisms
can't mate because they either don't see each other or don't recognize each other as mates
47
what are the types of precopulatory isolation?
geographical - not in the same area ecological - in same area but have different niches seasonal - different breeding seasons temporal - out during diff times of the day sexual - don't recognize each other as mates
48
define sympatry
speciation that occurs without a physical barrier - happens in the same place
49
define allopatry
speciation that occurs because of a physical barrier and the species evolve in different areas
50
define secondary sympatry
when two populations that have been in allopatry come back together after isolation
51
What forms when two species zones overlap and mate together?
hybrid zone
52
define genetic sink
where genes go to die - the end of the genetic line
53
define frequency dependent selection
if a trait is beneficial or not is determined by how many in a population have that trait - if few have the trait, it is more favorable
54
define balanced polymorphism
when traits move off of the middle balance and the population is pushed back towards original balance - allele frequency balances out
55
what is the rare male phenomenon?
the minority of males have the advantage in mating - females mate with the less common males
56
define behavioral plasticity
the ability for a behavior to change within an organisms lifetime
57
define ritualization
the evolution of incidental behavior into social signal - male using a behavior to entice the female into opening her mouth so the eggs can be fertilized
58
define group selection theory
doing what is best for the group - the same behaviors don't evolve the same way if the animals were in a non-social setting
59
define selfish gene
selfish behaviors that present as group behaviors
60
what is an example of a selfish gene?
lemurs participating in infancitde
61
Can behaviors evolve?
yes, because certain codes in the DNA can code for certain proteins that can alter the presentation of behaviors
62
define behavioral genetics
the search for hereditary components of behavior Modern approach - looks at genes and uses modification techniques historically - uses observation
63
define fixed action pattern
a behavior that is almost an innate behavior - courtship dances, dewlap display
64
how do you know if behaviors are in a fixed action pattern?
animals that live in isolation still display the same behaviors
65
what are cross-fostering experiments?
switching the offspring of two different parents with two different temperments/behaviors to see If the changes in parents alters the offsprings behaviors
66
define siblicide
when siblings kill one another - usually seen in birds
67
is siblicide a hereditary behavior or is it due to the environment and how can you test this?
researchers found that it is most likely linked to hereditary and they found this out through cross-fostering egrets and herons
68
how can gene manipulation alter behavior expression?
genes don't alter behaviors directly, but if altered, the amino acid and product of the DNA can change which can cause a change in behavior
69
Paramecium Avoidance reaction
researchers thought that they were voluntarily moving, when in reality they were just responding to their environment through the activation/deactivation of Ca+2 pumps in their cell membrane
70
define behavioral mutants
different males with differences in the same gene react differently to the same female - this can cause differences in fitness
71
how can behavioral mutants cause changes in fitness?
one gene mutation may cause the animal to behave in such a way that doesn't allow for them to respond correctly to females = no mating/decreased mating
72
define quantitative traits
behavioral phenotype that depends on the environment and is affected by 2 or more genes
73
define quantitative locus (QTL)
section of DNA associated with a quantitative trait
74
define QTL Mapping
finding the approximate location of a quantitative trait
75
define knockout studies
gets rid of the gene of interest (alters the gene so it does not function)

Comparative Animal Behavior (3 decks)

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