Exam 2 Flashcards
Define and describe communication
-is an interaction in which a signaler produces a signal that affects the behavior of a receiver
-signals are not cues (consistent aspects of environment that can guide behavior)
How do honeybees communicate the location of a food source?
-after individual scout honeybees find a food source, they travel back to their hive and perform a waggle dance
-waggle dance indicates distance and direction to food source
What are auditory signals?
-alarm calls: unique covocalizations are produced when a predator is nearby
Describe the use of alarm signals?
-alarm calls: unique covocalizations are produced when a predator is nearby
-Signals influence behavior as if they contain information about the environment or phenotype of a signaler
Describe and provide examples of how different signals are perceived by sensory systems and influenced by the environment.
-Chemical signals are relatively long lasting and can travel great distances, but cannot be modified once transmitted
-Temperature can affect the chemical signals of ants due to affecting the chemical pheromone persistence
-Visual Signals: can move rapidly through the environment, but require adequate light levels and can be blocked by objects
-bright body colors
-the effectiveness depends on the spectral properties of the environment and background color contrast
-most effective when they contrast with the background environment
-Auditory Signals: can travel around objects and can be turned on and off quickly, but attenuate (diminish) as they travel through the environment
Describe how animals use aposematic coloration
-indicates species is unpalatable or dangerous
-brightly colored morphology in a species that stands out from its environment and is associated with noxious chemicals or poisons that make them unpalatable or dangerous prey
Describe how signals can be inaccurate
-When fitness interests of the signaler and receiver conflict, the signaler can benefit by producing an inaccurate or dishonest signal
-Mimicry: adaptive resemblance of one species (the mimic) to another (the model)
Discuss how animals use different forms of mimicry.
-In Batesian mimicry a palatable mimic resembles an unpalatable model
-In aggressive mimicry, a predator mimics a nonthreatening model
-False alarm calls
Describe eavesdropping
-Bystanders (eavesdropers)
-third-party individual that detects a signal transmitted between a signaler and a receiver
Describe audience effects
-Audience effect: occurs when the presence of bystanders influences the behavior of a signaler
Define Learning
-Learning: a relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of an experience
-modify their behavior or adapt to their environment which increases fitness
Define habituation
-Reduction and then lack of response to a stimulus over time; simplest form of learning
Describe imprinting
-Rapid learning that occurs in young animals during a short, intermediate period and has lasting effects
-Birds visually imprint on a stimulus when they hatch
Describe how the animal’s learn stimulus-response associations
-Stimulus response association: making an association between an environmental stimulus and a behavioral response
-Classical conditioning: learning new associations between a stimulus and an innate or unlearned response
Define operant conditioning
-involves learning the association between learned behaviors and outcomes
-can measure animal’s progress toward solving a problem, the learning curve, a decline in errors over time
-Four Types:
-Positive reinforcement: behavior becomes more likely due to stimulus
-Negative reinforcement: behavior become more likely due to removal of a stimulus
-Positive punishment: behavior becomes less likely due to presentation of a stimulus
-Negative punishment: behavior becomes less likely due to removal of a stimulus
What is a learning curve?
-How quickly an individual can learn a new behavior
How can social interactions facilitate learning?
-Local enhancement: direction of an individual’s focus to a particular environment by the presence of another
-Public Information: information obtained from the activity or performance of others about the quality of an environmental parameter or resource
-Teaching: active particiapation of an experienced individual in facilitation learning by naive individuals
What are animal traditions and culture?
-Behavioral traditions are differences in behavior among populations transmitted across generations through social learning
-song dialects, characteristic differences in songs that vary geographically
Explain the Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis?
-Large brains increase individual’s capacity to learn and allow them to survive and reproduce better in unpredictable changing environments
Describe the sensory modalities used by animals to find food
-Vision
-Hearing
-Smell
Describe the “optimal diet model” (optimal foraging theory)
-natural selection has favored feeding behaviors that maximize fitness
-fitness while feeding increases with energy intake rate
-optimal behavior is the behavior that maximizes fitness
Describe the “optimal patch-use model”
-the marginal benefit of feeding in a food patch is the instantaneous harvest rate
-because of diminishing returns, the marginal benefit of feeding declines with time spent in the patch
Discuss how the risk of predation influences foraging
How do some animals obtain food from the discoveries of others?
-Kleptoparasites: they obtain food from other individuals
-reduces cost of searching for food
-Scroungers: usurp food discoveries from producers
Discuss how animals use color to avoid predation
-cryptic coloration: blend in with environment to avoid detection
Discuss how the risk of predation influences activity levels
-activity level of prey will be lower when predators are detected
Discuss behavioral trade-offs associated with predation risk
-Vigilance behavior: scanning the environment for predators
-cannot feed when being vigilant so fitness decreases
How does group living reduce predation risk?
What is the “dilution effect”?
What is the selfish herd?
-a predator is more likely to kill a member on the outside of a social group
-individuals can reduce risk by moving to the center of a group
Discuss group size as an antipredator mechanism
-vigilance behavior of individuals declines as group size increases
-common pattern
Why do small birds mob predators?
Define dispersal and migration
-Dispersal: a relatively short distance, one way movement
-Migration: long distance, round trip
How might competition influence dispersal?
-dispersal functions to reduce competition for resources
-If 2 sites have same amount of food but different population densities, more dispersal
-If 2 sites have different amounts of food, we can expect higher dispersal in places with less food
Describe inbreeding avoidance
-natal dispersal behavior minimizes the likelihood of inbreeding
-individuals that dispersed greater distances were less likely to mate with a relative
How does reproductive success affect dispersal
-Breeding dispersal: abandoning one breeding site and moving to another
-when low reproductive success
-Site fidelity: remain at or return to a previous location to breed because of high success
How does resource availability influence migration
-Migration evolved to allow individuals to take advantage of spatial variation in conditions and avoid seasonal resource depression at different locations
-Species exposed to high degrees of fluctuations in environmental conditions and resources will be more likely to migrate than species that live in more stable resource environments
How might competition influence migration?
-Competition for resources will result in more individuals migrating
Describe how animals determine location and orientation
Discuss coordinate navigation
