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
