Exam 2 Flashcards
Felxibility of the phenotype
Genetics + environment= phenotype
Rigid behavior
Don’t deviate from what they learn
Phenotypic plasticity
the ability of a single genotype to produce more than one alternative form of morphology, physiological state or behavior in response to enviornmental conditions
Canalization
Degree to which the development of a behavioral trait is resitant to modification by experience and enviornment
Fighting: motor skills highly catalized
plasticity in knowing when to fight and when not to
Sensitive periods
periods during development when certain experiences will have an optimal or maximal effect on behavoiral development
What is the primary method of discriminating individuals
Olfactory
Imprinting
Learning that is restricted to a relativley short period of time usually early in the life of an organism
Filial imprinting
the learning process by which very young animals become socially bonded to their parents
Species imprinting
learning process by which young become socialized to their species (later than filial)
Social isolation
Isolation from conspecifics or other animals
Olfactory imprinting
Helps find mother, strong impact of imprinting
maternal effects on behavoir
Growth and physical development-improve growth and gain, emotional reactivity
Learning
Aquisition of knowledge through training
Reinforcements
Goal is to increase the behavior
Punshiments
Goal is to decrease the behavior
Postive and negative
Adding stimulus vs removing stimulus
Habituation
persistent decrease in the frequency or intensity of a response due repeated exposure to a stimulus
Persistence
not just fatigue or sensory adaptation
Flooding
exposing the animal to stimuli all at once in a big exposure
Systematic
Goal is to step by step get an animal to elicit a desired response
Counter conditioning
Redirect the current response to elicit something different (give treats when bikes go by)
Sensitization
Incites a response to a lower threshold- behavoir occurs when it previously did not
Classical conditioning
Results in an involuntary response to an association or stimulus
Operant conditioning
Specific consequences are associated with a voluntary behavior
Shaping
work up to a desired behavoir through steps using similar activites - eye contact when offered food, dog eventually looks at you all the time
Targeting
Animal touches something with a part of their body on command
Discriminate learning
Can tell the differnce between things
Factors that impact learning in animals
Curiosity, fear, motivation, physical traits, groups vs individual
Circannual
behavoirs which correpond with a natural 300+ day cycle
What can influence behavoirs
Sunlight, temperatures
How to determine who has a circannual cycle
Put them under constant light/ dark for a year- free running rhythms
Circadian rhythm
24 hour rhythm
Diurnal
Primarily active during the day
Noctunal
Primarily active at night
Crepuscular
Dawn/dusk
Biggest infulences for 24 hour rhythm
Social cues, temperature, day/night, food availability
SupraChiasmatic nucleus
Anterior pituitary - output signals for establishing rhythms - pacemaker of the brain
Pineal gland produces what
Melatonin- secreted in darkness
Mutations affect what
Endogenous circadian rhythms- time passage
Sexual selection
A natural selection between members of the same sex which results in the evolution of traits that enhance an individuals ability to acquire mates
Sexual dimorphism
males and females have different characteristics because competition to be sexually active may be driven by that
Polygyny
One male mates with several females
Polyandry
One females mates with several males
Promiscuity
Both males and females have multiple parteners during a breeding season
Vasopressin
Important for social bonding between males
Female (harem) defense polygyny
males control access to females directly
Resource defense polygyny
Males control access to females indirectly by monopolizing crucial resources
Male dominance polygyny
Males aggregate during the breeding season and females select mates from these aggregations
Resource defense polyandry
Females control access to males indirectly by monopolizing critical resources
Female dominance polyandry
Females do not defend resources essential to males but through dominance gain access to males
Inbreeding
Incest avoidance- young dispersal, kin recognition
Courtship benefits
Reproductive isolation, advertisement of sex and sexual receptivity, enhancement of libido and fertility
Drivers of female mate selection
Observing male-male interactions, secondary sex characteristics, call length, weapons
Mating systems used in captive breeding
Multi sire, hand breeding, single sire, artificial insemination,
Libido
Sexual motivation
Serving capacity
Ejaculations per period of time
Audience effect
Reduced activity of subordinate males when in presence or view of dominant males
Periparturient behavior
Associated with birth of offspring- females show increased general activity as parturition approaches
Animals that isolate
Cattle, sheep, goats, horses
Release of peptide hormone
prolactin, from anterior pituitary- nest building and incubation behaviors
Amniotic fluid
Becomes attractive to females hours prior to partruition
Olfaction
Most important and likley earliest- mitral cells
What is play
Often spontaneous, species specific, common in juvenile animals
Attributes of play
Self rewarding, not fully functional, is performed repeatedly, initiated when the animals does not have any immediate threats
Locomotor rotational play
animal exhibits sustained or intense physical movements without clear reason
Social play
Involves two or more conspecifics wrestling, chasing, in contact
Object play
a lone animal is interacting with an inanimate object- associated with predation and foraging
How do animals gain competency
includes communication, tool use, adaptability expend time and energy to expose yourself to a degree of risk early
Agency
gathering knowledge and enhancing skills for future use
What is included in agency
Play, exploration, being intrinsically motivated to do beyond what is necessary
Evidence of what play does
Indicates the absence of fitness threats, self rewarding, socially contagious, brings immediate psychological benefits
