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Animal Behavior > Exam One Prep > Flashcards

Exam One Prep Flashcards

1
Q

What is animal behavior

A

Animal behavior is the study of how animals move in their environment, how they interact socially, how they learn about their environment, and how an animal might achieve cognitive understanding of its environment

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2
Q

Why study animal behavior

A

Understanding the behavior of animals leads to a better understanding of their needs under human care(i.e. social vs solitary species) as well as managing conservation efforts in the wild(i.e. habitat requirements, territory size) Also, to better understand animals for the sake of curiosity and to better understand ourselves

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3
Q

Three types of behavior training and an example of each

A

Husbandry- teaching an animal to voluntarily offer its leg for a blood draw
Entertainment- teaching an animal to perform certain behaviors for the purpose of shows/entertaining the public
Service animals- training dogs for seeing-eye work or other physical disabilities

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4
Q

Why was understanding animal behavior necessary for survival in the past

A

It was important for primitive man to know which species they could hunt, and which species would hunt them.

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5
Q

What is anthropomorphism and is it a good or bad thing

A

attributing human feelings and motivations to animals. It is not a good term to use in the scientific field because we are supposed to be objective, but it can be good to use as a teaching tool to help people learn about animals in a way that makes them more meaningful to the person

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6
Q

Who proposed the theory of evolution through natural selection

A

Charles Darwin

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7
Q

What is the theory of evolution

A

change of heritable traits over time

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8
Q

What is natural selection

A

the process through which populations of living organisms adapt and change. Individuals in a population are naturally variable, meaning that they are all different in some ways. This variation means that some individuals have traits better suited to the environment than others

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9
Q

Give an example of natural selection

A

The polar bear wasn’t always white, but because of its all-white environment, and the need to blend in with that better in order to catch prey, those polar bears that were lighter in coat color had a better chance of survival and over time, polar bears all had white coats because only those with light coats survived and were able to reproduce, eventually changing the whole species’ coat color in response to its environment

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10
Q

Who developed the field of ethology and was a pioneer in the study of animal behavior

A

Charles Whitman

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11
Q

What is ethology

A

the objective study of animal behavior in natural conditions

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12
Q

What is the particulate theory of behavior

A
  1. Behavior can be broken down into discreet units
  2. Genes influence behavior
  3. Animals behave differently than humans
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13
Q

Define conspecific species

A

belonging to the same species

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14
Q

Define interspecific species

A

existing or occurring between different species

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15
Q

Define acceptor species

A

A host species that accepts the parasitic egg

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16
Q

Define rejector species

A

A host species that rejects the parasitic egg

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17
Q

Are acceptor or receptor species more successful

A

Acceptor species are more successful because their own chance of reproductive success is higher by accepting the parasitic egg then trying to pick it out and destroy it, thereby endangering their own eggs in the process

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18
Q

Is the behavior of a brood parasite learned or instinctual (innate)

A

Innate, b/c it wasn’t a taught behavior

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19
Q

Define brood parasitism

A

When an organism manipulates another to raise its young as if they were its own

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20
Q

What are the two main theories for how brood parasitism evolved

A
  1. Interspecific brood parasitism evolved from conspecific brood parasitism. The conspecifics had nesting colonies and laid their eggs in others’ nests either by mistake or after having lost their own.
  2. The behavior evolved directly from an ancestor that cared for the offspring. This could have happened due to nest takeover, nest site competition, or the parasitism of closely related species. Or habitat expansion resulted in more bird migration, increasing the breeding range size and availability of new food sources. These ecological changes required a lower amount of energy going into reproduction, favoring the evolution of brood parasitism.
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21
Q

What is the most well known brood parasite

A

common cuckoo

22
Q

What is the benefit of brood parasitism

A

less energy is expended by the parasitic species to achieve the same reproductive success

23
Q

What is the benefit to the parasite bird of having their egg look similar to the host bird

A

Less likely to get destroyed/rejected. Increases chances of it being cared for/high survival rate

24
Q

Why don’t some birds try to reject parasites

A

The cost of calling out a parasite egg and getting it wrong, or accidentally destroying their own eggs in the process of trying to get rid of the parasitic egg, is too high b/c it endangers their own chances of survival. Therefore, accepting the parasitic egg has a lower cost than making these errors. Also, the brown-headed cowbird in particular will return and destroy the host’s entire clutch if their egg is rejected

25
Q

What are the two main approaches to the scientific study of animal behavior

A

Experimental psychology
Ethology

26
Q

Who founded experimental psychology

A

J.B. Watson
B. F. Skinner

27
Q

Describe experimental psychology and what is its goal

A

Founded in America, mainly concerned with how learning takes place, worked primarily with animals in controlled lab conditions (mainly rats and pigeons) Goal: find laws of behavior- how it changes after practice, reward, punishment, and how different situations affect learning

28
Q

Describe ethology and what is its goal

A

Founded in Europe, studied wide range of animals in natural/near-natural settings, concerned with external stimuli that triggers behavior, saw most behavior as instinctive. Goal: Determine how behavior is adaptive (How behavior evolved and what it tells us about evolutionary relationships)

29
Q

Founders of ethology

A

Konrad Lorenz
Niko Tinbergen

30
Q

Difference between Skinner’s and Watson’s Theory of Behaviorism

A

Shared the idea that behavior is controlled by environment, and it can be altered in a way as to control behavior. Watson- learning occurs due to environmental experiences before or concurrent with a behavior. Skinner- operant conditioning- learning occurs due to environmental experience after the behavior through mechanisms of reinforcement/punishment

31
Q

What were Niko Tinbergen’s 4 questions

A
  1. What is the function of the trait? How does it improve fitness/the continuation of the species
  2. How did the trait develop? The process that an organism must go through in order for the trait to be expressed
  3. What is the phylogenetic history of the trait? Was in present in different ancestors
  4. Mechanism: How does the trait work, physical causes responsible for the trait’s structure
32
Q

Describe behavioral ecology

A

Started in the 1960s
Concerned with the functional or adaptive aspects of behavior
Emphasis on selection pressures: why did the behavior evolve
Sociobiology is a subdiscipline concerned with the evolution of social behavior

33
Q

Male elephant seals don’t breed until 9 years old, even though they are sexually mature at 5. Why do they wait?

A

Males fight for territories containing females. It is dangerous, and trying to be a competitor when they are not full size is not feasible. The male improves his chances of breeding by waiting until he is full size (18 ft, several tons).

34
Q

Explain why male sea lions all gather together at Pier 39 in San Francisco instead of immediately traveling to South America to mate with the females?

A

These are the smaller males that gather here where they know they will be warm and fed until they get large enough to be competition for other larger males in South America. Once they are large enough, they will travel to South America to mate/challenge other males for females.

35
Q

What was the feud between psychologists and ethologists?

A

Psychologists said ethologists ignored the environment and just explained the behavior by saying it was instinctive. Ethologists said psychologists don’t know about any animals other than the lab rat.

36
Q

What is ontogeny

A

the behavior that you learn throughout your lifetime

37
Q

How are African lions an example of the evolutionary history of behavior

A
38
Q

Why are female African lions related to eachother within a pride (what is the behavioral advantage) and why is synchronous estrous advantageous?

A

Females more closely related to eachother are more tolerant of eachothers cubs. Will also protect those who are more closely related to themselves. Females in the group will synchronize their estrous, which is advantageous because if they all have cubs at the same time, they are all lactating at the same time. This way they can rotate out to go hunt. Shared responsibility of hunting and looking after cubs.

39
Q

Why are male African lions related to eachother within a pride (what is the behavioral advantage)

A

It is advantageous for them to be related to eachother because they are allowed to remain within the pride as juvenilles, then they leave the pride at 3 years old in a group of brothers/cousins, and they live as nomads for 2-3 years until they are large and strong enough to challenge other older pride leaders. Then they typically control the pride for 2-3 years (reproductive life)

40
Q

Why do new males kill the cubs

A

Male takes over new pride- will kill all current cubs because no shared genetics with them. Doesn’t do anything for him to keep them. Killing them and mating with the females will cause them to go into estrous together again, this time with his genes. This is why it is advantageous for the male to kill the previous cubs.

41
Q

Is the following question ultimate or proximate: What is the function of the behavior

A

ultimate

42
Q

Is the following question ultimate or proximate: How is the behavior initiated and controlled

A

Mechanism/proximate

43
Q

Is the following question ultimate or proximate: How does the behavior develop

A

Ontogenty/proximate

44
Q

Is the following question ultimate or proximate: What is the evolutionary history of the behavior

A

ultimate

45
Q

What is another name for genetically determined behavior

A

innate behavior- sometimes referred to as developmentally fixed

46
Q

What is another name for environmentally determined behavior

A

learned behavior

47
Q

Describe genetically determined behavior and provide an example

A

Result of natural selection
Best behavior for certain situation
Limited range
Rigid, stereotypic patterns
Example: ducklings jumping from a tree down into the water

48
Q

Describe environmentally determined behavior and provide an example

A

Selection by individual
Flexible
Requires time to learn
Evolved by simple stimuli
Combination
Interaction of genes and environment
Constraints of learning
Example: Incubation calling

49
Q

Why is a imprinted animal more likely to bite than a wild animal

A

There is no fear in the imprinted animal. You are seen as a source of food.
They may not believe they can truly harm you since they couldn’t when they were hand-raised as babies

50
Q

What is the difference between ontogeny and neoteny

A

Ontogeny- growth cycle, a biological process that occurs where animals change morphologically and physiologically as they grow older and closer into maturity (baby to adult) often triggered by hormones
Neoteny- when ontogeny doesn’t occur when it is supposed to and some juvenille features are retained in adulthood. Physiological developments are delayed/slowed and as a result traits exhibited when the animal is juvenille are retained when sexually mature. (frog that retains its gills)

51
Q

What did the work of Harry Harlow conclude

A

The infant primate chose to spend 17 hours a day with the cloth mother and only 1 hour a day with the wire mother (who had the milk) because it was the better source of comfort in fearful situations. Contact with the cloth mother caused a feeling of security, and allowed the primate to exhibit threatening behavior toward what had caused it fear in the first place. When in a new place, it did not go to the wire mother for comfort, only the cloth mother.
Overall result: Contact and touch are vital to attachment, learning, emotional well-being, and psychologial development.

Animal Behavior (4 decks)

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