Final exam prep Flashcards
What is habituation?
Habituation: The animal decreases its response to repeated stimuli that do not produce any consequences.
What associative learning behaviour?
Associative:
Type of learning in which an animal learns to associate two events together. Eg. dog bell and arrival of food
What is (Operant) conditioning learning behaviour?
(Operant) conditioning:
type of learning in which an animal learns to perform a behaviour in order to get a reward or avoid a punishment. For example, a rat may learn to press a lever in order to receive food.
What is classical conditioning learning behaviour?
Classical conditioning/learning:
learns to associate a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that naturally produces a certain response. Eg. dog hears the bell and expect food, so it starts salivating, the salivating is the classical conditioning response
What is Spatial learning behaviour?
Spatial learning is a type of learning in which an animal learns about the spatial relationships between objects in its environment. For example, a rat may learn the layout of a maze in order to find food.
What is latent learning behaviour?
Latent learning is a type of learning that occurs without any obvious reinforcement. For example, a rat may learn the layout of a maze even if it is not rewarded for doing so. This learning may then be used later, when the rat is actually trying to find food.
What is imprinting behaviour?
Imprinting is a type of learning that occurs during a critical period in an animal’s development. During this period, the animal is very sensitive to certain stimuli and will learn to associate these stimuli with certain behaviours. For example, goslings will imprint on the first moving object they see after hatching. This object will then become their mother and they will follow it around.
Discuss, using examples, why we need to understand animal cultures for conservation efforts.
Culture can help animals adapt to changing environments, survive in fragmented habitats, and recover from population declines. By understanding animal cultures, we can develop conservation strategies that are more likely to be successful.
Examples:
Captive breeding programs: In some cases, it may be necessary to capture animals from the wild and place them in captive breeding programs. This can be done to help a population recover from a decline or to prevent a species from going extinct. However, it is important to make sure that the animals in these programs are able to maintain their cultural traditions. For example, if a population of chimpanzees is used for captive breeding, it is important to make sure that the chimpanzees are able to learn how to use tools and build nests.
Reintroduction programs: Once a population of animals has recovered in captivity, it may be possible to reintroduce them to the wild. This can be a successful conservation strategy, but it is important to make sure that the animals are able to adapt to the wild environment. This may involve teaching them how to find food, avoid predators, and build shelters.
What are the four questions Nikolaas Tinbergen came up with?
Proximate questions
Mechanisms (How does it work?)
Development (How does it develop?)
Ultimate questions
Function (What is it for?)
Evolution (How did it evolve?)
Explain Nikolaas Tinbergen’s fundamental questions in relation to cryptic wing colouration in peppered moths
- Mechanism
How do they gain their dark
pigment? (Dark pigment trait) - Development
What event caused the dark
colouration to be favoured by
natural selection (Predation) - Function
What is the purpose of the dark
colouration? (Increase chance of
survival) - Evolution
What is the underlying
mechanism that controls selection of
the trait (Dark pigmentation
genes)
Under what three conditions will behaviours evolve by natural selection?
Variation in behaviour: There must be variation in behaviour within a population. This variation can be caused by genetic differences, environmental differences, or a combination of both.
Heritability of behaviour: The variation in behaviour must be heritable, meaning that it can be passed on from parents to offspring.
Differential survival and reproduction: Individuals with different behaviours must have different chances of surviving and reproducing. This means that some behaviours must be more adaptive than others in the environment.
In terms of proximate and ultimate explanations,
provide 3 hypotheses why ring-billed gills may foster chicks
Genetic similarity.
Foster parents may be more
likely to adopt chicks that are
genetically similar to them. This
is because there is a greater
chance that the adopted chick
will share genes with the foster
parents’ own offspring, which
could increase the fitness of the
foster parents’ genes
Group selection.
Fostering chicks may benefit the
group as a whole by increasing
the overall survival and
reproduction of the population.
This is because even if the foster
parents themselves do not
benefit from fostering, the
adopted chick may still survive
and reproduce, which will
benefit the population as a
whole.
Kin selection.
Fostering chicks may be a form
of kin selection, where
individuals help to raise the
offspring of their relatives. This
can increase the fitness of the
individuals who help to raise the
offspring, even if they do not
directly benefit from it.
Define the handicap principle in honest signalling
The theory predicts that a sexual ornament, or any other signal, such as visibly risky behaviour, must be costly if it is to accurately advertise a trait of relevance to an individual with conflicting interests. Typical examples of handicapped signals include bird songs, the peacock’s tail, courtship dances, and bowerbird bowers.
State a potential cost to the sparrow if it displayed a deceitful badge signal
Increased risk of injury or death: If a sparrow falsely signals that it is more dominant than it actually is, it may be more likely to be challenged by a more dominant sparrow. This could lead to injury or even death.
Signalling behaviour will occur between higher and lower-ranking
sparrows when competing for feeding patches. Describe the three potential competitive interactions that may occur and include the likely outcome of each interaction.
Direct aggression:
The higher-ranking sparrow may
directly attack the lower-ranking
sparrow in order to drive it away
from the feeding patch.
Intimidation:
The higher-ranking sparrow may
engage in threatening displays,
such as spreading its wings or
fluffing up its feathers, in order
to intimidate the lower ranking
sparrow and deter it from
challenging for the feeding patch.
Appeasement:
The lower-ranking sparrow may
engage in submissive displays,
such as crouching or bowing, in
order to appease the higher
ranking sparrow and avoid
conflict.
Explain game theory
In game theory, hawks and doves have two different strategies that individuals can use when competing for a resource. Hawks are aggressive and will fight to the death to acquire the resource, while doves are more cooperative and will back down from a fight.
