Lecture 1 Flashcards
What are the 5 steps of the scientific method?
State the questions Formulate a hypothesis Test the hypothesis Draw conclusions Report results
What two types of questions arise when studying animal behavior?
Proximate and ultimate
What are proximate questions?
How does a behavior work? What mechanisms are involved?
What are ultimate questions?
Why did a behavior arise? What purpose does it serve?
What are Darwin’s 3 main points?
Variation
Heredity
Differential reproduction
Describe natural selection.
Traits that interfere with reproductive success will diminish in frequency.
What does natural selection say about evolutionary change?
Evolutionary change will always be in the direction that promotes reproduction by individuals.
What is an example of a proximate question of the automeris moth?
What are the underlying muscular mechanisms that cause wings to flip?
What is an example of an ultimate question about the automeris moth?
Does wing flipping confer a survival advantage?
Who was Niko Tinbergen?
A Dutch ethologist who proposed the scientific study of animal behavior proceeds by asking 4 questions.
What were the four questions Tinbergen proposed?
Mechanism
Ontogeny
Function
Phylogeny
In relation to Tinbergen’s 4 questions, what is the proximate question that describes the current behavior as it is today?
Mechanism (causation)
In relation to Tinbergen’s 4 questions, what is the proximate question that describes the evolutionary history of the current behavior?
Ontogeny (development of behavior over lifetime)
In relation to Tinbergen’s 4 questions, what is the ultimate question that describes the current behavior as it is today?
Function (adaptive value)
In relation to Tinbergen’s 4 questions, what is the ultimate question that describes evolutionary history of the current behavior?
Phylogeny (evolution)
