Lecture 13: Animal Behavior

Question 1

What are the categories we use to analyze animal behavior? (Fruit fly example) (4)

Answer 1

(Mechanism)
What sensory stimuli cause males to box?

(Development)
Do they box better with age/experience?

(Function)
Does winning a contest benefit males?

(Evolution)
Did ancestors of walnut flies box?à Evolution

Question 2

Mechanism

Answer 2

the physiological or neurological basis of a
behavior
(e.g., ‘how does it work?’)

Question 3

Development

Answer 3

the role of age and experience in behavior

e.g., How does it develop? Instinctual or learned?

Question 4

Function

Answer 4

the adaptive VALUE of a behavior

e.g., why has natural selection favored this behavior?

Question 5

Evolution

Answer 5

the evolutionary history of a behavior

e.g., where did the behavior come from in the evolution of this group?

Question 6

Magnetoreception

Answer 6

mechanism that Sea turtles use Earth’s magnetic field to navigate in ocean.

Question 7

Analysis of mechanism might address:

Answer 7

Analysis of mechanism might address:
(the physiology of how something works)

• sensory organs and receptors
• brains, nerves, and neurons
• hormones

Question 8

Development aka

Answer 8

Ontogeny

Question 9

If we are interested in the development of a behavior, we ask …

Answer 9

-how do age and/or experience influence a behavior?

Question 10

Explain the hypothesis and findings of Nest finding by beewolves

Answer 10

• When they leave the nest, they memorize local landmarks, so they learn to recognize the spot
• 1) Experimenter (Tinbergen) mixed up the local landmarks (stones, vegetation, etc.).
  2) Tinbergen carefully created a set of landmarks and then carefully moved them to surround a spot a meter or so away.
  3) When Tinbergen altered the area around the burrow, the returning females appeared confused.
  4) When Tinbergen rearranged the landmarks around the burrow back to the original nest, the females returned.

Question 11

Analysis of behavior development might address:

Answer 11

• Learning, habituation, imprinting

* Role of social environment (e.g., litter size)

Question 12

If we are interested in the function of a behavior, we ask…

Answer 12

-why has natural selection favored this behavior?

Question 13

Explain the 2 hypothesis of Infrared tail signaling in ground squirrels

Answer 13

1. Squirrel with hot tail looks bigger. Adult squirrels(that bite rattlesnakes!) not the target of rattlesnakes (who favor tender and defenseless pups).
2. Tail signal informs the rattlesnake it’s been detected by the squirrel.

Question 14

If we are interested in the function of a behavior…

Answer 14

• how does the behavior influence FITNESS of the organism?
• how does the behavior influence the FITNESS of its genetic relatives?
• what are the costs and benefits (= tradeoffs) of behavior?

Question 15

If we are interested in the evolution of a behavior, we ask …

Answer 15

-what is the evolutionary history of the behavior?

Question 16

One way of analyzing the evolution of a behavior is..

Answer 16

An analysis of evolution might map the behavior onto an existing phylogeny or reconstruct the phylogeny of the behavior among relatives…

Question 17

Examples of function…

Answer 17

• altruism,
• brood parasitism,
• reciprocity

Question 18

Altruism

Answer 18

Any behavior that benefits a recipient while incurring a cost to its donor

Question 19

Explanations for Altruism

Answer 19

Explanations for Altruism

1. Manipulation: donor as “dupe”
   • Donor is providing the beneficial behavior
   • In other words, altruism through ignorance.
2. Reciprocity: altruism through cooperation (e.g., you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours!)
3. Kin Selection: Propagating your genes by helping genetic relatives propagate their genes.

Question 20

Example of Manipulation (altruism)

Answer 20

(Brood Parasitism)

• Cowbirds and cuckoos lay eggs in nests of host birds
• Host bird raises “parasite” young

Question 21

Humans exercise a special kind of reciprocity, termed…

Answer 21

-indirect reciprocity

Reciprocity in which the return for a donor’s act comes from someone other than the recipient.

Question 22

indirect reciprocity

Answer 22

Reciprocity in which the return for a donor’s act comes from someone other than the recipient.

Question 23

Example of Reciprocity (altruism)

Answer 23

Example: Olive baboons
• Males form a paired alliance to pull females away from current mates.
• Yet only one male of the pair mates with the female.
• Presumably, the other member of the pair mates with
the female the next time.

Example: Cotton Top Tamarins
Preferentially give food to those who give to them.

Question 24

Reciprocity

Answer 24

Reciprocity: altruism through COOPERATION (e.g., you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours!)

Question 25

Kin Selection

Answer 25

Propagating your genes by helping genetic relatives propagate their genes. (altruism)

Question 26

Manipulation

Answer 26

Manipulation: donor as “dupe”
• Donor is providing the beneficial behavior
• In other words, altruism through ignorance.

Question 27

Example of Kin Selection

Answer 27

Example: Belding’s ground squirrel. Produces alarm call to warn colony of predator

Example: naked mole rats (sterile castes)
• African mammals that live underground and feed
on plant roots.
• Are highly inbred, leading to high genetic
relatedness.
• Breeding restricted to a single queen.

Question 28

Conditions for altruism towards genetic relatives

(kin) set by …

Answer 28

Hamilton’s rule

Question 29

Hamilton’s rule

Answer 29

Benefits (left side) must outweigh the costs (right side)

(r*b) > c
b = benefits to recipient
r = coefficient of relatedness c = cost to donor

• Behavior evolves when the cost to the
donor is offset by benefit to the relative
• A more distant relative requires greater benefit

Question 30

Instincts beneficial…

Answer 30

when mistakes not an option.

Example: Hesitating instinctively when in danger (e.g., at the edge of a cliff as shown in ducklings, kittens, human infants)

Example: Instinctive startle response to predators. (e.g. Silhouette by chicks)

Question 31

Instinctive behavior is…

cost

Answer 31

inflexible

Example: Code breaking in brood parasites.

Question 32

Benefit of learning is that it is …

Answer 32

flexible.

Question 33

Flexibility

Answer 33

-different lessons in different environments

(ie- When a red flower has more nectar, a bee may learn to prefer red; elsewhere it may be a different color or shape that has greatest reward)

Question 34

Cost of learning

Answer 34

Learning involves mistakes.
requires energy and brain resources

(ie- A predator that has to learn to avoid brightly colored prey risks being poisoned on his first taste.