Lecture 4: Intro to Behaviour pt. 3 Flashcards
Why was understanding animal behaviour important historically?
-Immediate survival value (which animals are trying to eat you, and which ones you are hunting)
-Prehistoric agriculture (adapting to what we want to use them for
-Naturalist documenting behaviour of animals in their natural settings (Charles Darwin)
-Research into animal physiology, anatomy
- William Harvey (blood circulation)
-Charles Butler (social behaviour of bees)
-Stephen Hales (blood pressure)
What happened in the 1900’s and what is Ethology vs comparative psychology?
Ethology = greek ‘ethos’ = study of character. There were 2 different major classes looking at animal behaviour but they studied it in different terms. After WW2 the topic was nature vs nurture (instinct vs learning)
Comparative psychology:
-More learning and human behaviour explained by understanding animal behaviour
-Lab studies
-Importance of environment in shaping behaviour
and
Ethology:
-Evolution of behaviour explained by phylogenic processes
-Field studies of wide range of animals
-Importance of genetics (instinct) in shaping behaviour
Who are the 3 men in the 1970’s that were important for Ethology?
1073 Ethology recognized as research discipline. Now called Animal behaviour science bc term Ethology not used.
The 3 guys won a Nobel Prize for their discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behavioural patterns
1. Karl von Frisch
-Austrian bee scientist studied colour vision (trained bees w/ sucrose water droplets and associate it with the blue square and dance language in bees called the “waggle”
-The “waggle” which is a communication between bees to find the direction and distance of food
2.Konrad Lorenz
-Austrian zooloist/ornithologist: imprinting with ducks, innate behaviour, motivational models
-Most vocal and criticized out of 3, had ideas about Nazis. Though wild animals were superior to domesticated
3.Niko Tinbergen
-Dutch biologist/ornithologist, published The Study of Instinct, and on aims and methods of Ethology (4 problems of biology)
Is there a researcher who combined different approaches like ethology, psychology, neuroscience etc?
Yes
David Wood-Gush
-Biology of animal behaviour
-incorporating animal welfare
-The animal’s perspective
Did experiment in Edinburgh Pig Park which was a study of ‘natural behaviour’ of domesticated pigs in semi-natural environment
Where any scholars overlooked?
Charles Henry Turner first cooled person to get a Phd in animal.
-Sensory perception used red as reward colour in bees but couldn’t see red
What are some of the trends related to animals studied and different decades?
Before 1985:model organisms (monkey and chickens)
1985-1995: Transition period (insects, bees, chickens)
After 1995: More diverse group like:
-domesticated animals (dogs)
-Economic important (cows)
In 25 journals accessed the words learning, memory, and reinforcement were consistently in top 10, and Mate choice, reproductive success, and sexual section were also popular.
What was the difference between ethology and comparative psychology from 1971-1972 and 2001-2002?
From 1971-1972 there were groups of early ethology and comparative psychology and clusters for each section but only minor connections between each groups is any
From 2001-2002 there are way more connections and the map is more dense, this is bc there is more integration and bridged topics relating to communication and social behaviour
What are Tinbregen’s 4 Questions/4 why’s?
Why do animals behave the way they do, there are 4 levels of explanation.
-Causation
-Developmental
-Function
-Evolution
What are Evolutionary questions and explanations?
What is the evolutionary history of behaviour?
How does behaviour change/vary as a result of evolutionary history?
How do closely related species compare?
What are the effects of species/breed/stain parentage or individual specific genes?
Explanation: Refers to genetic inheritance from previous generations ex
-Influence of taxonomic group
-Effects of natural or artificial selection
-Sequential changes in a species across time
What are evolutionary examples?
-The duck is quacking because Anseriformes can’t sign (toxaemic group)
-The sheep is frightened of dogs because her ancestors evolved surrounded by wolves
-The mouse has a tremor because its strain was created to model Parkinson’s disease (artificial selection)
What are Developmental questions and explanations?
-How does the trait develop in individuals?
-How does early experience affect the form/timing of a particular behaviour expressed later in life?
-How does animals current stages development affect the forming/timing of behaviour?
Explanations: Accounts for an animals behaviour in terms of:
-Previous experience
-Developmental stage
-Sequential changes in an individual across their lifespan (ex child; roll, sit, stand. walk)
What are developmental examples?
-Piglets are fleeing because they are exposed to high corticosterone levels in utero (early life)
-The cat isfridly bc she was well socialized
-The puppy is squatting to urinate because he has not reached sexual maturity
-The rat pups are sucking because they are too young to eat solid food
What are Causal questions and explanations?
-What stimuli/factors elicit behaviours?
-What sort of neurological and hormonal changes occur in response to, or in anticipation of stimuli
-How do internal and external stimuli/factors initiate, maintain, and terminate a behaviour?
-MACHINERY is involved in the behaviour
Explanations:
-Refers to the immediate, current factors that initiate, control, and terminate the behaviour
-Understanding the underlying mechanism (how)
What are the Causal examples?
-The cow is eating quickly bc she is highly motivated by hunger
-The robin is singing bc his testosterone levels are high and bc his syrinx vibrates in particular ways when air is expelled over it
-The primate is rocking bc of altered levels of neurotransmitters in parts of the forebrain
What are Functional questions and explanations?
-How does behaviour affect survival and reproduction?
-What are the consequences of a behaviour; the net benefits?
-Does the behaviour pattern even have a current function? (ex maladaptive, malfunctions)
Explanations: Refers to the beneficial consequences of the behaviour for the animal (and how they outweigh any costs)
Proximate: Benefits that are quite immediate (perhaps learned)
Ultimate: Benefits the evolutionary fitness of the animal (more of a delay)
