midterm Flashcards
wk1: What are tinbergen’s four questions?
Mechanism, onotgeny, current utility, evolution
wk1: Which two of Tinbergen’s questions are proximate causes?
Mechanism, ontogeny
wk1: Which two of Tinbergen’s questions are ultimate causes?
Current utility, evolution
wk1: What is Karl von Frisch known for?
Color vision in bees, language of bees, polarized light perception
wk1: Who are the three “fathers” of animal behavior?
Karl von Frisch, Niko Tinbergen, Konrad Lorenz
wk1: What is Konrad Lorenz known for?
imprinting, development as a key issue in behavior
wk1: What is Tinbergen known for besides his four questions?
fixed action patterns
wk1: What are fixed action patterns?
an instinctive behavioral sequence that is relatively invariant within the species and almost inevitably runs to completion
wk1: How does a fixed action pattern occur?
An animal is triggered by an external stimulus, neural network produces an action after being triggered, animal involuntarily carries out behavior until completion
wk1: What were the two examples of fixed action patterns?
Geese rolling egg into nest after escaping, stickleback fish attacking red bottomed fish for territory/eggs
wk1: What is a proximate cause?
Short term, what causes a behavior and how it develops
wk1: What is an ultimate cause?
Long term, the adaptive/survival value and how the behavior evolves from an ancestral state
wk1: What is mechanism?
The immediate cause of a behavior, proximate
wk1: What is ontogeny?
how a behavior develops, proximate
wk1: What is current utility?
The adaptive or survival value of a behavior, ultimate cause
wk1: What is evolution in the sense of animal behavior?
How the behavior evolved from an ancestral state, ultimate cause
wk2: What is a phenotype?
Physical trait
wk2: What is a genotype?
Genetic code
wk2: Does genotype always exactly predict phenotype?
No, the genotype codes for phenotype
wk2: How does behavioral genetics add to genotype and phenotype? (equation)
genotype + environment = phenotype
wk2: What is nature vs nurture?
continuum between learning and instinct
wk2: Which “father” was nature?
Lorenz and imprinting
wk2: What’s a broad example of nuture
conditioned behavior
wk2: How can a study of twins partition nature vs nurture influences on behavior?
- raise in diff enviro
- if they end up similar, nature is at play
- if they end up different, nurture is at play
wk3: What is the theory of motivation?
- animals have needs which motivate them to behave in certain ways
- they have a storage of “drive energy” that is expended when a task is performed
- once a need is satisfied, drive is reduced and organism returns to homeostasis
wk3: what is displacement?
- animals use energy for two alternating behaviors
- grooming
wk3: what is redirection?
- directing the behavior towards a 3rd party or inanimate object
- cleaning, nesting, rummaging
wk3: what are repetitive/stereotyped behaviors?
- repeated behaviors that are identical and have no obvious function
- pacing in captivity
wk3: what are self-directed behaviors
- behaviors an animal performs on themselves
- ranges from normal to destructive
- often grouped with repetitive behaviors
- obsessive grooming
wk 3: Explain how personality/behavioral syndromes and certain neurotransmitters may influence behavior
- stress hormones
- personality
- behavioral syndromes
- mood/emotion
wk 3: neurotransmitters and stress
Neurotransmitters and hormones seen in anxious animals and anxious humans are the same
stress hormones: cortisol
a common way to quantify physiological responses to stress
produced in the adrenal glands
wk 3: personality, behavior, mood
personality: the consistent expression of behavioral tendencies over time
vary across populations, making individuals distinguishable from others
behavioral syndrome: a set of correlated responses that are relatively stable over time for an individual
often have a high heritability
mood/emotion: state of the individual in that moment
interaction of personality and environment
wk 3: what are the 3 subjective states that influence animal’s behavioral choices?
fear
pain
sleep
wk 3: details about animal pain
pain: allows animals to recognize and avoid potential injury
mostly results from stimulation of nociceptors (sensory receptor)
thermal, chemical, mechanical
wk 3: details about animal sleep
period of inactivity, non-responsiveness to external stimuli, general preference for protected location
occurs in all vertebrates
wk 3: what are the 3 hypothetical adaptive functions for sleep?
- conserve energy
- risk avoidance (downside, vulnerable to predation)
- brain repair/memory consolidation
wk 3: what’s an ethnogram?
inventory of possible behavioral acts such as:
eat, sleep, groom, fight, play
wk 3: what’s a time budget?
quantification of how much time an animal spends on each activity in its ethogram
wk 4: what is learning?
the modification of behavior due to stored information from previous experience
wk 4: what is focused learning?
into rapidly incorporated into memory
has critical, immediate survival value
example: imprinting, aversions
wk 4: what is generalized learning?
occurs over a longer period of time
value is less immediate than focused
example: conditioning, trial and error, observational
wk 4: what are learning curves?
curve of absorption to forgetting/not absorbing
wk 4: what are the 8 models for learning? SCRITTCH
Sensitization Cache retrieval Reinforcement +/- Imprinting Trial and error Taste aversion Conditioning Habituation
wk 4: what is social learning?
play, learning and development
wk 4: explain what a learning curve is
- different peaks of absorption and forgetting
wk 4: explain what the extinction/forgetting curve is
not that behavior is lost as much as neural component has weakened
wk 4: what is short term memory?
- Working memory stored from seconds to minutes
- has a limited capactity (4-7 elements or “chunks” at a time)
related to signal transduction, increasing signal release at that particular synapse - useful immediately
wk 4: what is long term memory?
- hours to months
- not the same as long-lasting memory
- theoretically limitless storage
- actual protein synthesis, increasing the shape
information that will be helpful later on
wk 4: explain imprinting
-Konrad Lorenz
-young animals learn some feature during critical period
usually happens during a small period
-ex. identity of a parent
-ex. geese, just a few hours after hatching
wk 4: what is a potential conservation concern surrounding imprinting?
could influence other behaviors that are for non-biological parent
wk 4: contrast habituation with sensitization
habituation: loss of response to a repeated stimulus
- one way to filter out unimportant sensory
- brain no longer pays attention
- can be reversed through new experiences or forgetting
- similar but distinct from sensory adaptation (like getting used to a smell)
- -ex. prairie dogs don’t seem to mind people, traffic
sensitization: the opposite of habituation
- an increase in responsiveness as a result of an experience with that stimulus
wk 4: what is taste aversion learning?
- help avoid poisonous or tainted foods
- facilitates the evolution of chemical defenses
wk 4: what is an example of how taste aversion is adaptive?
spiders reject chemically defended moths
spiders will fling them, cut them out of the web
helps avoid toxicity
wk 4: explain conditioning
-a learned association between -a stimulus and a response (often a reward)
increases efficiency of behavior
wk 4: what is the difference between classical and operant conditioning?
classical: behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli
- - involuntary behavior
- - reflexive behavior
operant conditioning: a learned association between a particular behavior and a consequence
- modify behavior based on the affect they produce (reward or punish)
- voluntary behavior
wk 4: relate learning to caching
- remembering locations
- episodic and spatial memory
wk 4: relate learning, foraging to caching
- look for item all over again
- hiding food in similar places for easier foraging
wk 4: relate learning to larder hoard
- all food cached in same location
- easy to find, no memory required, no re-foraging
- must be defended
wk 4: what is social/observational learning?
one animal watches the action of another and learns those actions
wk 4: explain how social/observational learning can be tested experiementally
- the birds that pull up the little bucket by the rope to get the reward
- birds that learned to open milk lids at delivery spots and drink it
wk 4: characterize play behaviors (3)
- voluntary activity
- no apparent benefit
- doesn’t occur if other needs aren’t being met (hunger, health, tired)
wk 4: what is the adaptive value of play? (4)
- develop muscles, motor skills, coordination
- practice tasks like prey handling
- stimulate brain development
- learn social skills, establish bonds, positions in hierarchies
wk 5: what is cognition?
- the ability to separate self from others
- mind separated from the brain
- mental forecasting
- the ability to bring seemingly unrelated ideas together to create a novel situation or future plan
wk 5: cognition, how is the mind separated from the brain?
conscious thought and assessment, reflection
wk 5: what is the theory of mind and self awareness?
the ability to read another individual’s intentions, beliefs, and desires
wk 5: what is mental time travel?
the ability to reminisce about the past and plan for the future
wk 5: what is chronesthesia?
one is aware of the past and future, present life is shaped by that awareness
wk 5: what are the 2 types of memory?
semantic and episodic
wk 5: what is semantic memory?
mental representation of something concrete like objects, words, facts
wk 5: what is episodic memory?
- memories of personal experiences that are tied to specific times and places
- remembering a past event = mental time travel, can be applied to future situations
wk 5: what is arguably the basis for cognition?
episodic memory
wk5: define self-awareness
embarassment, critical self thought
wk 5: what role does mental time travel play in an animal’s life
remembering where food is stored
remembering past event to shape future thought and decisions
wk 5: how does memory relate to cognition
Episodic memory - memories of personal experiences that are tied to particular times and places
Basis for cognition
Remembering past event = mental time travel
wk 5: explain time-place learning and understand the evidence for this behavior
- associating a resource with a specific time and place
- evidence = returning to the location at the “right” time
- a part of how many birds and animals forage
wk 5: analyze the possible role of cognition in cache recovery and pilferage
Remembering where food was placed - mental time travel
Separate self from others by knowing others have seen you cache food so you recache it
wk 6: define communication
the transfer of signals (information) from a sender to a receiver
wk 6: explain how communication evolves
sender has evolved to send information, receiver as evolved to receive
wk 6: Describe what signals are
an act or structure that has evolved to carry a specific message to another animal
wk 6: how are signals different from cues?
Signal: act or structure that has evolved to carry a specific message to another animal
Message specifically evolved for communicating info
Cue: not evolved to send a message, not purposeful communication, no intended receiver
wk 6: what information is communicated in a honey bee waggle dance?
- angle of dance provides information about direction
- duration of waggle provides into about distance
- total number of loops provides into about quality
wk 6: what are the 4 key features of signals?
ritualization, stereotypy, redundancy, multi-modality
wk 6: four key features of signals: define ritualization
the evolutionary use of existing behaviors/structures for a new signal
wk 6: four key features of signals: define stereotypy
the evolution of reduced variation in a signal
wk 6: four key features of signals: define redundancy
reduces errors and ensures the recipient gets the message
wk 6: four key features of signals: define multi-modality
use of more than one communication mode to convey the same message (visual, auditory)
wk 6: Understand how deceit and honesty affect the evolution of communication:
deceit may evolve when sender and receiver interests are not the same
wk 6: explain how the handicap principle can enforce honest signaling
Signal can only be produced by individuals with advertised trait
Exaggerated traits are expensive
Would-be deceivers can’t produce the signal
Dishonesty is detrimental
Sexual selection context
Exaggerated male traits
Only healthy, fit males can maintain a costly signal
wk 6:Understand how eavesdropping can influence communication:
signals may be broadcasted and become public information
wk 6:Explain how noise affects communication
Exaggerated traits are expensive
Would-be deceivers can’t produce the signal
Dishonesty is detrimental
wk 6: what are the 4 major modes of communication?
chemical, visual, auditory, electrical
wk 6: the four major modes of communication: example & define chemical
Smell and taste
Pheromone used within species ex: moths
wk 6: the four major modes of communication: example & define visual
Surface pattern/color Movement Production of light Bioluminescence Raising hackles/hair bright/multi colored
wk 6: the four major modes of communication: example & define auditory
Vibrating membrane Scraper Hitting a substrate Grasshoppers Ultrasound infrasound
wk 6: the four major modes of communication: example & define electrical
Limited to aquatic environments
Electrolocation - useful in murky water
Strong vs weak
predation/defense v communication/electrolocation
Distinguish navigation from orientation
Navigation: guided movement from one location to another
Often uses env cues like landmarks or sun
Requires knowledge of current location and location of the goal
Orientation: movement in a given direction
Not moving toward a specific goal or destination
Often in a compass direction
Know examples of both genetically coded and learned navigational information. Also explain the advantages and disadvantages of each way of acquiring information.
Genetic: sea turtle migration
Learned: squirrel nest location
Describe how animals can sense the environment using triangulation
Must be able to perceive a cue from two different locations
Simultaneously - stereoptic vision
Sequentially - animal moves (just head or whole body)
Kinesis
Non-directional movement in response to a stimuli
Changing velocity, random
Simple locomotor response
taxis
Directional movement
Orientation relative to stimulus source
Defined by type of stimulus
Positive - attractive, negative - repulsive
counterturning
Compensate for obstacles forcing directional changes
Each change of direction is balanced by a movement in a different direction to re-establish original course
odometers
Measure distance with steps
Cataglyphis ants
Compass orientation
Compass orientation
Detect magnetic field
Use permanent features
path integration
Ability to accumulate info about turning angles and vector lengths
Calculate direct path home
Needs no external cues
cognitive maps
Mental representation of one’s environment
Identify novel routes
define search and its tactics
Movement to find a goal Can be Random motion Particular pattern to cover all space Guided by info/stimuli: taxis/kinesis
Understand homing behaviors and the complex navigational processes seen in homing pigeons
Important for central place foragers Remember compass bearings Landmarks, path integration, cognitive mapping Homing pigeons Sun compass Use landmarks Megneto-reception Olfaction Cognitive map
animal migration
Movement of an animal population between seasonally-appropriate habitat
Contrast the migration behaviors of the specific animals discussed in class
Mammals - mostly learned
Birds - direction and distance innate
Monarchs - genetic
Understand the various reasons for dispersal and why certain types of individuals are more likely to disperse than others
Leave natal area and find new territory/home
Avoid competition and inbreeding
Colonize new habitats
Offspring more likely to disperse than parents in birds and mammals
Mammals - males disperse
Birds - females disperse
What is the Clever Hans effect and why are we concerned about it in the analysis of animal behavior?
Clever Hans was a horse that could allegedly do arithmetic and other smart tasks and tapped his hooves to answer questions. However, people later realized the horse only responded to involuntary cues in the questioner’s body language.
Shows how strongly bias can influence the results of an experiment and how animals may be responding to cues (accidentally or on purpose) and it is not necessarily a sign of higher cognition.
Don’t over-anthropomorphize animals
habituation
decreased responsiveness, becoming used to something, can ignore, not affected
sensitization
increased responsiveness, becoming negatively affected
classical conditioning
involuntary
operant conditioning
voluntary
caching
storing food to eat later
learned caching
remember locations, episodic and spatial memory
re-foraging
finding cache again
search by rule
caching in similar places
larder hoard
entire cache in one location, must be defended
scatter hoard
many small caches, lower risk but harder to find again
cognition
ability to separate self from others, though separate from brain, can analyze own thoughts, mental forecasting, putting ideas together
theory of mind
decipher someone else’s thoughts and intention
mental time travel
ability to remember the past
episodic memory
personal memories tied to a specific time and place, basis for cognition
spatial memory
memory of surrounding environments
time-place learning
associating a RESOURCE with a specific time and place, useful for re-foraging
communication
sending and receiving transfer of signals
signals
act or structure evolved to carry message to another animal
cue
not purposeful communication, no intended recipient
honey bee angle of dance
direction
honeybee duration of dance
distance
honeybee # of loops
quality of food source
signal features: ritualization
use of existing behaviors/structures for a new signal (large crab claw)
signal features: stereotypy
reduced variation in a signal to not overlap with other signals
signal features: redundancy
reduces error to ensure they get the message
signal features: multi-modality
more than one communication mode to convey the message
deceit
sender and receiver have different interests
handicap principle
signal only produced by individuals with desired trait
major modes of comm: chemical
phermones
major modes of comm: visual
pattern, color, movement, light
major modes of comm: electrical
aquatic only, electrolocation
navigation
guided movement from one location to another, uses enviro cues (landmarks, sun) requires knowledge of current location AND goal location
orientation
movement in a given direction, compass orientation, no specific goal
genetically coded navigation example
sea turtle migration
learned navigation example
squirrel nest location
integrating sensory inputs into movement: kinesis
non-directional movement in response to stimuli, random
integrating sensory inputs into movement: taxis
directional movement relative to a stimuli
integrating sensory inputs into movement: counter-turning
compensate for obstacles that force directional change
integrating sensory inputs into movement: odometeres
measuring distance with steps, counting
mechanisms for navigation: compass orientation
magnetic field
mechanisms for navigation: path integration
accumulate info about turning angles and length to calculate path home
mechanisms for navigation: cognitive maps
mental representation of one’s enviro to identify novel routes
Mammalian herd migrations rely on learned social information, while the distance and direction of bird migrations are often genetically coded. Analyze the advantages/disadvantages of each way of acquiring information about migratory routes.
Learned social information:
Advantage: Can adapt to short term changes
Disadvantage: It has to be learned, if something happens to the parent then the offspring can’t learn it
Genetically coded:
Advantage: No parent teaching needed
Disadvantage: Does not account for any hazardous risk/ short term environmental changes
Explain the hypothesis for moths flying to lights such as candles or porch lights that was given in class
They try to fly in a certain angle to the moon (their navigation), but since lights are so much larger and closer they get confused and spiral to keep in angle with the moon
Explain von Frisch’s test for color vision in honeybees
Placed food source on a certain color (blue tile) and then set up tiles with the blue and grey equivalent to see if they see in greyscale. The bees went to the blue so they do see in color
