Terminology Flashcards
FAPs
Fixed action patterns
What, by definition, is a FAP?
Requires no learning
What is an example of an FAP in birds of paradise
Birds of paradise courtship display.
What are the triggers of the bird of paradise courtship dance?
Certain age
Mating season
Female in territory
What are the key things about an FAP
No learning. does it the first time.
What is a fixed/modal action pattern
A behaviour or sequence of behaviours that requires no learning
What are the characteristics of an FAP
- done right the first time
- triggered by releasors
What are some examples of FAPs
7
- nursing in mammals
- pouncing on moving objects in cats
- food guarding in wolves
- Lying motionless when alone in fawns
- Copulatory behaviours
- Urine marking postures in mammals
- Egg laying sequences in turtles
Can FAPs be refined?
Yes. they can be refined over time wt learning and rehersal
Why don’t all adult male dogs leg-lift
FAPs in domesticated species are hit or miss
Why are FAPs in domestic species hit or miss?
The selective pressures that maintained the behaviour in the species ancestors are often relaxed
What are 3 factors that exert natural selection pressures?
- Environmental factors that influence fitness
- Forces that make living things more or less likely to live or die, and to reproduce or not
- Things such as climate, food availability, disease-causing organisms, competition etc.
What are the two kinds of selection pressure
Natural selection
Sexual selection
What is natural selection?
Get enough to eat, avoid being eaten, avoid injury and disease
What is sexual selection?
successful reproduction
