Tinbergens 4 Questions Flashcards
What is ethology
Biological study of behaviour
The four whys
Causation (mechanism)
Ontogeny (development)
Adaptive value (function)
Phylogeny (evolution)
What is causation
Mechanistic, direct, immediate explanations for why and how individual animals perform behaviour at a given time
External causation
Seasonal factors
Presence of stimuli
Signals
Social factors
Predators
Internal causation
Hormones
Brain and neurones
Disease
Sensory perception
Why do normally neophobia rats eat novel food after encountering another rat who has eaten it
When rats smell carbon disulphide (present in rats breath) mixed with the smell of new food, it signals that it’s good to eat
What is ontogeny
Changes in behaviour machinery during development
Puberty can stop some behaviours and enable new ones via genetic switches, hormonal cascades and lived experiences
What is behavioural machinery
Nervous system
Senses
Muscles
Hormones
Vocal cords, crests, tails, facial features
Changes in behavioural machinery are driven by genetics and environment
Why do crows use tools
Young crows developed tool use at the same age, even if they had never seen anyone using a tool before
Example of ontogeny
Some fish learn their sexual preferences
Daughters prefer males that look like their mum
What is adaptive value
How does the behaviour help the animal in the situations it is evolutionarily adapted for
Refers to evolutionary fitness
How the behaviour affects the chance that the genes are passed on
Example of adaptive value
Birds leaving nest unprotected to remove egg shells as nest with egg shells in are predated by crows
Why do female zebra finches prefer males with the reddest beak
Reddest beak = carotenoid rich diet + better immune system
What is phylogeny
Why does the species behave this way, what did the behaviour evolve from
- compare related species
Why do storks do particular courtship behaviours
Displays evolved from nest-building and preening behaviour, displaying ‘good’ plumage and nest building skills
